Re: Re: Bankruptcy? I never thought I'd ever see myself considering bankruptcy. I always had beautiful credit. When I bought my car I got 3.5% financing because my credit was so good. Then everything fell apart. I was frauded and lost every penny I had because of it. Then I lost my job. Those two things destroyed my credit, my credit is so bad right now that bankruptcy would improve it. I am stuck with my car no matter what I do. Like I said, trading it in would leave me owing on it and I am not able to secure another loan. It's easy for everyone to say "get rid of it" but that's a pretty uneducated statement to make. I worked in the car business for 4 years before I was laid off and I am well aware of how these things work. A car depreciates the second you drive it off the lot, I'd still owe on it if I traded it in. So that would be one of the stupidest things I could do. And besides, I couldn't get another car because a financing company would not touch someone with credit as bad as mine. I have to have a car to get around so that is a top priority. But once I've paid my rent and my car I barely have enough to live on. Consolidation is out of the question also, I simply don't have the money to give the creditors unless I want to be homeless and starve to death. Bankruptcy is the last thing in the world I want to consider but I see no other plausible options. Does anyone know of any agencies that offer guidance to someone who is about to file?
I've avoided my creditors for about 6+ months already and my situation has not improved. The economy is so screwed up and the so is the job market.
What are the requirements for someone to be judgement proof? I would certainly hope being laid off and on unemployment would help guard me. I don't have anything in Savings and I don't own a house...I don't really have any assets for them to come after.
Re: Re: Bankruptcy? Why would you trade the car in? Look at the difference in wholesale and retail. The problem may be that you worked in the business so you see that side. Sell the car outright. You'll get a lot more than the trade in value. With that money, you pay off the loan and buy a cheap car outright. I'm not talking about last year's car. I'm talking about something like mbelden said--a Neon or something. That frees up your car payment money for something else. Then you work on the other stuff, and eventually you'll get another car with a decent loan. But for now, you just need something to get you from point A to point B.
Re: Re: Bankruptcy? Yea, I worked in the business but I never said I worked for a dealership. I was the Fleet Manager for a major corporation so I am extremely knowledgeable in the car business. A car's value depreciates as soon as you drive it off of the lot. Meaning that if you sell a car privately or trade it in before you've paid off most of your loan, chances are the money you receive for the car will NOT be enough to pay off the loan. Forget the fact that I'd still owe on the loan after the sale of the vehicle. I'd still not be able to secure a smaller loan for a less expensive vehicle because my credit is destroyed. And I have no money to buy a car outright, if I did I obviously would be using that to pay my creditors and would not be considering bankruptcy.
Re: Re: Bankruptcy? That's not always true about the depreciation for resale. There's a BIG difference in retail and wholesale value. Especially if you have a car in high demand, you can probably sell it privately for MORE than the value of your loan. That's what I was talking about. You'd have enough to pay off the loan and pay cash for a cheap car. Trade ins are based on the wholesale value, but if you sell a car outright you'll be charging the retail value. Go to kbb.com and check the RETAIL value for your car and see if it's more than your loan amount.
Re: Re: Bankruptcy? I do know what I'm talking about, it was my job to be educated and be proficient at dealing with these issues. After dealing with values, resale and purchasing for many years, I do know what I am talking about. I've already checked the value of my car. At this time the value of my car is less than what is due on the loan. And it is very true that most people are indeed "upside-down" with what they owe on their car versus what their car is worth.
Re: Re: Bankruptcy? Well, I am new to posting here, I usually just lurk. Anyway I filed about 2 years ago, and I am ready to get a new car, but I want to trade in the one I have. How hard is it to get approved being as though I filed bankruptcy, I did not file on my car but I still owe money on it. I know that that rate may be a little higher than the norm. I want to know before i go to a dealer and they tried to act like I need a whole lot of money to put down
Re: Re: Bankruptcy? prettygirl, Why not go to your credit union and talk to them. They are often more willing to work with you, and you will probably get a better rate. They can tell you how much they'll approve. Then when you go to the dealer, you'll have financing in hand and be in a better position to negotiate.
Re: Re: Bankruptcy? I did and they denied me because I have not build any credit since I filed Bankruptcy. Which is weired because I kept both of my cars and I have never been late on anyone of them. I was so mad when I left my credit union.
Re: Re: Bankruptcy? It isn't your best rate at 24.9%....but Credit Acceptance corporation is a guaranteed approval IF you have money to put down. You will pay top price for a car, you will have only 24 months to repay, and you rpayment will be high but, I did just that 8 months ago. I bought a 1998 Olds Aurora. I put down 3k on the car they were selling for 13k. I have that high interest rate and 24 months terms but, it was worth it. I pay 522 a month for this car and my pay off is already $7300. This cars blue book is close to my pay off and the retail is still around $11,900. The nice thing about CAC is that they force you to pay an extra 1k towards the car when you buy it. This extra grand is for a FULL WARRANTY. And trust me when I say this, this makes the whole thing easier to swallow knowing that if the car breaks down your not stuck with a lemon. I hate to admit to this kind of stuff. I used to qualify for some real nice rates. When our family tragedy happened though, they were the only ones who would give us a second chance. They alone with 6 months of reporting have made our scores go from 460 to 560. This my friend is the price I am paying for better credit. SnakeMan
