Ford Credit Came Through For Me

I filed for bankruptcy in November 2001 and was discharged in March 2002. At the time I voluntarily surrendered my Mazda Protege because money was still tight and I was carpooling with my roommate since we worked for the same company.

Then last week I landed a job making quite a bit more money and needed a new car pronto. I had attended the Stephen Snyder "Credit After Bankruptcy" seminar and he had recommended Ford Motor Credit as a source for post bankruptcy auto loans. Since I was a little leery of American cars, I tucked that bit of information in the back of my head and started making the rounds of the dealerships on Saturday. I did exactly what Stephen suggested and spoke to the finance managers first to see if I could get financed. I was smart enough to pull all three of my credit reports to avoid inquiries so it was fairly easy to just ask a few quick questions. Granted, they sure tried hard to sell me a car and pulled the "If I can do this...will you do buy today" stunt constantly, however I wanted a firm answer on the financing and the terms. When it finally got down to the nitty gritty the best they could do was 18% with 20% down. When we tried to run the numbers with my roommate as a cosigner (her scores are all in the 700s and she pays her balances in full each month), the best I could do was 12.9% with 20% down.

So on Sunday I trotted my butt down to the local Ford dealership that Stephen Snyder had recommended and test drove a 2-door/4-door Focus Hatchback and Station Wagon then went home and researched the Focus on the web. Decided I liked the Station Wagon and decided to see if they could finance me.

Monday morning I spoke to guy in Special Finance whom I had met at the "Credit after Bankruptcy" seminar, described my situation, told him what kind of car I was looking for and asked him if he could get me financed. He told me to fill out the online loan application and he would see what he could do.

I waited and I waited and I waited and just when I was just about to throw in the towel, Ford called. "Yes, we can get you financed, but you have a choice since the Focus has special incentives right now"

A) 15.9% APR, but you would get the $1500 rebate
B) 12.9% APR, no rebate and I would need to put $1000 down
C) 2.9% APR, no rebate and I would need to put $2000 down

You can guess which choice I made...."C"....Actually I put down $2500 to get my payments just under $300 even though I was qualified for payments of nearly $500.

So last night I became the owner of a French Blue Ford Focus Station Wagon named "Noelle." She's the very first American car I've ever owned and I hope she will give me many years of pleasure. I'm very pleased with my experience with Ford and I appreciate the opportunity to rebuild my credit. I'm also thrilled over the fact that will be paying less than $1300 in interest over five years for "Noelle"....2.9% is an unbelievably low interest rate for 60 months...esp. for someone less than two months after bankruptcy.

Now that I have a post-bk car loan and credit card (Target Visa - $4000 - 15.9%), I'm going to just sit back and keep my nose clean, pay my bills early and build my nest egg. My next goal is a house in 2-3 years and with luck, I'll be able to pull it off.

Cynthia
Bk 3/12/02
EQ 671
EX 643
TU 624

 

BTW...

If any of you live in or near Orange County, California, I would highly recommended Santa Margarita Ford in Rancho Santa Margarita. Ask for Jeff Cohen or Steve Newlin in Special Finance. I met both of them at the Stephen Snyder seminar (who had interviewed/recommended them) and they took great care of me. They took care of most of the paperwork over phone and via fax so financing was in place when I showed up at the dealership.

You can check out their website at:

http://www.santamargaritaford.com

 

I got the Target Visa after my bankruptcy was discharged (3/12/02). I applied for the Visa, although I expected to get the Guest Card. I was shocked and very pleased by the result. My scores the day I applied were:

EQ 652
TU 627
EX 612

My scores as of today are:

EQ 671
TU 624
EX 643

The only explanation I have for the fairly good scores is I had excellent credit prior to bankruptcy. I was never late (I was current on every one of my bills the day I filed) and before I got into serious financial difficulties, I always paid my balances in full. I had several credit cards and car loans plus a mortgage (house sold in 99) which gave me a long credit history. Even now my credit reports show 34 accounts of which 4 were included in the bankruptcy. The rest were closed by consumer or show paid as agreed or closed in good standing.

However while I've lucked out in getting an unsecured credit card and a car loan at 2.9%, I know I'm not very lucky but I owe a great deal to what I learned here on CreditNet and what I learned at the Credit After Bankruptcy seminar. If you have the opportunity to attend or can get a hold of the book, I would highly recommend it. However the best thing you can do is become addicted to CreditNet and listen to the oldtimers and your scores will rise.

Cynthia
BK 3/12/02
EQ 671
EX 643
TU 624

If I persist, if I continue to try, if I continue to charge forward, I will succeed -- Og Mandino

 

Re: Please Remind me what I'm doing

No...you just need to keep on reading. Knowledge is power. If I hadn't known any better, I would have ended up paying 18% instead of 2.9% on my car. That's a payment of $420 vs $297...$123 difference. Also I would have had to come up with $4000 instead of $2000 (actually the finance manager said he could squeeze me in at $1800, but Ford would like $2000 better).

 

Re: Please Remind me what I'm doing

Let's see...

My first credit card was a Household Visa that I was an AU when I was 20 so that was 18 years ago. The next oldest would be my first car that was cosigned by my mom in 89. B of A sent me a Visa two months after I got the car. Later on I got some department store cards (JC Penney, Montgomery Ward, Lane Bryant, etc.), 2 Citibank cards, 2 student loans, a mortgage in 1994, a Honda Civic in 96, a Toyota Camry in 99 and a couple of personal loans from my old credit union. Oh and of course when you buy a house you "NEED" a Sear card and a Home Depot card to fix up the place (it was a new house and it needed landscaping, draperies, furniture, the works).

So my credit history began around 1984, but it was in full swing right after I got my car in 1989 when B of A sent me a Visa

 

Re: Please Remind me what I'm doing

Actually I had a lot of fun with B of A

I had opened my saving account with them at the tender age of 16 and my checking account with them at 20. So when it came time to buy my very first car I trotted my butt down to B of A to apply for a car loan and got turned down flat for lack of credit history. Didn't matter that I had $3500 to put down on a Corolla costing barely $10000. Didn't matter that I was a long time customer in good standing. Didn't matter that I had a credit card. I just wasn't good enough. The loan officer suggested I go to the dealership since they were used to using "finance companies" all the time.

:::::::creepy music playing in the background:::::

So Mom and I head down to Toyota, find my Toyota and proceed to haggle back and forth for it seems like hours. Finally we kiss...we make up...I write them a check for $3500 and I'm financed for 60 months at $175.

One month later I receive my coupon book and guess who is financing my car....BANK OF AMERICA. After Mom and I stop rolling on the floor in laughter, I proudly write my first check and mail it off two weeks early.

Two months go by and while I'm at work Mom gets a call from B of A. They're calling to say that the loan application I had submitted has been denied. Stunned, my Mom asked the rep to repeat what she just said and the rep said my car loan wasn't approved. Now thankfully my Mom doesn't lose her temper quickly so she quietly asked the rep, "So Cynthia will get her $4000 back when she returns the car, Right????"

Dead Silence......."$4,000???"

"Yes, Ma'am. My daughter put down $3500 and has made three payments of $175. That's $4,025. We'll skip the three months in interest, but she'll expect a check when she returns the car. When would you like her to return the car?"

Dead Silence......"Ma'am....can I call you back in a few minutes?"

That was 13 years ago and we're still waiting for that call <weg> B of A never did call back and two weeks later I got a B of A Visa in the mail completely unsolicited with a $2000 credit limit. The Corolla has long since been paid off and my Mom owns her (has 93,000 miles on her) and she represents a running joke in the family.

When I got home that night and my Mom told me what happened I was freaked that I would have to turn in my beloved first car. However she wisely pointed out that B of A was too smart to ask for the car back if they had let you keep it for three months and knew the financing wasn't good.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh the wisdom of parents.