Hello,
First of all, I wanted to thank you for offering to provide some very valuable education. I will have to admit that my case is very complex. In 2011, I was a victim of being swindled by a used car dealership. I was far too trusting and I was sold a vehicle that by standards of safety should not have been sold to anyone. The vehicle had signs of a damaged head gasket and/or a catalytic convertor and had an oil leakage in the spark plug housing. It also had severe alignment problems. The oil could have easily been detected with a simple tune-up, so it’s safe to assume that the car was never inspected prior to sale. In total the car needed approximately $3000 in repairs prior to sale. I was given a warranty that was subpar at best.
In Ohio, we have a popular dealership that is frequently advertised called Ganley and unfortunately I mistook popularity for reputability. It was only later that I realized that were many complaints made to this dealership.
The car was a 2007 Chevy Aveo LS that was listed as $7,500 and I was also given a 25% interest rate because my credit was not good at the time. Unfortunately, the car began to deteriorate very quickly and it literally broke down a week after I purchased it. After hooking the car to a diagnostic machine and receiving a tune-up reading, it was when the oil was discovered. The dealership said that there was nothing that they could do, so the only thing I could do was keep draining the oil and keep making payments. After another few months, the radiator had be replaced and the engine problems greatly diminished gas mileage at the time when gas was $4 a gallon.
Despite the problems, I kept my making payments. As time progressed, the car became increasingly unsafe and I tried to trade out of it. It was then that I found out that the car was worth way less than what it was sold to me for and was actually worth $3500 at the most. With the mechanical problems, the vehicle was worth barely over $1000. I was also sickened to learn that despite paying over $6,500, only a few hundred went toward the purchase of the car. Needless to say, I was extremely upside in a car loan for a vehicle that when driving it was like playing Russian Roulette. I contacted the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General for help and they sent me to AutoCap and there was no help to be found. Apparently and unfortunately, the state of Ohio offers no such protection for consumers. I essentially purchased a death-mobile and there was nothing I could do.
In March of 2013, the vehicle had gotten so bad that I couldn’t even drive it. After tax time, I had a refund of $2,500 and tried to apply for a loan with that entire amount to put down. My credit had even approved because of the continuous payments. I still could not trade out of the car. I knew that it would not be wise to continuously invest the money into a vehicle that was essentially a ticking time bomb, so I had it towed back to the dealership.
Despite pay literally paying 6 times more than the car was worth, the loan company demanded that I keep paying for the vehicle even after it was returned and sold. They even threatened to garnish my wages. They had already damaged me enough, but they refused to let my suffering end. I did the only thing I could do and I filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in April of 2013 and it was discharged in August of 2013.
In August, I was able to purchase a certified 2013 Toyota Corolla from a more reputable dealership. I really love the car, but I was given an interest rate of 20%. I have continuously made payments and I have improved my credit significantly. In fact, my Experian credit score is 735. The Transunion and the Equifax scores are in the higher 600’s. I last saw a 650 Transunion score and a 675 Equifax FICO score.
So far I have paid $7,193.32 toward the vehicle, but the current loan company has applied only $2,736.34 of that while $4,456.98 went toward interest. I owe about $17,850 on the vehicle with approximately 30,000 put on. I desperately need to refinance. My primary goal is to pay off the vehicle before my student loans are due. I am currently earning my Masters and I don’t want to have both loans to contend with. In both instances, I have proven myself as responsible, but I am still being punished because I allowed myself to be swindled. In each month I paid extra and early. During one month, I paid $300 above my car note of $497 and they put almost all of that extra money toward interest. Thanks to my PNC account and Microsoft Excel, I now have a record of how each of my payments were distributed. I tried once to refinance last December, but I was denied. I desperately do not want to be denied again. Income tax time is coming again and I know that I definitely will put at least an extra $1000 toward the principle of the car. Could that money serve as a down payment to bolster a loan application? Also how does one calculate to see if too much money is being put toward interest? When would be the best time for me to refinance? Any advice you could give would be most greatly and sincerely appreciated. I look forward to hearing back from you are anyone who may know of some advice.
Kindest Regards
