Advice on buying a car and bankruptcy.

[idshabazz]

Hello everyone,

I went to the dealership and have the opportunity to get a new car. I'm having trouble deciding on what to do and was hoping to get some thoughts and opinions on others. Hopefully everything I'm saying makes sense and isn't babble 

1. I have bad credit, like 500's. I'm also signing bankruptcy papers on Friday (20th) for credit card debt. 
2. Currently, I loan a 2012 VW CC (110K miles/current payment of 333) which has negative equity. Owe about $6.6k and they said they'd give me about $4.5k
3. The dealership kind of took me for a loop saying I couldn't get the first car I wanted (2018 Camry SE) but offered me a base model of it (LE). After I declined the (LE) they then said I could get the (SE) but it would be a higher payment of $790. That was a big no and they dropped it down to $550 with a 36-month lease (for the SE). The SE is about $28.9K. I was kind of annoyed that they told me no in the first place, but I guess that's how dealerships work. I told them I'd think about it and I have to give them a yes or no on Monday. My sister says I should walk away from the deal or at least shop around now that I have an offer. 

My questions to you all are. 

• Is this a good deal considering my cars current value and credit score. Should I shop around?
• Is this a stupid idea in general since I'm filling? I'm going to call the lawyer on Monday just to make sure me doing this doesn't mess anything up.

Any thoughts are helpful. Thank you!

[gabeerwin]

I am likely missing a lot of details but....your are filing bankruptcy, which means you’ve decided that you are unable to pay your bills and need the courts to eliminate the debt for you and you want to know if it’s a good idea to go lease a $28k car just days before you file?

So what’s your plan on explaining the new lease to the trustee during your 341 meeting? You have to honestly state all of your debts, income etc under oath... perjury isn’t fun and comes with fines up to $250,000 and 25 years in prison.

Presumptive fraud is when you rack up new debt prior to filing bankruptcy (typically 90 days before you file). The trustee won’t like that and your attorney should have explained that to you already.

With all that said, you have to know how bad of an idea this is, right?

[idshabazz]

Thanks for your response. 

From the searching I've done, I couldn't find out what the best answer to getting a car before filing. The only reason I entertained the idea is that I don't know how much longer my current car would last and I've heard it's hard to get a car after. I'll just have to hope my car makes it a couple more years. In no way was I trying to get around the system, I will not be getting rid of my current car with the bankruptcy, so I didn't know if it would make an impact.

Thanks again for your information. It was helpful. 

[Anonymous]

This is a bad idea. As was said already, you can not enter into a new debt obligation a week before you file. You will almost certainly end up having your case dismissed and you will be even worse off. Part of bankruptcy is fixing the habits that made you file in the first place. Insisting on the higher trim vehicle does not fit the narrative that your just after a reliable car.( LE is not base model btw, L is). Forget about buying a new car, start saving money for repairs if/when you need them.

[Anonymous]

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@idshabazz wrote:

Hello everyone,

I went to the dealership and have the opportunity to get a new car. I'm having trouble deciding on what to do and was hoping to get some thoughts and opinions on others. Hopefully everything I'm saying makes sense and isn't babble 

1. I have bad credit, like 500's. I'm also signing bankruptcy papers on Friday (20th) for credit card debt. 
2. Currently, I loan a 2012 VW CC (110K miles/current payment of 333) which has negative equity. Owe about $6.6k and they said they'd give me about $4.5k
3. The dealership kind of took me for a loop saying I couldn't get the first car I wanted (2018 Camry SE) but offered me a base model of it (LE). After I declined the (LE) they then said I could get the (SE) but it would be a higher payment of $790. That was a big no and they dropped it down to $550 with a 36-month lease (for the SE). The SE is about $28.9K. I was kind of annoyed that they told me no in the first place, but I guess that's how dealerships work. I told them I'd think about it and I have to give them a yes or no on Monday. My sister says I should walk away from the deal or at least shop around now that I have an offer. 

My questions to you all are. 

• Is this a good deal considering my cars current value and credit score. Should I shop around?
• Is this a stupid idea in general since I'm filling? I'm going to call the lawyer on Monday just to make sure me doing this doesn't mess anything up.

Any thoughts are helpful. Thank you!

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Stupid idea in general.

Your current car isn't really upside down . . whatever they offer on trade in is always going to be lower than what it is actually worth. Keep it.

[mavric]

This all come's down to what chapter BK you will be filing . A ch 7 ,yes bad idea ,But it will not be that bad to get a car after the BK .  A ch 7 last about 90-120 days.

  A ch 13 BK it is a good thing .   In ch 13  you just add the payment  to your repayment plan.  A ch 13 can last 5 years  , so you need  to have reliable auto .      You just don't need a high end payment or high end car the trustee might not go for it.

   The first thing my attorney ask us was if my car would last 5 years.     

[Kree]

I don't think 25-30k loans are in your best interest.  You can get some brand new cars for under 12k.

Or reliable used cars for 4-5k

[idshabazz]

Thank for the response!

Yeah, it was a stupid idea. I called the dealership and told them I didn't want the car. I just needed to hear from others that it was a stupid idea to stop me haha.