Bridge Crest Auto Loan dillema

[Gettingmycreditback]

Good afternoon all. As a long time lurker the myFICO community I have decided to join and work on cleaning up credit with hard decisions to make. One of my biggest decisions is a loan for a 2009 Toyota Camry that is worth way less than the loan which stands at almost 18k. Early on I missed a payment by one day about two months into the loan and the car was repossesed. I payed plenty to get it back the next day. It has been a uphill battle ever since. Right now I'm 90 days behind according to the bureaus resulting in a 450 credit score. I'm $1300 behind the eight ball. The payment and a half arrangement which works out to almost $700 dollars a month is killing me. I'm contemplating a voluntary repo but would need to secure a vehicle from a buy here pay here to continue working as I need a car for work. I contemplated asking my insurance company to total out the car since the alledged work Toyota says the car need exceeds 70% of what the KBB says it's worth, loan not withstanding. I don't know what to do so I'm asking for help. Any and all comments would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Loquat]

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@Gettingmycreditbackwrote:

Good afternoon all. As a long time lurker the myFICO community I have decided to join and work on cleaning up credit with hard decisions to make. One of my biggest decisions is a loan for a 2009 Toyota Camry that is worth way less than the loan which stands at almost 18k. Early on I missed a payment by one day about two months into the loan and the car was repossesed. I payed plenty to get it back the next day. It has been a uphill battle ever since. Right now I'm 90 days behind according to the bureaus resulting in a 450 credit score. I'm $1300 behind the eight ball. The payment and a half arrangement which works out to almost $700 dollars a month is killing me. I'm contemplating a voluntary repo but would need to secure a vehicle from a buy here pay here to continue working as I need a car for work. I contemplated asking my insurance company to total out the car since the alledged work Toyota says the car need exceeds 70% of what the KBB says it's worth, loan not withstanding. I don't know what to do so I'm asking for help. Any and all comments would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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Hi and welcome to Forum!

If I'm understanding you correctly, I want to let you know that an insurance company won't total a vehicle simply because you owe more than it's worth.  If that were an option they'd be bankrupt as a LARGE amount of the motoring public owes more than their vehicle is worth.  A vehicle can be totaled when it has been involved in an accident, theft, or acts of god that would cause an insurance company to have to act upon whatever policy you may have them them.  Again, simply being upside down on a loan is not grounds for totaling a vehicle.

[Gettingmycreditback]

Thanks for your reply Loquat. I read somewhere that if your repairs cost more than the car the insurance company would total it out but I guess that only pertains to accidents and acts of God. In any event I've been working with Bridge Crest but the phone calls are a bit much when I know what payments are due. I tried to refinance the car but because of late payments and it's underwater I can't get a new loan. I mainly hear that it being under water is the main reason. I even took a hard pull on my credit to see if trading in the car is an option but it doesn't make sense to pay a high note every month that would be more than the $700 a month I'm paying in catch up money to get the accunt current. I don't have a BK but I can't help but wonder if that might help my situation. I'm looking for advice on the lesser of two evils which is voluntary repo or BK on my credit. Either way its a hit but I feel trapped right now

[tricie17]

Bridgewater is a monster.  While I do not know your location, there are a lot of companies begging for your service however with your score being such, you need to take small steps to get higher scores.  Bankruptcy should only be used in detrimental circumstances such as medical losses, home foreclosures, job loss etc.  Since you are so far behind and voluntary repo works for you, talk to the company and state that you can pay only so much and cut that $700 payment in half (as long as you are paying something).  Start working on getting that score up if need be by secured methods or use the extra money to pay what you already have.  Use your money wisely.  Get a plan and stop giving Bridgecrest all of your money, they are taking advantage.  Also, Bridgecrest have something called GPS Tracker that they want people to download app and use. Make a decision on this useable.  I too had Bridgecrest with a 2012 Sorento $8000 car sold to me for $22,000 which is just ridiculous.  The crash thing is I did not realize it until I went to get another car and they pulled Edmunds on it.  Bridgecrest did not want their own car.  Moral of story "you are not alone".  NOTE:  Advice for informational purposes only.

[kiea]

I had BridgeCrest too but I could only pay them for 5 months and then I had to refinanced with SpringboardAuto.com.  I was paying $446.20 ($223.10 biweekly) for a 2015 Malibu and it was killing me.  I think you should look into SpringboardAuto.com.  My payments are now 310.00 a month.  They paid off Bridgecrest with 2 days after signing the paperwork.  Check their website out...Its a soft pull on your credit report and you are able to adjust your monthly payment once you are pre-approved.

[Gettingmycreditback]

Thank you so much for that info. I appreciate it

[DaveInAZ]

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@Gettingmycreditback wrote:

Thanks for your reply Loquat. I read somewhere that if your repairs cost more than the car the insurance company would total it out but I guess that only pertains to accidents and acts of God. In any event I've been working with Bridge Crest but the phone calls are a bit much when I know what payments are due. I tried to refinance the car but because of late payments and it's underwater I can't get a new loan. I mainly hear that it being under water is the main reason. I even took a hard pull on my credit to see if trading in the car is an option but it doesn't make sense to pay a high note every month that would be more than the $700 a month I'm paying in catch up money to get the accunt current. I don't have a BK but I can't help but wonder if that might help my situation. I'm looking for advice on the lesser of two evils which is voluntary repo or BK on my credit. Either way its a hit but I feel trapped right now

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Yes, only if repairs from an accident cost more than the car is worth with collision insurance, or comprehensive insurance coverage for things like a tree falling on it. Collision and/or comprehensive coverage doesn't cover ordinary repairs, like needing a new transmission.

And you need to realize the insurance company will only pay you what the car is worth (as in book value), not what you owe on it. To cover the car for what you owe when you owe more than it's worth you need special insurance coverage called gap coverage, as in the "gap" between what it is worth and what you owe..

[Anonymous]

I can tell you for certain, you are definitely not alone! I purchased a vehicle it was $11,000 and my bottom line is $26,000. I tried to make changes to have my due date changed - to match the 2 days a month I get paid after my new job started. They informed me I had to have the account for six months before they could make any changes. After I had the account for six months, I called Bridgecrest customer service and spoke with a customer service rep, she told me the dates have been changed. About one and a half weeks later I pulled up my account, and the dates did not change. I called customer service to find out what happened, and that's when I found out it wasn't changed - that it would cost me an extra $40 a month to have my due dates changed.  That is more than the $15 late fee if it is 3 days or more past due.  Obviously, I told them not to bother.  I have told them several times, and do not understand why it was never notated on the account I get paid twice a month, and I literally make a payment every single paycheck. I too am trying to pay a little bit more twice a month to get one car payment ahead. If you happen to find out anything really good, please let me know. Thank you for your input!