Financing an auto after a fresh chapter 7 discharge?

[riverbluffer]

Hello all!  I am due a discharge here within a few days from a chapter 7 BK and I am looking to finance a vehicle as soon as possible.  My score with Experian as of today (7/22/12) is a 487 and my discharge is just days away.  I am looking to purchase a vehicle no more than $20k and I do have a trade that will have about $7k positive equity to use as a down payment.  My monthly gross income is $4k.  What are my chances of being financed in this situation?  Are there any particular banks or finance companies you would recommend I try first?  Should I go straight to a dealership first?  Any other advice would be appreciated!  Thanks!

[Revelate]

I'm thinking dealership, or maybe roadloans... but really, if I had a runnable car, I'd try to wait in your situation.

[pizzadude]

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@Revelate wrote:

I'm thinking dealership, or maybe roadloans... but really, if I had a runnable car, I'd try to wait in your situation.

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+1.  What is the reason that you are trying to get another car ?  If you do find someone to finance now, you are going to be looking at a really painful interest rate.....

[riverbluffer]

I am just needing something bigger. I am driving a compact car at the moment and need to upgrade to a full size sedan to fit my needs. I don't need anything flashy or anything real huge such as an SUV or pickup. I've already budgeted a certain amount of money to be used for a car payment, insurance and upkeep. Of course I would look to refinance after I establish a good credit history and raise my score but I understand that I will be looking at high interest rates. Just one of the growing pains of getting back on track I suppose.

[Revelate]

If you need a car, you need a car.  Dealers can get just about anyone financed, I might try to save up another few K or consider a slightly cheaper vehicle but you can likely get approved somewhere... just try to make certain your new loan does get reported to the bureaus as you're going to need to be re-establishing positive history post-BK anyway.

I've seen some surprising things when it comes to recent BK's and auto-financing, so it's certainly possible.  Like you state, there's not a lot of choice but to suck up the ugly rate and refinance later on down the road.