At loan with spouse after chapter 7 discharge

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone. I am new to this forum and looking for advice. I am currently waiting for my chapter 7 discharge. I am married but did a single file because my wife's name wasn't on any of the debt. She has wonderful credit. I am going to surrender my car since I owe about $10,000 more than it's worth. That being said, we will need a new car after the discahrge. Surrendering the car is our way of getting out from under it and getting something more relaible and that will fit our family better. My wife is a stay at home mom so she can't get a loan by herself. We have talked to our credit union and they said we should be able to get a car loan right after the discharge, but can't guarantee anything because of the bankruptcy. Has anyone been in this situation and been able to get a loan? I'm trying to avoid getting financing through a dealership. I saw something about the Capital One blank check program. Does anyone have any advice on that?

Also, any advice on how to get my credit to bounce back would be greatly appreciated. Currently I have a credit score of 601. I filed in August of this year and the discharge will be complete in December. I had two Navy Federal Credit Cards plus a personal loan with them. I had one 1st Financial Bank credit card, one bank of America card, and one Chartway Credit Union card. I currently bank with a different credit union.

Thank you so much for any advice you can give me.

[Anonymous]

In many cases you can keep your car *without* reaffirming it so long as you continue to make the payments. Have you checked into this? If this is an option, I would keep the car you have for another 5-6 months as you start your rebuild and get your scores up. Buy another car when you qualify for a good interest rate. Then stop paying on your current car and tell them to come get it. It would already have been included in your bankruptcy, so no harm no foul to you.

If that isn't an option, pay CASH for a car to last you a year while you rebuild. A couple grand will do the trick.

Do not rush back out and get another crappy car loan after discharge that you will be underwater on. BK is a fresh start. Don't run right back in!

[Kree]

I thought spouses without incomes could still claims "household" income, regardless of if the loan is single or joint. But I haven't had to deal with that directly, so could be wrong.