Car Loan After Chapter 7 BK

[Anonymous]

Hello, 

I am new to the form but I have been reading threads posted for a few months now during my BK process. I would first like to say that I am so very happy to be apart of a community that shares the same experience as myself regarding the road to recovery from bankruptcy. 

I filed for BK in July and was recently discharged with 648 being my highest score from TU. I have done a few things to help my score including getting a secured card, opening up a Fingerhut account, and I was added to a very close friend of mines Amex card (she is very good with her credit). Before filing, my score was at 529 so seeing the increase in my score has been in exciting. 

In a few months, I will need new car but I am afraid of the results stemming from having the BK on my report. I want to at least get my credit score up to a 680 before making this move. I have decided that I want to purchase the car from Carvana by either using their financing options or seeing if I am approved for an auto loan with a credit union and using that to make my purchase. Do you guys have any advice you can give me on this process? Anything I should look out for or be prepared for? Are my chances of getting approved likely? 

[missy42]

Hi Demearld,

Congrats on your recent discharge!  While I don't have all the answers I do know that getting a car after BK 7 is not that hard.  You should have plenty of offers and since you've worked on your credit having a 648 is a good thing.  I would try cu first as they usual give the best rate.  I'm burning quite a few CU's so I'll be in the same boat but I have to wait to file.  Cap 1 financed me after my BK in 2007 at a 7.89% interest which was not too bad but I would say try anyone but them first.  Good luck and keep us posted.  You're on the right track keep up the great work!!!

[Anonymous]

I got a discharge on the 30th of Dec and chose to finance through Carvana. I ended up at 11.8% which is far better than a dealer could work out and I could not get approved by a CU or other bank. My scores are lower than yours though and my discharge is very recent. If you do have to finance through them, they pull EX Vantage Score and not FICO scores.

You can go on their site and pull your terms which is a soft pull and won't ding you - They are also good for 45 days so if you don't use it before then you can simply re-pull it at that point. They only do a hard pull when you go through the purchase process. Since it is a soft-pull you could always pull it just to get an idea of what their terms may be like with regards of DP/APR. 

[missy42]

Thanks for the info on Carvana. I won't be filing until early March so I have a while before I have to worry about the car. For now I plan on saving in hopes of not having to finance a car. I have a while and since I'm still paying my current car loan I'll be good until discharge. I think my lawyer said most work with you so I'm hoping I get at least two months after discharge. Time will tell. Glad it worked out for you. Try to get in with a CU now and refi as soon as possible. While 11.8% is not bad, you can get better deals within 6 months or more. Best wishes!

[Datx]

I got quite a few offers in the mail during my BK, and also even more after my BK was discharged. Also, Capital One has a pre-qual site you can use for their Auto Loan program. I was pre-approved with Cap One maybe 2 months after my BK was discharged. I still get auto loan offers in the mail, just got one yesterday. Give Cap One a shot to when you are ready to apply.