Post BK Auto Financing

Dj4Money · ‎09-23-2019

I had a devil of a time getting financing while still in BK.

Discharged on Sept 16, downloaded the pdf but have since got the hard copy from the court.

One car I was interested in locally was sold while I tried to make a decision. It was not the color I wanted and that's why I stalled. Snooze you lose...

When I go to Carvana it keeps coming up with information based on what I put in about a month ago. It won't reset until Oct 6th. I rather not wait because since Jan '19 I been renting cars and it's expensive to say the least.

I found one car in particular via Cars.com at Carmax but it's out of state. I know Carmax will deliver it to the closest dealership to me but that adds to the cost of the car and it's already near the thresold.

Inquired about another car, by the way all just like my previous car which had a listed price of $23,500. The finance guy told me I would have to put down $5000. That is with my discharged papers, which is miles better than $1,200 down for a car up to $7,000 from Carvana while in BK. Unpacking that means the bank will allow me to borrow $18,500, higher I have to put down some money. I have inquires from CPS, Capital One and some other company I haven't heard of.

I burned Capital One in my Chapter 7 so Auto Navigator is a no-go. I suspect things are different post BK with companies like CPS but I haven't tried again.

Any suggestions?

Dj4Money · ‎09-25-2019

I guess I'll start updating my own thread. I will add information to other threads such as auto approvals elsewhere on this forum.

Just spoke with CarMax after I applied. I am approved up to $14,000 which is similar to the last time I tried to do something with CarMax. They do have a car I want located in Texas but it's $18,869 not including the $599 it would cost to ship to the LA area. The approval came from Westlake Finacial, not surprised.

As I said before approved for financing on a car that cost $23,500 but wanted at first $5K down, now want $4K. I suspect they have dropped the price of the car some.

I think I just might have to do what I did last time and buy new.

Tuscani · ‎09-26-2019

It has not been two weeks since your DC. I suspect you would be getting all kinds of offers in the mail soon. What rates have you been quoted by Carvana and CarMax? Do you know your current scores? I suspect your reports have not updated yet. This is why you should wait that 30 days post DC. Even though you have the DC papers.

Dj4Money · ‎09-26-2019

@Tuscani wrote:
It has not been two weeks since your DC. I suspect you would be getting all kinds of offers in the mail soon. What rates have you been quoted by Carvana and CarMax? Do you know your current scores? I suspect your reports have not updated yet. This is why you should wait that 30 days post DC. Even though you have the DC papers.

Can't wait, won't wait. I spend thousands on rental cars. Since Jan '19 I have spent $1,100-$1,300 on rentals with a few months peaking at $1,500 a month. So how much have I spent on rental cars??? At least $10,000 Is that an insignificant amount of money????

My reports updated Sept 21st. Everything but my student loans are listed as BK Chap 7, ZERO BALANCE. Typically my EX scores are higher but that likely doesn't matter much now all my scores are low 500's.

The only offer(s) in the mails I have gotten is from Rock Honda in Fontana. Not interested in any Hondas and nothing interest me on their used lot.

The most expensive car I want cost $23,500. One bank said I have to put down $4000 (was $5000). That tells me the bank won't lend me more than $19,500 assuming 100% financing and won't go over that. That is likely related to my scores currently, fine. I can get the same car a years or two older for less than that or around that. The lowest is $11,777 however that car is White a secondary choice and it has 116K on it. There is one with 101K on it for even less but it's Black and I will not own a Black car if other options exist. There is one car I want that has dropped from $5000 down to $2900 that is Black and because it's cheap, I'll pay cash for it and take it. I don't and won't have the cash until I buy a car first.

New is an option as max is $20,500. I already missed out on a brand new 2019 Ford Fiesta ST loaded (Recaros, Navigation, Moonroof) Black with Black wheels, not my first choice but it had light hail damage for $16,300 with an MSRP of $26,300K, $10K off is a screaming deal.

I can get one of three 2018's outfitted the same way just a year older, still brand new for $20K.

I know I will get better rates on new vs used as none of the used cars are CPO's.

FireMedic1 · ‎09-27-2019

One easy question. What happened to the car you had when you filed?

BK Free Aug25

Anonymous · ‎09-28-2019

We discharged last Monday, and were able to purchase today. We struggled, but I REALLY needed to replace teh '03 Eclipse with 260k miles I've been limping.

We didn't want to buy something with a giant payment, and we didn't want something overly expensive. With our recent income upgrades, we wanted to stay under $12k so we could pay off in a year.

Our local Chrysler Jeep dealer was the ONLY ones to be able to pull this off without a giant down payment. We got a 2013 Jeep Patriot 4x4 for $250/month and it came in out the door under $9500. BB value was $12k. No trade in, no DP needed. Our CU will refinance us in 6 months at a lower rate (15% currently which sucks). But either way, it'll be paid off in a year.

So, it can be done. It wasn't the exact vehicle we wanted, but it does everything we need it to, and once we have a year of rebuild and savings under us we'll buy something nicer, and I'll keep beating this thing to and from work until it falls apart or I give it to my kid.

Dj4Money · ‎09-29-2019

They took it on Jan 29th.

I filed the first time in March but because I couldn't afford the filing fee, it was dismissed. But before it was dismissed the automatic stay forced them to issue a release form. Problem was my license was suspended for failing to appear. They won't release the car to me without a valid license. By the time I paid my fine and my license was reinstated, the release expired and the car was sold at auction while I tried to get another one.

Dj4Money · ‎09-29-2019

Working with a dealer is likely the way forward. Not shocked about a local Dodge/Chrysler dealer as DC financial is run by Santander and will issue sub-prime loans.

Lowest rates will come with Certified Pre-owned (CPO) and New. Risk factors will determine loan amount based on your FICO scores. In my case like I said it's around $20,000, give or take.'t

Some lenders won't touch me because I make money with Uber, Lyft and Postmates. When I bought my Focus ST, my scores were 700 so I wasn't asked for income verifcation.

The issue isn't price it's value. I can get what I want for $9500 for example. It will be high mileage but not so high that I can't get it refianced.

If it was just about getting a car I could have gone to DriveTime and got something. Carvana approved me but it likely would have been wiped away once they found my BK wasn't discharged yet. Carmax approved me for up to $14,000 but I was recently told that is dependant on a few factors.

Put another way a car I would want would be considered higher risk than the lackluster brands such as Toyota, Honda and Mazda.

I would even consider a Dodge Charger though I really think it's missing the point of that car if you don't get at least a Hemi. 6 cylinder cars often fall under $20K but Hemi cars at least the facelift model (2015 and up) Hemi R/T's are $21K. Enterprise has a few around that price.

Hemi's get so-so mileage though and since I make money driving my car around with either food or people in it I would save money but not nearly as much as if I get what I want which is 4 cylinder, turbocharged and performance oriented.

Dj4Money · ‎10-04-2019

Another update.

I talked to Westlake and they pulled up the HP CarMax made on me. I am approved up to 20K, the IR depends on what is financed, IE CPO's, New and preferred brands like Honda get the lowest rates. So getting a non-CPO car means getting the least expensive used car possible.

All CPO's (Focus ST's and Fiesta ST's) within a 1000 mile radius are gone/sold.

The other issue is lack of cash.

I've bought cars before without dropping a penny, even with a repo on my report (2015 Hyundai Accent Sport, brand new). At that time I was limited to $16,000.

We'll see.

Dj4Money · ‎10-08-2019

I was able to take my pre-approval from CarMax via Westlake Finacial to another dealer. I found a leftover 2017 car with 27 miles on it, price is $17542. However Westlake wants $3250, that is over the 10% they state for downpayment. That puts the loan amount at $16240; The bank that approved my loan on the Hyundai wouldn't approve more than $16K on a brand new car; they have since been bought out by another lender and you can't apply to them directly.

I was able to get the Hyundai without any downpayment. Fortunately I can force the price down more. There are a couple of dealers that are willing to go down further in price. Problem is they are far from here and money is extremely tight. I had to fly to Washington to get the Hyundai, one reason was I wanted a manual transmission and all the CA dealers had automatic.

Does history have to repeat? I'll come up with the plane ticket and gas money much quicker than $2-3K down, without working.