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Making Car Payments in Hard Times

49 messages,  Last post on Mar 01, 2009 at 10:26 AM

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What is this discussion about? Car Buying, Car Financing, Automotive News

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#4 of 49 Re: Brother in law died, leaving his widow with payments [tidester] by fezo Jan 06, 2009 (6:48 pm)
Replying to: tidester (Jan 06, 2009 10:13 am) That agrees with most of my experience with lenders. They tend to be more than happy with someone who is calling them with a problem with the intention of making payments.   I had a couple of things that slowed payments due to health problems several years back and I was mostly favorably impressed with how it was dealt with. The one I remember most was American Honda Finance who let me skip a month and tacked it onto the end of the loan. That accomplished all I needed and they got their money.   That said I will say that things are a little meaner out there these days. It's good to hear the credi union doing the right thing. Replies to this message: oldfarmer50 (Jan 07, 2009 4:16 am) fezo (Jan 07, 2009 9:02 am) bvdj84 (Jan 10, 2009 7:26 am)
#5 of 49 Re: Brother in law died, leaving his widow with payments [fezo] by oldfarmer50 Jan 07, 2009 (4:16 am)
Replying to: fezo (Jan 06, 2009 6:48 pm) "...It's good to hear the credit union doing the right thing..."   I think they have an enlightened self-interest in these matters. The last thing a bank wants is your car. They would much rather have you be upside down with it than them. When you consider the cost to the bank of repoing and selling your car combined with the depreciation they are motivated to work with you.   The secret is to call the lender BEFORE you default on the loan. It amazes me how people in financial trouble will bury their heads in the sand until it's too late. Replies to this message: fezo (Jan 07, 2009 9:02 am) bvdj84 (Jan 10, 2009 7:26 am)
#6 of 49 Re: Brother in law died, leaving his widow with payments [oldfarmer50] by fezo Jan 07, 2009 (9:02 am)
Replying to: oldfarmer50 (Jan 07, 2009 4:16 am) Exactly correct. I've seen a couple of folks get car repossessed and one whose house got foreclosed. in all cases if they'd been up front about the problem they'd have survived it. The ones with the foreclosure had a bankruptcy before that. Their credit score must be in negative numbers!   A friend's daughter found out about how things work when they towed her Civic right out of her driveway in the middle of the night. She ended up getting it back but her mom had to work it out with her. If she'd told her mom in the first place it never would have gotten towed.   Banks don't want houses and cars. They're not in that business and especially now are depreciating assets. Work things out. Replies to this message: bvdj84 (Jan 10, 2009 7:26 am)
#7 of 49 Re: Brother in law died, leaving his widow with payments [fezo] by bvdj84 Jan 10, 2009 (7:26 am)
Replying to: fezo (Jan 07, 2009 9:02 am) exactly, I do agree. Working with your lenders and being upfront is a better option. They will be less likely to cause you to lose things. Now, I am not sure if I told the lease company for my car, that they would work out anything for me if I needed help. The contract would be hard to work around. I would have to transfer the lease to someone else. I have seen that before. But, that could take a long time.
#8 of 49 Possible layoffs looming by component81 Jan 12, 2009 (7:44 pm)
I might be unemployed by the end of March. This will be the third year in a row the company has done layoffs. I survived the first two rounds, but I could be on the chopping block this time. On the the point. I have an 18,000 balance on my loan, payments are 468 a month. I bought the car new, and am almost even with the private party value. (06 Subaru WRX) With no guarantee of walking into a job with the same pay, I would like to have a lower payment. Best idea I can think of would be to sell and buy a car around the 9-12k range. Am I thinking right, or should I be looking at another option? Replies to this message: euphonium (Jan 12, 2009 10:02 pm) qbrozen (Jan 13, 2009 9:50 am) fezo (Jan 13, 2009 12:02 pm) ronvpr (Jan 20, 2009 3:41 am) morin2 (Jan 23, 2009 3:08 pm) ronvpr (Feb 18, 2009 12:35 am) and 5 more...
#9 of 49 Re: Possible layoffs looming [component81] by euphonium Jan 12, 2009 (10:02 pm)
Replying to: component81 (Jan 12, 2009 7:44 pm) If you can negotiate or renegotiate your loan with your bank or credit union, do it.   You keep your WRX, continue to make payments, and the credit union won't have another vehicle on their list to sell or auction.   Talk to them now and see what they will do to help you. Good Luck.
#10 of 49 Re: Possible layoffs looming [component81] by qbrozen Jan 13, 2009 (9:50 am)
Replying to: component81 (Jan 12, 2009 7:44 pm) sooo... what are you down to? 3 years remaining?   refinance it now while you still have a job. It will extend the loan (let's say refi for 5 years), but if you still have a job, you can keep making larger payments and pay it off early. Replies to this message: fezo (Jan 13, 2009 12:02 pm)
#11 of 49 Re: Possible layoffs looming [qbrozen] by fezo Jan 13, 2009 (12:02 pm)
Replying to: qbrozen (Jan 13, 2009 9:50 am) I agree completely - refinance it if you can and stretch the payments. If things work out and you keep the job you can always pay the old loan amount and shorten the loan.   Selling the car would probably cost you in the grand scheme of things plus you'd end up in a car you don't like as much.   Best of luck.

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