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Smart Shopper Making Car Payments in Hard Times
49 messages, Last post on Mar 01, 2009 at 10:26 AM
You are in the Smart Shopper Forum. Your Hosts are kirstie_h & tidester
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Replying to: dtownfb (Jan 27, 2009 1:24 pm) I think the only lender attached to a car manufacturer I've dealt with is American Honda Finance. They've been OK. I've dealt with them three times.
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Replying to: fezo (Jan 27, 2009 3:25 pm) |
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Replying to: jocuto (Jan 25, 2009 7:31 pm) Laying aside the question of who is at fault for your current situation, let's talk about what actions you can take.... What's the difference each month between your old payment and your new payment? It looks as if you borrowed about $25,000 ( $570 per month for 60 Months  13%) Using the same calculation ($25,000, 60 months, 9% interest) it looks like your previous payment was roughly $ 520 per month. What can you do to cut expenses $50 per month? Do you have a second job, or is one possible for you? Do you have a tax refund coming? You're going to need to make these higher payments, at least for a while. If you don't you'll probably end up losing your car and making your credit even worse in the process. Those will make it even harder to get a new car loan, particularly in the current climate. You're going to have to find a way. While you're doing that, you need to start writing letters to Chrysler Financial. There are two reasons for writing rather than calling. 1. It's very unlikely that you are going to get to talk to anyone on the phone who has the authority to adjust your loan rate. 2. You're very angry right now, and frankly, that's not going to help you negotiate. You're not going to be able to force Chrysler Financial into doing anything for you. You need to write so that you can tone some of your bitterness out of the equation. Your letter needs to state the facts - that you have been making payments, and that you're willing to continue, but are currently unemployed. The increase in payments is a hardship which makes it unlikely that you'll be able to continue making them. Ask if you can arrange to make either partial payments, or adjust the terms of the loan in some fashion at least on a temporary basis. Ask for an appointment with someone to discuss the matter in person. If you get that meeting be sure to have all your bills, and bank statements with you and be able to show that you're taking steps to meet the higher payment. Show them that you're sincere in wanting to pay off the car. This might work, as Chrysler Financial doesn't really want to repossess your car - they've got more than they know what to do with already. But remember, they don't HAVE to do anything, and if they take your car and sell it at auction, you're still going to owe the balance. Yup - you got an amount of MONEY, not a car from them. No matter what happens with the car now, they gave you a certain dollar amount and they will want to recoup that. So, be polite with them, and be reasonable. Good luck.
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Replying to: lokki (Jan 29, 2009 12:29 pm) |
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Replying to: lokki (Jan 29, 2009 12:29 pm)  tidester, host SUVs and Smart Shopper |
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Replying to: morin2 (Jan 23, 2009 3:08 pm)
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Replying to: ronvpr (Feb 18, 2009 12:35 am) And you feel giving loans to foreign makes making cars here in the States and employing thousands of US citizens is a bad thing? For someone so anti-"Japanese," I have to wonder why in the world you purchased an Odyssey. |
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Replying to: qbrozen (Feb 18, 2009 5:51 am) From what I get, you must sell Subaru's, never owned a domestic badged vehicle in the last 20 years, and would walk over your injured mother to grab here purse to clean it out. Why would I want to give my tax money some foreign company that profits are gong OUT of this country ? I was stupid enough to buy a PROBLEMATIC HONDA (never again I tell you). Someone recently really opened up my eyes to the whole buying import car only idea. And I will probably never buy another import brand again knowing what I know now about trade, currency manipulation, and tax breaks we are giving to import car companies in our own country. All the while when Japanese and Koeran countries do everything possible to keep our vehicles out of theirs. Why would I want to be a part of weakening our countries economic future anymore than it already is? I'm done supporting Japan. I live here. I work here. I wan't all of my money to stay here with vehicles designed, engineered, tested, sourced, and manufactured here. I don't want my children to have to grow up and have the only choice of vehicles be foriegn nameplates.
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Replying to: ronvpr (Feb 20, 2009 12:21 am)
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Replying to: qbrozen (Feb 20, 2009 4:58 am) |
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Smart Shopper Making Car Payments in Hard Times
