Need advice, suggestions......

[wudnhed]

We have a 30 yr. old daughter who filed bankruptcy a few years ago because of a boyfriend situation. Thru hard work she became an EMT and got a government job with the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) in our dunes. She has a 2002 Ford truck that she is upside down on but has saved some money and wants to buy a new vehicle. Problem is, the dealerships want a co-signer (me). As a parent I want her to get a car on her own and I don't want to co-sign anymore. Is there something she is doing - not doing???? I know people with bankruptcies get cars all the time, why can't she?????

 

[Paul in OKC]

Most of the ones that do go to the buy here-pay here type of lot, where they stick it to you with the interest, basicallyor end up with high interest from the dealer, if they let them buy at all. They basically hide the interest in high pricing the car. If the bankruptcy is very recent, there's probably not much she can do but ride it out. Kinda went thru the same thing with an ex about 20 yrs ago, just had to stick with what I had and let time 'heal' the wounds. Not fun, but it can be done, just have to be patient. (As much as I would want to help a child, I would not co-sign for one of mine!)

 

[twoofakind]

My brother is in finance at a dealership and I hear horror stories all the time about this. Try going to a bank first and see if she can qualify for a loan, make sure to mention that she has a down payment. She will still have a higher interest rate, but her having a down payment will help. Keep in mind that they will require people with a BK to have 10-20% down.
Andy

 

[Dario]

Help comes in different forms.

Sometimes co-signing is the best way...sometimes is becomes "enabling". You have to see where your daughter is and act accordingly. Blood is thicker than water but if you don't let them suffer a few falls, they might never learn to stand on their own.

Try this. If she can...set up a direct deposit of her salary to a bank (mine is a Federal Credit Union). Arrange a car loan from the bank after a few paychecks. Usually the bank cut a lot of slack when you do that and can get a nice interest from them too especially for a new car.

Good luck!!!

 

[GaryMGg]

Originally posted by wudnhed
<br />...She has a 2002 Ford truck that she is upside down on but has saved some money and wants to buy a new vehicle....

Herein is an important question for you to consider: Want vs. need.

IF the maintenance on the current vehicle is low, spending money on a new one is kinda frivolous. If it's not really needed (that is, it's mostly a WANT), ask yourself if she'd be better off NOT ending up with new payments. Upside down in a vehicle trade will likely result in being further upside down. Couple that with a low credit score to produce higher interest and then let the numbers talk to you both.

My wife & I typically drive our vehicles 10-12 years and put 250000+ miles on 'em. Those last 5-7 FREE years feel real good. Much better than a new payment. [^]

I wouldn't help my girls buy something their credit won't support on its own unless it was something that's actually necessary. That is, I wouldn't finance a WANT.

Just my $.02,
Gary

 

[DocStram]

There's been a lot of good advice offered. I have an additional question/comment. If you co-sign a car loan, doesn't that mean you're a co-owner? The title would be in both of your names? If so, taking this one step down the road (so to speak) .... Heaven forbid she is ever in an accident with the car .... and gets sued by the other driver ..... as a co-owner .... you are going to be sued as well.

Car accidents and lawsuits happen all the time. Just ask Ken Slimeball Nugent. "One call, that's all".

 

[huntersilver]

I co-signed for my daughters car about 7yrs ago. Unfortunately,
she began to have financial troubles and the collection agencies
were calling me at work. It hurt my credit report in a way that it
made my larger purchase more difficult. My credit score went from
780 to 590.

I had to get my daughter get the car refinanced. Now my score is just now getting back to where it was (after 7 yrs).

If I had to have done it over again, I would have goten a loan myself, somewhere, somehow, and loaned the money to my daughter. At least my credit would have stayed intact. Just be carefull[]

 

[ctwxlvr]

several dealerships here state they will get anybody a loan, all that is required is job checking and savings account and a trade or down payment. they deal with all types of credit problems, yo night see if they have those in your state?.

 

[mick]

If there is a local Credit Union She can join, they are much more lenient when it comes to past credit issues.

 

[bjackman]

If you value your credit, and are not willing or able to make the payments when/if she can't/doesn't you run a great risk of ending up in a similar situation to huntersilver.
As someone who looks at other people's credit reports for a living I know how hard the "coming back" part can be.
That said, it's your daughter and your choice, make it willingly, educated and understanding the possible results.