Auto loan after repo

[RedHairedLady]

Hello,

 

I am looking for advice on getting approved for an auto loan after a repo. My husband and I owned a minivan, financed through Ally Financial, which was repoed at the beginning of December last year. We fell behind on the payments because I have been laid off for over a year, with no luck finding another job, and my unemployment pay ran out in November. I was hoping we would be able to scrape up the money to pay off the past due amount, and get our van back before it was sold, but we couldn't do it. A family member was going to loan us the money to get it back, but he was unable to help us too, and our van ended up being sold at an auction on January 16th.

 

It's been a nightmare for us since our van got repoed. My husband works 25 miles outside of the city, and has been taking 3 busses back and forth to work each way, every day. It takes him 2 1/2-3 hours to get to work, depending on the weather (we're in Ohio, and are having a bad winter here). He can't deal with it much longer. Not to mention that if his shift at work changes (which it does periodically - he works in a factory), and he has to be at work super early, like 6:30AM, there's no possible way he'll be able to make it to work. I've been depending on a neighbor to take me grocery shopping every couple of weeks, and I'm tired of having to ask for her for rides. I don't want to be a burden on anyone. We also have two kids, and not having a vehicle has been extremely hard on them as well, as they're having to ride a bus (public transportation - they don't qualify for school busses) back and forth to work every day in this nasty weather.

 

In any case, we're in desperate need of a "new" vehicle, but keep running into brick walls. We applied for a loan through Roadloans/Santander/Drive a few weeks ago, just under my husband's name, as I have no income right now, and my credit is worse than his - his credit scores are in the high 400's/low 500's. We had a Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharged in 2004. We got approved for a down right awful loan - 25% interest, with $600 down, maximum 72 months, and $15,000 or less.

 

We talked to a saleman at a dealership a few days ago, that's supposedly a participating dealership with Roadloans. He assured us that we would be able to purchase a vehicle, so we managed to get up to the dealership on Thursday evening. After spending 3 hours there, being told we could buy a particular vehicle, then being told that one wouldn't work (for vague reasons), and going back and forth with various vehicles, having the dealership run applications for us through various lenders, having them tell us that we would have to come up with at least $1,000 for a downpayment (instead of the $600 Roadloans told us), etc., we went home with no vehicle, and promises that we would have some sort of loan approval on Friday. It's now early Saturday evening, and the dealership is supposedly still working to see what we can get approved for. The saleman just says that they are trying to find a vehicle that will "work" with the loan parameters.

 

Is it stupid of me to think that we might actually get approved for a loan? We're not looking for a brand new, $30,000 vehicle. We're looking for something $10,000 or less, that's reliable, not more than about 80,000 miles, not more than about 6 years old, and that has enough room for two adults and two older kids. We're not choosing about the type of vehicle or the make or model. Domestic, foreign, sedan, minivan, whatever. I just don't want a two door vehicle or a gas guzzling SUV. Basically we want something more affordable than the nearly $400 a month payments we had on our van (as it was a newer, certified preowned vehicle), and the interest rate was still rather high, at nearly 14%. When we bought the minivan in early 2011, I was also working full time, and we were in a better situation financially and credit wise than we are now. We also had a trade in then, a paid off minivan.

 

I realize we have the repo and the terrible credit, but my husband has been at his job for over 5 years now, we've lived in our current (rental) house for 7 years, and we have sufficient income to afford a $250-$300 or so car loan payment. Also, my husband was able to work quite a bit of overtime last year when we did have a vehicle, and he can go back to working more overtime, if/when we get another one, which will boost our income a lot.

 

I did read the many posts on Creditboards about Roadloans charging awful fees to dealers, that the dealers don't want to pay. I can understand that, but then why would a dealer agree to be a participating dealer with Roadloans in the first place then, if they don't want to eat the fees? If they can't help us, why not just be upfront with us and say so, instead of wasting any more of ours and their time?

 

I'm sorry for rambling. I'm just frustrated, and am wondering if we have any hope of getting another vehicle. We don't have any savings to tap into to buy a car with cash, nor do we have any family members or friends who can help us out with money for a substantial down payment, or who could co sign for us. There's also no family or friends who can lend us a car, no one my husband can carpool with to and from work, and we can't even rent a car temporarily, as we don't have any credit cards.

 

We could try a buy here pay here lot, maybe, but I'm afraid to go that route. Many years ago, before he established any credit, but desperately needed a vehicle, my husband got a car through a buy here pay here place, and the payments were about $300 a month for a very old car that needed a lot of work. I know he ended up paying way, way more than the car was worth. I figure even if we ended up with a horrible 25% interest rate on a decent vehicle, at least we could refinance elsewhere, after making a year or so of on time payments, and getting our credit cleaned up.

 

We can't afford to wait a few more months, and save up money for a huge downpayment or to buy a car with cash. My husband is losing out on a ton of overtime at work (which is all on weekends, when the busses don't run by his job), and we have critical doctor's appointments, etc., which we've had to put off, as we don't have a vehicle. We need a vehicle pretty much right now.

 

Am I kidding myself in thinking we might qualify for a halfway decent vehicle through a reputable dealer? Should I forget about Roadloans altogether? I'm afraid to try it at another dealer, for fear of the same results. I read here on Creditboards about some people having good luck using Roadloans at Carmax, but unfortunately there's no Carmax dealerships located any where remotely near where I live in Ohio. Any advice for us, from anyone who has bothered to read this very long post? Thanks in advance for any replies.

[MarvBear]

I think as long as the repossession is more than 12 months old, then most likely you can be approved. It may not be under the terms and conditions you want or expect. When your credit files is rather bad, then a prospective lender will tack on enormous fees to the transaction, making most vehicles not work because they have no profit in the deal. You would have to participate by giving up enough cash to make it happen based on the car you select and the approving lenders valuation of the selected vehicle.

[Ummmmm ...]

Wow, I feel for you. I have no advice, just support. Hang in there. I'm in a similar situation. Makes me feel a wee bit better just reading others' success stories on the boards sometimes, and hopefully we'll be reading your success story soon too!

[RedHairedLady]

Thank you both for the replies. The repo just happened this past December. Yes, I realize it probably sounds ridiculous that I'm trying to get another car loan two months later. But I feel like we don't have any other alternative.

 

I can't even go back to work (assuming I get offered a job) until I get a vehicle, because my son (he's 10) will have to go to after school care while I'm working, and unless I found a job in the neighborhood (which there aren't any), there's no possible way I could get up to his school by 6PM every day on the bus, to pick him up. When my husband and I were both working, and we had a vehicle, my husband was able to leave work at 5 and get to the school by 6 without a problem, to pick up our son from after school care. Now, with his formerly 35-40 minute drive home from work taking 2 1/2-3 hours on the busses, and him not getting home from work until well after 7PM, there's no possible way he could pick up our son by 6, either. I just feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

 

For MarvBear, if those Roadloans loans are so unprofitable for dealers, why do any dealers even bother to be listed as participating dealers for them? Why get potential buyers' hopes up? If they don't want to accept those particular loans, that's their right, but they shouldn't be listed as a participating lender, either then. I guess I'm just annoyed that the saleman told me over the phone that they could get us financed with that loan approval, but then everything changed after we got in the door. Maybe they just want to be listed as a participating lender to get potential buyers in, whether they'll accept that particular loan or not?

[MarvBear]

Roadloans is part of a particular lending group. Once a dealer signs a dealer contract you get the roadloans whether you want it or not.

 

Lets say you have a roadloans check for $10,000.00 and have the cash to pay for all the extras like tax tag title etc.

 

So the dealer got a 10,000 check. for a vehicle.

Vehicle cost from the dealer is 8500.00

 

Leaving a 1500.00 profit.

 

RoadLoans charges 2500.00 bank fee for taking the check.

 

Dealer loses $1000.00. So none of them got the nerve to look you in the eye and tell you how the program YOU selected actually works. And you can just bet RoadLoans aint gonna tell you.

 

So you gotta find a vehicle they own for a low enough value to eat the fee and make some profit, and most customers don't like to be told their choices are limited. They are not going to believe a car dealer, so they go to another one and keep getting frustrated.

 

Most dealers can help, but it requires you assistance and understanding and some patience.

[RedHairedLady]

Thanks for explaining that, Marv. I had no idea Roadloans had that fee setup before I went to the dealership. I can understand why a dealership wouldn't want to take the loan in that case. I was just frustrated that the dealer didn't just be upfront about it, and say that they can't finance a vehicle with that loan program. Then neither mine or their time would have been wasted.

 

And as I said earlier, I'm not being picky about a vehicle. I'll take pretty much anything at this point that's reliable and affordable. I don't need or want a brand new, $30,000 vehicle.

 

So, going forward now, do you think it's pretty much a lost cause to get financed anywhere with Roadloans? And if so, do you think I have any other options of getting a vehicle without having to resort to a buy here pay here place?

[MarvBear]

No not at all. You just gotta have some patience. A dealer's inventory at the very moment you walk into the store, might not have a vehicle that would work. But maybe tomorrow they would. At least they would be better IMO than a bhph lot.

[RedHairedLady]

Thanks, Marv!

[RedHairedLady]

No not at all. You just gotta have some patience. A dealer's inventory at the very moment you walk into the store, might not have a vehicle that would work. But maybe tomorrow they would. At least they would be better IMO than a bhph lot.

 

Just out of curiosity, Marv, what do you think the dealer fee from Roadloans would be on a $10,000 loan?

Edited February 3, 2013 by RedHairedLady