Big Purchase Mistake - In need of serious help!

Like I said earlier, increasing the deductible to $1000 on both only saves
a total of 62.52 (or about $10 a month). Doubling the deductible does not
mean the premium is going to be halved.

-C

 

former insurance agent, son

word to the wise..... next time, find out a firm price on insurance,before
you sign for the car note.... make sure you can afford both

I drove crap until I was 25, got my first new car then



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This is a stretch, but have you looked to see if there are any different
State Fram agents in your area. I am also with state farm and when I
moved I had to switch agents. The guy I am currently with scheduled a
meeting with me and we went over all kinds of options to save me some
money on my 2 cars (daily driver and classic sunday driver). This is
something my last agent wouldn't even think of doing because he would
lose money. Like I said, it could be a stretch, but the agent can make
a big difference.

Nick
66 Dodge Charger
95 Eagle Vision Tsi



<to reply be e-mail, remove number one>


Chris Putnam wrote:

 

Chris I don't mean to be the bearer of bad tidings but.....
its not just you male 18-25 yrs old and single that is a problem with the
insurance companies.....check with the dealer to see if you can trade it in
on a car that doesn't have every car thieve around checking for high end
custom parts to steal from. Alot of the Dodge Neons where I live near
DC...are being stolen for custom parts. Alot of the teens around here are
getting them and fixing them up to be little race car look alikes.
rebuilding the damn things they don't even look like Neons when they get
done with them. Call your insurance company and find out what is the
CHEAPEST CAR to insure for YOUR age group...get a price quote and their
name. Then dump that Neon with the dealership another car...you might have
to take a loss but it be better then losing the car. Good luck kiddo you
need it. BTW....Honda anything isn't in your insurance price range....Nissan
Pathfinders big insurance no-no....Toyota Forerunner..again no-no..all are
on the car thieves hot list just as bad as your Neon.
P.S. Park the damn thing where you can see it so they won't tear the damn
stereo and dash out while you are trying to figure this out.

 

Almost any Buick will fill the bill!


Matt

 

LOL! I have a 89 Buick as my second car and it cost me 3$ to cover, my first
car is a Dodge Caravan 2000.

 

Along with Bill's suggestion to try the dealer you may also see if you can
trade the car down to them on a used car you can afford. Ideally you would
lose the new Neon and the long payments and added insurance and end up
driving away in an older car with a much smaller recalculated loan for a
much shorter time. The insurance on an older car is generally cheaper as
far as collision so instead of facing $500 a month for the car and ins for
the next 6 yrs, you may only be looking at $350 or so for 2 or 2 1/2 yrs.
Once the car is paid for you can drop the extra coverage if you want to. I
would not recommend trying a deal with another dealer or definitely not a
used car lot. Just the place you originally bought it.

If nothing else you walk away from the dealer if they won't work with you.
It's really a shame to see how you younger people are struggling to get by
these days.
--
Mike....................................................
"Opportunities are spawned from crisis"

Among your other plans for selling the car, include going back to your
dealer and explaining your situation and seeing what they will offer you
to buy it back. A long shot, but the worse that can happen is they say no
or low ball you (they may smell blood). You can always walk out too, but
nothing will be lost by asking.

Who knows - you may have a dealer with a heart. It could happen!

Obviously this should not be your only plan, but, seriously, it should be
one of them.

Bill Putney
(to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address
with "x")

 

What? basic coverage costs the same and is based on the place of
registration and the driver's experience and record. BUT there is no way
that collision and fire / theft / vandalism are the almost same price for
all vehicles. The premiums are based on the cost of repairing / replacing a
vehicle of particular value. If a carrier is potentialy going to pay off a
$15,000 claim they are going to charge more than if they only have to pay
off a $5,000 claim. Be nice if you could insure a new Lincoln Navigator
for the same price as a Kia Sophia but it doesn't even come close.

--
Mike....................................................
"Opportunities are spawned from crisis"
On 4 Feb 2004 20:55:23 -0800, (Chris Putnam)
wrote:


Well you have a bigger problem than just selling the neon. As I am
sure you are aware any car that you finance will have to have full
coverage insurance. There really isn't much difference in insurance
rates for a 5k car and a 15k car so lets assume you sell the Neon and
loose 3k (this is probably low) then buy another car that the
insurance is 50 month cheaper. It will take you 60 months to break
even.

 

Here is a solution although quite a stretch. Is anyone from Chris's area on
here thinking of buying a Neon? Would you have a problem buying an almost
new one with 2000 miles on it? I bet the warranty is easily transferrable.

Can't say we didn't try!!

--
Mike....................................................
"Opportunities are spawned from crisis"
I'm 17. My 1991 Ford Explorer crapped out on me, and we went shopping
for another car. Somehow, my dad got convinced that getting a new car
was the right idea. His reasoning was that the payments would be about
the same because of the way the financing worked out. I got a 2004
Dodge Neon SXT, with a sunroof and cruise control as options. I am
paying $230/month for it on a (stupid) 72 month period. I am not sure
whether the rate is fixed (probably not).

I'm in big trouble. I can pay for the car, but the insurance people
changed their tune AFTER the car was bought. We got a quote ahead of
time, and it looked like it wouldn't be that bad. Now that I have the
car, everything is going haywire. The insurance is costing around
$250/MONTH. There is no way that I can afford this. $240 for the car
is already steep for me. I'm just a teenager. I'm not like the little
rich kids at school that have everything handed to them. I have enough
to pay for my car, but the insurance is outrageous and it looks like
there is no way out of it.

The loan is in my mom's name, who lives in a different state. I got
insurance with State Farm for the time being, which is pretty high. I
tried talking to Geico and Progressive, but they can't beat the rate
State Farm is giving me (even though I have TONS of discounts).

I think I'm stuck with selling the car. My parents are stupid and I
have to do everything myself. My friend's parents are helping me and
it looks like I am going to have to get rid of it before its value
depreciates any more.

My question is, how much money am I going to lose? How does this
process work? I've put just over 2000 miles on the car. The car is
still in absolute mint condition. Not one scratch anywhere. I haven't
even gotten the oil changed yet (I was told to at 3000 miles).

I am begging for someone's help on this. I HAVE to work this out. I
can't afford this insurance. Please let me know what I am going to
have to do to solve my problem. If I haven't put enough information
here to adequately describe the problem, please e-mail me at
and I'll try to give you a better idea.

Thanks,
Chris Putnam

 

| Along with Bill's suggestion to try the dealer you may also see if you can
| trade the car down to them on a used car you can afford. Ideally you would
| lose the new Neon and the long payments and added insurance and end up
| driving away in an older car with a much smaller recalculated loan for a
| much shorter time. The insurance on an older car is generally cheaper as
| far as collision so instead of facing $500 a month for the car and ins for
| the next 6 yrs, you may only be looking at $350 or so for 2 or 2 1/2 yrs.
| Once the car is paid for you can drop the extra coverage if you want to. I
| would not recommend trying a deal with another dealer or definitely not a
| used car lot. Just the place you originally bought it.
|
| If nothing else you walk away from the dealer if they won't work with you.
| It's really a shame to see how you younger people are struggling to get by
| these days.
| --

Rufus, this is a excellent idea!

 

It's amazing how close they actually are when you are dealing with
numbers under 20k. Lets be really agressive and say that it cuts 50%
of his comp/collision by trading for a less expensive car and he only
looses 3k on the Neon. Break even point would be 45 months using the
figures the op provided.

Theres no easy way for him to get out of this one.. Mom and Dad need
to realize they screwed up and help the guy out here.

Steve B.

 

Okay, so it looks like I'm screwed and I NEED to sell the car.

Since the car is financed, what is the basic process I'm going to have
to go through to get rid of it?

Dealership?
Private Party?
Ebay Motors?

How am I going to get rid of this thing? I don't want to have it
Re-Po'd, but is that the only way to save myself from some sort of
huge debt, and will it ruin my mom's credit?

 

You need to bring your parents back into this, and this time I'd leave
it entirely in their hands. Especially your mom's, since she stands to
lose the most here if this isn't handled properly. She should be the one
making the decisions and taking the final action.

If you absolutely feel abandoned by your folks, I'd call the lending
institution that gave your mom the loan for this car, and ask to talk to
a loan officer there. That bank has a vested interest in seeing this
handled as well it can, so they may be willing to advise you.

And if your folks ever call you for help when you're independent and
able to help them, remember how they left you in the lurch on this. Then
just hang up the phone.

HellT

 

You can sell it any way you want, you just have to pay off the loan to
get the lien released to allow you to transfer the title to the buyer.
So at the time you sell, you need enough extra cash to add to the sales
price to pay off the loan.

If you let it get repossessed, it likely doesn't just end there. I
think probably ever car loan issued today is guaranteed by the signature
of the person taking out the loan, not just secured by the collateral of
the car. So, the bank holding the loan will repo the car, sell it, and
then come after you and your mother for the difference between what you
owe on the loan and what they sell the car for.


Matt

 

You mean they'll come after Mom if it's repo-d. It's really not a bad idea,
although I'm loathe to suggest it. The OP could even trade cars with Mom and
just tell her to pay for it and enjoy it.

There's been a lot of good advice in this thread, and I am wondering if the
OP has his own insurance and is not a driver on either parents policy. $3000
a year sounds about right for a 17 year old with full coverage and collision
on a new car, not on the parents policy. You and Dad need to look into both
of you moving to a new agent who is willing to insure you together.

After that, you should try to sell it any way you can. I suggest advertising
it in the best private party classifieds in your area. Check out your local
papers and also look for a local classified ad paper at the gas station.
Eventually you'll find something with a lot of local cars in it. Maybe the
dealer (any dealer) will help you out but I doubt it. I don't like ebay for
your situation - nobody would want to bid top dollar for a car online. It's
better as a buyer to test-drive a car and see it first hand. If somebody
agrees to buy it, you'll have to get the title released from the bank. There
might be a short delay while you do that, so ask the bank ahead of time what
it's going to be like.

If you run out of money, pay the insurance but not the car payment and tell
your Mother. You seem like a bright kid; you should be thinking about going
to college instead of worrying about your finances.

 

(Chris Putnam) wrote in

First thing you need to do is contact the company or bank holding the
loan and find out what the payoff is for the car.
This is the amount of money you will have to come up with to sell the
car and get the loan company to sign off on the sale.
You probably should see what restrictions if any, the lien holder has
on someone assuming the loan.
If the car is in excellent condition as you said, your best bet would
be to advertise the car in the local paper and any local sale or swap
rags and try to sell the car. You will have to come up with the cash
difference between what you can sell the car for and the loan payoff.
To get the current retail and wholesale value of your vehicle, you can
go on-line to Edmunds [www.edmunds.com] or other sites who have these
prices posted, they used to be free. Most local Banks will give you the
info for free also.
If you have never attempted to sell a vehicle you need to talk to some
people who have and get some advice before preceding on your own.
Under no circumstances do you let a stranger take the vehicle for a
test drive without you and a friend going along if you decide to try
this. Do not deal with anyone you do not feel comfortable being around.
Good Luck

 

Depends on the language in the loan contract, but I think there's a good
chance that the answer is yes.


Matt

 

No it's not. A 17 year old isn't the age of majority and cannot be
contractually
obligated. Why do you think he had to get his mother to co-sign? The car
dealer isn't stupid.

If the car gets repoed and someone starts calling him, as soon as they find
out
he's not 18 they are going to forget him and go after his mother. The worst
that
will happen to him is a black mark inserted into his credit history, which
frankly
isn't going to make a damn bit of difference nowadays since creditors don't
seem
to give a rat's ass about good credit anymore, they will finance anyone now.
Do
you know that credit card companies will issue credit cards to people who
have
just declared bankruptcy? It's rediculous.

Ted

 

Ted, read it again. What part of "come after Mom" in the very first
sentence didn't you understand? I never said they would come after him,
I was answering the question about would they come after Mom, and I
believe the answer is yes with almost all car loans in existence today
in the US.


Matt