No Shiny New Car For You!!

[mattm04]

In my area their is a mix of nice high-end cars, regular cars and a frew old beaters. Their are of big mansions and mostly nice middle-class houses. Most of the residents have a "nice" car and a "regular" car. Many of my neighbors seem to make wise decisions or have worked hard and save up like I did to get a (used) fully loaded TrailBlazer, newer than my dad's Caddy. I suspect it might bother him that his currently in college son has newer can then he does.

[sms001]

"Poopie credit? No problem! At Xdealers we'll get you the car you deserve...."
(Local car dealer radio ad.)

Yes. They really say "poopie." But that kind of thinking goes to the heart of the OP and the heart of what is wrong with the turn consumerism has taken. I realize there is a financial model of profit behind extending credit to high risks, but I also remember my folks using lay-away to handle their high ticket items. You scrimped and saved and put some money toward something every week/month and when you PAID FOR IT, you got it. Has a LOT to recommend it.

[protege]

I suspect it might bother him that his currently in college son has newer can then he does.

Been there, done that. I'm sure it bugged my dad that I had a better vehicle than he did years ago. At the time, I'd just had the Tempo written off, and I'd seized the insurance settlement from him--why not, since he refused to maintain the car, and I was the one injured--and bought the Tercel with it, and my graduation cash from Grandma. Dad, who was out of work at the time, had to settle for buying my grandfather's shitbox Taurus....and then didn't take care of it.

Getting back on topic, there are *plenty* of shady car dealers here that say that no or poor credit is no problem. Not as many as in the past (because several have gotten busted for fraud), but they still exist.

[LifeCarnie]

My brother works as a real estate broker, he's got hundreds of SC stories. Mostly about how stupid people are when it comes to financing.

One of the classics I've heard was about this guy:

SC applied for a loan through the standard method and was approved for loan up to $290,000.

{In this region of the country, that'll get you into a condo or maybe a small starter home (less than 1000sq ft) with no land.}

The SC than went house shopping and found out that everything that he was interested in was more than $400,000.

SC than goes back to lender. Re-applies for a loan. Only, this time, he applies for what's called a declared income loan, which means, he tells the lender what he makes a year, and they don't even attempt to verify the income, they base his loan eligibility on his credit rating.

The SC has excellent credit and with the stated income he gave the lender, he gets approved for a loan of more than $400,000.

{I should stop for second and clarify that the declared income loans were originally intended for use by people like independent contracters (as in self employed), who don't necessarily have a clear cut payroll.}

So in this case. The asshat was already abusing the system by circumnavigating the loan process.

So what happened?

The guy got his house.

than

The housing bubble burst and the prices of houses dropped significantly. The SC's house, which he had purchased at an artificially high price, was now worth about $150,000 less than he had paid for it, due to to the market correction.

than

the loan payments became due.

SC eventually couldn't afford the loan payments, because he lied on the loan application, and his payments were almost as much as his total take home pay.

than

SC blamed EVERYONE involved with the loan process for his problem, because he now can't afford the house and he can't afford to sell the house.

That in a nutshell explains the mentality that created the housing credit crisis in this country.

The customer is always right and this guy got exactly what he asked for.

People sometimes look at me in shock when I get out my very worn out 6 month old credit card and tell them that I put everything on it. I only ever put on there what I know I can pay off by the end of the month and because the more I use it the more points I get to put towards cool things for myself.

I do the same thing and it's amazing how much money I save this way.

1.) I'm a lot more knowledgeable of where I'm spending my money.

2.) Petty cash seems to have a way of spending itself, not having the cash burning a hole in my pocket has actually made me more frugal.

[Daskinor]

There is no limit to what I seen people spend to maintain some image. Like the people who buy cheep cars to put in stereo speakers that are worth more then the car itself.

The best part is, they realise that bought a piece of crap, and try to sell it. With all that stereo equipment the car is worth LESS. Unless they can find a sucker who will take it privately.

I find there is nothing wrong with being frugal. I just bought a Volvo 97 850 for a few hundred bucks. Needed some engine work otherwise it is in good shape and only had 250k on it. I have had gone through 2 Volvo's with more mileage on it then this. I went to a 'pick it, pull it yard' and found an Volvo 98 v70 with all the parts I needed. Also the v70 came with all the factory engines including a Volvo 8 speaker stereo head unit with CD player, and the trunk mounted 6 CD cartridge unit, along with all the mounting. With a sideways glance I noticed the v70 had the elusive far rear speakers. Its like finding the final 2 cylons, because they are mega rare and not standard like the front 6. Overall it was a lucky and HUGE score. Total cost for parts I needed 60$, total cost of stereo equipment 80$.

15 hours of work later I have a working vovlo. With a toal 1997 luxurey setup. That cost me total with tax, title and tags. 680 dollars. Next up is a 250$ paint job( I know a guy, and I can do the prep work myself).

[Javarod]

"Poopie credit? No problem! At Xdealers we'll get you the car you deserve...."
(Local car dealer radio ad.)

Chuckles, "We have a couple funny ads running here right now, both describing how bad your credit is. 'Do the bill collectors have you on speed dial?' and the other 'Does the water company require a deposit before you can flush?'" Snickers, "That's some bad credit there."