Ack. Bleck.

[featherynscale]

Car bill will run approximately $300. I think that puts me at about $1800 in repairs for the past 6 months, which is equivalent to a low-end car payment.

On the bright side, the guy at the shop thinks he knows someone who is looking to buy a small car for cheap. I told him to talk to this alleged guy and see what he'd give me for the car. I have to imagine that this will be a better deal than whatever they're willing to give me in trade at the dealership. In any case, it's nice to have another option.

EDIT: Bonus round. I can't get a loan for a vehicle. The PARADE OF FAIL continues.

Comments

[otterkin.livejournal.com]

Nah, there's just people who will give you a credit card with a $30,000 limit and 0% interest for six months...

I'd try a couple other places before giving up completely. Also get your free credit report; it's possible there's something on there that shouldn't be. And it can't hurt to ask your bank what, in particular, scared them off; it might be something you can fix. I was told once that canceling credit cards I don't use (mine were those "sign up for the card today and get 15% of your purchases" ones) would make people much more likely to give me a loan.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

I don't have any credit cards. The thing that makes me ineligible is a bankruptcy filing from 2005. That's legitimate, and not coming off the report any time soon. There's nothing else on the record at all.

[otterkin.livejournal.com]

Actually, NOT having credit cards is probably hurting you at this point. The only thing on your credit history is bankruptcy, so you need to prove you can make payments. It's dumb - you'd think staying solvent would be enough reason to think you're a good bet - but they want to know you can handle *credit*, not cash.

I guarantee you can get a credit card. So get one, charge $20/month on it, and pay it off each month. This will start to build up your credit to show you can actually handle it, in a language creditors understand. My dad went bankrupt a while back, and it didn't take 10 years for him to get another loan...you just have to play their game a bit.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

Since 2005, I have tried to get a credit card three times, and been denied. Two of these were "secured" cards, where you give them money equaling the credit limit on the card up front. One was a normal card, and I was not alarmed to not get that one. The other two were... an odd experience. :(

[otterkin.livejournal.com]

Wow, that *is* strange! Have you considered talking to a real "credit advisor" kind of person? It sounds like there's something different going on here...

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

I didn't know there were such people. How do you suppose one goes about finding one of them?

[otterkin.livejournal.com]

I'd ask at the bank first. Be careful of "credit counseling agencies" - they can be shady. Ask to speak to a loan officer at your bank, and if they can't help you directly, I bet they can recommend someone.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

The credit counseling agency people I have spoken to in the past, before I filed. They wanted me to just pay them all the money, but they wouldn't guarantee that all, or even any, of the money I paid would actually go to my creditors. Somehow, that didn't seem like it was going to be a good plan.

I will call the bank again and see if I can get anything of use out of them.

[otterkin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's kind of like finding a good tarot reader (or similar). There are an awful lot of sham people out there, and there are some who are actually good. :) I don't know the title of the kind of person I'm thinking of - but they're closer to a CPA or a personal financial advisor than a for-profit credit counseling agency.

Poking around online, I found a couple interesting things. This article (http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/BankruptcyGuide/BounceBackFastAfterBankruptcy.aspx) says that sometimes your credit report isn't annotated correctly to say that your outstanding loans were taken care of in the bankruptcy - so it looks like you filed for bankruptcy AND you still have all those outstanding loans that you haven't made a payment on in years! It also tells you how to get a free copy of your credit report, and how to decipher it. And this one (http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/YourCreditRating/7FastFixesForYourCreditScore.aspx?page=2) tells you what big errors to look for on your report that may be artificially reducing your credit score.

[dramaticaddict.livejournal.com]

yeah, I have the same problem... I put checks in my account all the time, when I do accidentally overdraw my account (ultra rare now that im not with SUCK of America) it gets paid off immediately and is only by a few dollars.
but still, I cant get car insurance from several companies, or a loan for a house with payments lower than rent would be, all because I have no credit, and dont make enough to try to get any....
wtf?