Running out of options.....

[iluvtofly 0]

So I'm very quickly running out of options when it comes to my car. It's rapidly falling apart. I had to get $400 worth of work 3 weeks ago (borrowed the money from an amazingly great friend), yesterday put another $110 into it and now it's acting up again. (Mind you I have a friend who is a mechanic at the dealership and does all this work just for the cost of parts. These prices are not including labor.) It's a 2000 Nissan Altima with 192K miles on it, and I still have 14 payments left on it (I'm so upside down on this car it's not even funny). I can't afford to keep putting money into it. The $110 I spent yesterday has left me wonding if I'll have enough gas money to get me to payday. If it dies I can't afford a 2nd car payment. Plus, I don't think I could even get a car loan thanks to being completely screwed over by a friend I tried to help 3 years ago (lesson of the day: NEVER EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES co-sign on a car for a friend. It will get repoed and your credit will get F&#*ed). So right now short of winning the lottery I don't know what else I can do. Any suggestions?

[AggieDave 6]

The Dave Ramsey method?

Keep running the beater while you try to save your money, cut out all external money drains and if you have to, ride your bike.

Do you *need* internet and cable TV at home? Do you work at home and that requires an internet connection? Could you cut out the service and use free wifi elsewhere or just at work? Cable and internet would save you $100 a month.

Do you eat out at all? Do you need that gym membership when you can do pushups in your living room?


It could go on. Motivation is the key for success.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[theonlyski 3]

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So I'm very quickly running out of options when it comes to my car. It's rapidly falling apart. I had to get $400 worth of work 3 weeks ago (borrowed the money from an amazingly great friend), yesterday put another $110 into it and now it's acting up again. (Mind you I have a friend who is a mechanic at the dealership and does all this work just for the cost of parts. These prices are not including labor.) It's a 2000 Nissan Altima with 192K miles on it, and I still have 14 payments left on it (I'm so upside down on this car it's not even funny). I can't afford to keep putting money into it. The $110 I spent yesterday has left me wonding if I'll have enough gas money to get me to payday. If it dies I can't afford a 2nd car payment. Plus, I don't think I could even get a car loan thanks to being completely screwed over by a friend I tried to help 3 years ago (lesson of the day: NEVER EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES co-sign on a car for a friend. It will get repoed and your credit will get F*ed). So right now short of winning the lottery I don't know what else I can do. Any suggestions?

When the fuck did you get friends?




I know you're living off ramen and mac&cheese now... How long are you still on your lease at the apt? I know you HATE roomates, but it might be worth getting a 2 bed/bath apt and sharing the bills. Even the Can-Asian would be a good choice (so long as you lock up your booze)

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[iluvtofly 0]

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So I'm very quickly running out of options when it comes to my car. It's rapidly falling apart. I had to get $400 worth of work 3 weeks ago (borrowed the money from an amazingly great friend), yesterday put another $110 into it and now it's acting up again. (Mind you I have a friend who is a mechanic at the dealership and does all this work just for the cost of parts. These prices are not including labor.) It's a 2000 Nissan Altima with 192K miles on it, and I still have 14 payments left on it (I'm so upside down on this car it's not even funny). I can't afford to keep putting money into it. The $110 I spent yesterday has left me wonding if I'll have enough gas money to get me to payday. If it dies I can't afford a 2nd car payment. Plus, I don't think I could even get a car loan thanks to being completely screwed over by a friend I tried to help 3 years ago (lesson of the day: NEVER EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES co-sign on a car for a friend. It will get repoed and your credit will get F*ed). So right now short of winning the lottery I don't know what else I can do. Any suggestions?

When the fuck did you get friends?




I know you're living off ramen and mac&cheese now... How long are you still on your lease at the apt? I know you HATE roomates, but it might be worth getting a 2 bed/bath apt and sharing the bills. Even the Can-Asian would be a good choice (so long as you lock up your booze)

Lease is up at the end of October. I've already had offers from 2 friends (Yes, I do in fact have friends ) to come live with them. I know the one would save me about $100 a month in rent and bills. Haven't gotten a rent price from the other.

@AggieDave....I spend all of my free time during the week at home alone to save money (went out last night for the first time in 3 months, spent a whole $7. Going to the DZ doesn't count as going out since I go there to work and on the very rare occasion jump just to keep what little sanity I have left.) So yes, I need cable and internet, I would go INSANE without it. Actually, cable is included in my rent so all I'm paying for is the internet. As far as the gym membership, I've thought about cancelling it to save the $20 a month, but I don't have the $75 early termination fee required. I pinch the pennies everywhere I can think to. Lately the ONLY reason I've been going out to eat when at the DZ is because people offer to buy my dinner. If it weren't for that I'd be eating nothing but pop-tarts while there. The only food I have in my apartment right now is a huge bag of frozen chicken that I got for $25 the other day. Haven't even bought beer in over a month.

[theonlyski 3]

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Lease is up at the end of October. I've already had offers from 2 friends (Yes, I do in fact have friends ) to come live with them. I know the one would save me about $100 a month in rent and bills. Haven't gotten a rent price from the other.

I'd offer you my other room, but ya know, a rigger needs his space to work.

Besides, you wouldn't like Florida... it's hot here, skies are almost always blue, and the DZ's are a plenty.


But seriously, I would consider the roomate option as long as you can get along with them and their idiosyncrasies. Especially if it's someone you work with (carpooling weekdays saves lots of gas money too)

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[hcsvader 1]

how much do you still owe on the car? could you possibly sell it for that much?
do you absolutly depend on a vehicle to get to work?

Have you seen my pants?
it"s a rough life, Livin' the dream
>:)

[iluvtofly 0]

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how much do you still owe on the car? could you possibly sell it for that much?
do you absolutly depend on a vehicle to get to work?

I owe just a little under $2K for the car. There is no way I could get close to that much for it now. Technically it was totalled when I got rearended a little over a year ago (frame got bent). I figure absolute best case scenario I could get $500 for it...but even that may be a stretch of the imagination with the amount of work it needs done (not counting this latest issue).

ETA...and yes I depend on my car. I commute about 25 miles each way to work. And there are no bus routes that run between where I live and work.

[theonlyski 3]

I'll refer you to your quote that's in my signature.

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[davelepka 4]

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I have a friend who is a mechanic at the dealership and does all this work just for the cost of parts. These prices are not including labor.)

What does your friend think about the overall condition of the car? $400 one week, $110 a few weeks later, and continued problems? Are these different systems or all related to the same component?

Here's my idea, and this is a looooooong shot. If you have a friend at the dealership, see how many friends he has at the dealership, and see if you can't get a 'back door' deal on a low dollar trade.

Dealerships take cars like yours in on trade from people who can't (or don't want to) sell them themselves. There's nothing for them to do with a 10 year old Altima with 200k on the clock, so they 'offer' you $100 on the trade, then they'll jack up some other fee by $100 so they really give you nothing for the car.

They can't sell the car because of the age/milage, and for same reasons it won't bring anything at a wholesale auction. More oftent than not, they call the 'recycler' (junkyard) and have the car hauled off and maybe collect $100 on the deal.

What you need to do is see if you can get yourself in on that deal. See if the sales guy can clue you in if they have a bottom dollar trade coming in that seems like reliable transportation. It's a long shot, but I did this a couple times as a car salesman many years ago. I saw trades appraised at $200 or $300 for good running cars, then connected the buyer with people I knew looking for cheap transportation. They paid $100 more then the dealer was offering, and the buyer just came in without their trade when they picked up their car and paid the difference.

The new car buyer gets a few more bucks for their car, the dealship still sells a new car, and you get a cheap car you can pay for outright. Then sell your Nissan for whatever you can get for it, and pay off as much of your outstanding loan as you can. Make the remaining payments and be done with it.

Then (the hard part) while you drive your 'new' paid-in-full car, sock away half of what your previous car payment was every month. You cut your car bill in half, and you save up some money for a replacement car when the 'new' one takes a shit. You can use the money to buy an inexpensive car outright, or make a substantial downpayment on a 'fairly' inexpensive car to keep your payments low, and so you start off 'on top' of the loan. If you put $2000 down on a $4000 car, you'll always owe less than the car is worth.

[skymama 35]

Are you able to get a second job a few nights a week?

I know you probably don't want to do this, but have you talked to your parents about the bind you're in now? I know that if my daughter called and said there's nothing in the fridge and she's eating pop-tarts for dinner, I'd send her some money for groceries. When it gets that bad, it's all about your health. If you don't have good nutrition, your risk of getting sick gets higher and having to miss work would just make everything worse. Plus, I can't stand it when she doesn't eat well, it's the Mommy in me.

Those who know me well know that I'm a stickler for a budget. Do you know exactly what you have coming in and going out each month? I can give you a long lecture on that!

Do you have anything that could be sold on Craigslist for some quick cash this weekend?

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[airdvr 197]

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I have a friend who is a mechanic at the dealership and does all this work just for the cost of parts. These prices are not including labor.)

What does your friend think about the overall condition of the car? $400 one week, $110 a few weeks later, and continued problems? Are these different systems or all related to the same component?

Here's my idea, and this is a looooooong shot. If you have a friend at the dealership, see how many friends he has at the dealership, and see if you can't get a 'back door' deal on a low dollar trade.

Dealerships take cars like yours in on trade from people who can't (or don't want to) sell them themselves. There's nothing for them to do with a 10 year old Altima with 200k on the clock, so they 'offer' you $100 on the trade, then they'll jack up some other fee by $100 so they really give you nothing for the car.

They can't sell the car because of the age/milage, and for same reasons it won't bring anything at a wholesale auction. More oftent than not, they call the 'recycler' (junkyard) and have the car hauled off and maybe collect $100 on the deal.

What you need to do is see if you can get yourself in on that deal. See if the sales guy can clue you in if they have a bottom dollar trade coming in that seems like reliable transportation. It's a long shot, but I did this a couple times as a car salesman many years ago. I saw trades appraised at $200 or $300 for good running cars, then connected the buyer with people I knew looking for cheap transportation. They paid $100 more then the dealer was offering, and the buyer just came in without their trade when they picked up their car and paid the difference.

The new car buyer gets a few more bucks for their car, the dealship still sells a new car, and you get a cheap car you can pay for outright. Then sell your Nissan for whatever you can get for it, and pay off as much of your outstanding loan as you can. Make the remaining payments and be done with it.

Then (the hard part) while you drive your 'new' paid-in-full car, sock away half of what your previous car payment was every month. You cut your car bill in half, and you save up some money for a replacement car when the 'new' one takes a shit. You can use the money to buy an inexpensive car outright, or make a substantial downpayment on a 'fairly' inexpensive car to keep your payments low, and so you start off 'on top' of the loan. If you put $2000 down on a $4000 car, you'll always owe less than the car is worth.

Good ideas except what does she do with the Altima? If she let's them repo it she's screwed on any future financing of vehicles and other stuff for quite a while.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[iluvtofly 0]

It's different systems that keep breaking. The $400 was for 2 new engine fans that died. The $110 was for new spark plugs and gaskets. The overall condition isn't that good. I'll ask him but I doubt it.

[hcsvader 1]

sell it on ebay with a $2000 reserve.

Have you seen my pants?
it"s a rough life, Livin' the dream
>:)

[iluvtofly 0]

My parents know full well of my situation. Unfortunatley they are not in a position to help me at all. They have their own financial problems (mostly medical expenses). I do have a tight budget. Don't really have a choice. Typically when I get a paycheck, after I pay my bills I have roughly $250 (if it was a good paycheck) to last me about 2 1/2 weeks for gas and food. I spend roughly $90 a week on gas. Doesn't leave much for anything else.

ETA: As far as another job goes. I've been looking with no luck. I do work manifest at the Farm 2 or 3 days a month. That money typically goes towards gas with the occasional jump thrown in there. I don't really have anything I could sell. Sold my rig in January to pay for some things. Sold most everything that would get me money a couple years ago when I was in a tight spot.

[theonlyski 3]

skymama

I'm broke and have no food in my fridge... can you help me out?

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[davelepka 4]

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Good ideas except what does she do with the Altima? If she let's them repo it she's screwed on any future financing of vehicles and other stuff for quite a while.

Please note paragraph 6 in my reply

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sell your Nissan for whatever you can get for it, and pay off as much of your outstanding loan as you can. Make the remaining payments and be done with it.

[airdvr 197]

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Good ideas except what does she do with the Altima? If she let's them repo it she's screwed on any future financing of vehicles and other stuff for quite a while.

Please note paragraph 6 in my reply

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sell your Nissan for whatever you can get for it, and pay off as much of your outstanding loan as you can. Make the remaining payments and be done with it.

I did miss that. Problem with that scenario is she doesn't hold title to the car. The bank does. She can't get the title until she pays the bank.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[iluvtofly 0]

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Good ideas except what does she do with the Altima? If she let's them repo it she's screwed on any future financing of vehicles and other stuff for quite a while.

Please note paragraph 6 in my reply

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sell your Nissan for whatever you can get for it, and pay off as much of your outstanding loan as you can. Make the remaining payments and be done with it.

Part of my problem is that there is a repo on my credit report right now. Referring back to the OP when I mentioned NEVER EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE co sign on a car for a friend. So I figure it's pretty much guaranteed I won't be getting any sort of car loan (or any kind of loan for that matter) in the forseeable future.

[davelepka 4]

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I'll ask him but I doubt it

If you mean you doubt you can get a cheap trade in from the dealer, that may be true with that friend at that dealer, but it doesn't really effect the dealership to give you a deal. They're not losing anything by not taking the trade, and you're not a potential customer they're hooking up as you could never afford to buy one of their 'regualr' cars (even from their used lot).

It is, however, a favor they would be doing you, so that's why you need 'friends' at the dealer.

OK, so plan B is this -

Attention Atlanta area jumpers, if you work at a car dealership or have any good friends who work at a dealership, start asking questions and see if you can't get this fine young lady into the middle of a bottom dollar trade deal.

Atlanta is a big place with a shitload of dealers, someone here works for one or is tight with someone who does. It's time to hook a brother (sister) up and make something happen. There might even be some free pack jobs in it for you...

[oldwomanc6 38]

Skymama's suggestion of a second job is a good one. Seems like the car isn't so much the problem as cash flow (or lack thereof).

lisa
WSCR 594
FB 1023
CBDB 9

[iluvtofly 0]

Well I'm going over there in about an hour when I get off work for him to look at my car again. Hopefully he's not busy and will have time to talk a bit about it. If not I'll try to get together with him at a time when he's not working so we can discuss it. I'm pretty stressed out right now so I may just not be reading what you're saying correctly. I'll print it out and let him read it and see what he says.

[theonlyski 3]

She's got a full time day job, a generally full time weekend job as well... So a third job...

Maybe working at the Claremont?

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[davelepka 4]

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I did miss that. Problem with that scenario is she doesn't hold title to the car. The bank does. She can't get the title until she pays the bank.

Indeed. She could just keep the car and make payments while she drives the 'new' car.

Provided she could find a buyer, she might talk to the bank about issuing a personal loan for the difference so she can sell the car, and use the proceeds plus the loan to pay off the car note. The bank get's their money on the car, her credit gets a bump due to the succesful servicing of the car loan, and she gets a much smaller loan with a lower payment to pay off the difference.

If she has a good payment history on the car note, and explains this to the bank, it might help to make the whole thing happen. If anything, go to the bank and ask them their opinion. If she states that she's not driving the car, it's only going to lose value sitting for two years while she pays down the loan to get her hands on the title, so she (not her credit) would be better off just defaulting on the loan and leaving the bank hanging. If she expresses a desire to not screw over the bank, they might be willing to find a way to make it work.

Nothing about this is going to be neat, easy or clean, becasue she's in a tight spot.

[davelepka 4]

Here's the idea.

Bill needs a new car. His car is 10 years old with 150k on the clock. It's a good runner, but maybe not the prettiest car on the block.

Bill goes to the dealer and talks to Bob the salesman, who shows Bill a new car he likes and can afford. Bill offers his car as a trade in because he doesn't have time or the desire to sell it himself.

Bob can only offer Bill $200 for his trade because the dealer can't sell Bills car on the lot due to the age and milage. All the dealer is going to do is pawn it off on a junkyard (or some other backdoor deal).

Bill agrees to take the $200 in trade because he doesn't want to bother trying to sell the car, and it allows him the ability to drive to the dealer to pick up his new car, and leave the old one there. Over and done.

This is where you come in. Bob explains to Bill that he has a friend in need, who could offer him $300 for the car. Bill gets to make another $100, and the dealership still sells a new car. You meet Bill at the dealer the day he picks up his new car, and you (instead of the dealer) get the old one.

It's a win/win for all involved, but you really get the best deal in the bunch, which is why you need a friend at the dealership to make it happen.

[theonlyski 3]

But the chances of a bank giving her a loan with a default/repo on her record are pretty slim, wouldn't you think?

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message