My husband and I needed a new vehicle in the fall of 2007. We went to a dealership in Martinsville, Va. After it was recommended by a friend. Our credit was improved from before, but still in the "fair" category.
After finding a vehicle that my husband liked (he's the primary driver of this vehicle), we went in for financing. We did have a trade-in, but of course only recieved pay-off on it. After dealing with the fact that we had an interest rate of 14.9%, we still decided to buy because we figured with our credit scores that we did'nt have much of a choice.
Today our credit is much improved and when trying to trade in the said vehicle, much to our surprise the trade-in value is only $4000. Our current payoff on this vehicle is $13,200. When we bought it 2 1/2 years ago, the price we financed was $14,850 plus an extended warranty making the total finance about $17,000.
This vehicle is a 2003 Dodge Dakota 4x4, no extras. Our payments are $386.32. The vehicle is now 7 years old, and was already 4 years old when we bought it.
So, after paying on this vehicle for 30 months, we now owe literally over 3 times more than it is worth and have only paid about $4000 towards the principle. Not to mention the fact that we have no grace period and the customer service is very poor when you call.
We have also tried to re-finance this vehicle with other loan companies in hopes to get a better interest rate, but were told that the ratio of what we owe compared to what the vehicle is worth, makes it a risk and they could not refinance.
As a matter of fact, after applying for the 3rd or 4th time, the last loan officer I spoke with told me to stop wasting my time applying for a refinance because no one would take on this loan because of depriciated value compared to the payoff of the auto loan.
At the least, I think this company financed this vehicle in hopes of a reposession, like most lenders who finance people with less than perfect credit. I don't know how these people sleep at night.
I hope we never wreck and have a total loss, because we'd be paying for years on a vehicle that is no more. I guess we'll be stuck with this vehicle until it falls apart, and even then it probably still won't be paid for!!!
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