Cars: A Love/Hate Relationship for Millionaire Nurses! Or What to do When You Can't Make the Payments!

Cars-an American passion-but what can you do when your dream becomes a nightmare, cause you can’t make the payments?

Cars-a rite of passage for sweet 16′s-I know, in some places it is now 17 for the driving age, but not here in the South-especially in farming country.  Kids here are driving tractors by age 8, and the pick-ups in the fields by 10.

So it’s not a surprise that car debt is also almost a religion.  Paid for car-who does that????

I am reminded of an old MAD Magazine cartoon-”You remember MAD Magazine don’t you??”  For you twenty-somethings-it was a smart-alec illustrated magazine for tweens-was around a long time-”Spy vs Spy!” was my favorite.  Actually, it is still around-check it out…

Anyway-I digress while waxing nostalgic-The cartoon had a picture of an elephant in the back-yard of suburban America, with the caption-”The only reason there is not an elephant in the yard of every American, is no one has offered one for 60 interest free monthly payments!”

Well, I thought it was funny…..

In these challenging financial times, many people find they have more car than they can afford.  What can you do when your car is upside down and you are struggling to make your payment?

• Well, you can have a yard sale, put you and the kids to work in extra jobs, eBay, consignment and raise the difference to get clear title.  Then sell that ugly lump of coal (they are not as cool looking when you are behind on your payments….)
• You can go to a credit union or local bank, especially if they are holding the note-and ask them to release the title, so you can sell the car-make sure you get the full Kelley Blue Book, retail value.  You would sign a note for the difference-and pay it off as quickly as possible.
• You can let the note-holder take back the car.  They will then sell it at a small part of its value, and then will try to collect the difference from you.  (Yes, the proverbial Take-Back Man).  Your credit score will take it in the……..

What do you do for transportation?   Raise enough money to buy an old vehicle, that is in adequate mechanical shape to get you to work.  You may have heard of “Two Buck Chuck”the wine, this might be “Thousand Buck Truck”, the Whine…..

Anyway-then save like crazy, to upgrade your ride, as  your financial condition improves.  Tell your friends you are just being like Warren Buffet-who is said to drive an old pick-up around Omaha….

What if you leased your car and you can’t afford the lease payment-well then you are just screwed…..

Well, not really-you basically have the same options.  Get out of the lease by paying the lump sum pay-off, which is likely  substantial.  Try to find someone to assume the lease payments-if your lease-holder will allow.  Or, just turn it in-again, there is abig credit hit for this-plus they too, will come after you for the payoff when they sell it.  See this article on Edmunds.com for their suggestions.

So now you are saying-”If I had the money, I wouldn’t be in this shape, so what good does this info. do me???”  Well, that is a valid point-which is why I wrote this post.

If you don’t have car debt-don’t go there.  If you do, try to pay it off as quickly as possible.  Paying yourself a car payment every month for a lifetime, will make you a true “Millionaire Nurse!“-unless you are a near senior citizen like me….Every debt you have is a potential risk-no one can see the downside when your  “new car fever”  strikes, so watch out for it.

Reading this blog is like the flu vaccine-an ounce of prevention…. and all that.

So, be careful out there, as the guy in “Hill Street Blues” used to say.  Car payments are evil!

So, let us know, if you love or hate your car or car payment-let us hear your car stories.  Let us hear the name of your car……

Tags: car note, cars, getting out of car debt, getting out of your car lease, lease debt, new cars, payoff lease

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 4:01 pm and is filed under debt reduction, personal finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.