Negative equity, credit score 544, paying $300/month, 25% interest, 96 saturn sc1?

Any way out of this? This car and these payments are holding me back from moving to Arizona with my family. The brakes are shot, the alternator is done, and I have two bad tires, so I cannot take it on a road trip all the way to AZ. I don%26#039;t have to money to get the car fixed. The issue is that the dealership TOLD me to come back in a year and a half, after which my credit will have improved enough to come and get a NEWER car and the payments would be LESS. I did not get this in writing however. A year and a half later, I go back and they say %26quot;Not right now. You need to get this and this and this off your credit.%26quot; Nothing new is on my credit, except things I PAID and the IMPROVED score. But the agreement was not sealed with any written contract, only contract I got is the finance stuff. I am upside down badly in a car that is unsafe, its time to go get another one but they won%26#039;t let me, and with these payments, I can%26#039;t get out of Michigan. Please...

Negative equity, credit score 544, paying $300/month, 25% interest, 96 saturn sc1?

fil bankruptcy and start fresh

Negative equity, credit score 544, paying $300/month, 25% interest, 96 saturn sc1?

You are stuck! In general dealers like these rely on the fact that they repo the car before the loan is up. They will repo it at the drop of a hat. I would pull my credit score to see if they are even reporting you as paid. Yes creditors need to report you paid if not nothing happens. Unfourtanly you cant just sell it because you most likely you paid way too much for it.

My suggestion is to go to the librairy and get a chiltons repair manual and do the repair your self. Brakes are easy. Or you could try to find a private mechanic and ask them if you can make payments on the repair.

Negative equity, credit score 544, paying $300/month, 25% interest, 96 saturn sc1?

This is a suggestion: I always look for a car that has the most incentives on it. Example: Currently a 2007 Ford Focus has about $2500 total rebates. Since the model year is almost up, many dealers will sell the car at invoice. So say that%26#039;s about $1000 in mark up. Now you have a total of $3500 in down payment to make up the negative equity. If your car is worth $2000 and your payoff is $6000, that leaves you with $4000 that you need to get for a down payment. So really all you need is $500 cuz there%26#039;s $3500 the dealer has ready to go.

Now about that credit score, 544 could get you a new Focus, but barely. You know, it all depends on how much the dealer actually gives a crap about you. Sometimes you%26#039;ll find dealers who only want to make as much money as possible. Sometimes you%26#039;ll find one to help get people into cars. Dealers also rely on sales numbers. They need to show Ford they sold so many cars. Sometimes the best time to buy a car is 1 or 2 days before the month is up. They like to show what they sold for the month. It helps them in the long run getting preferred treatment in inventory for the next month. You are not screwed. Maybe boned, but all hope is not lost. Fixing credit is all about time, not money. Do not pay to have someone %26quot;fix%26quot; your credit score. It%26#039;s not possible. Also, spend a little money on getting those brakes %26amp; tires taken care of. It reflects in the trade in value. Dealers don%26#039;t want a piece of crap to deal with. If you drop $200 on the car, it will probably translate to another $750 in value on the trade. If the car looks like crap, then to them, it is. Wash it, vaccum it, clean out the glove box, %26amp; trunk too. When you can show a dealer you are ready for business (they see this stuff), they will treat you as a serious customer. G%26#039;luck my friend.