Monday, June 02, 2008

I've Had It With "Downs"! Where Are My "Ups"?!

Now that the van is dead there is a certain amount of urgency to get another vehicle for the family. So far it's been a lot of fun.

I decided that I wanted to have something new. I'd never owned a new car before and I was definitely sick of paying for constant repairs so I was very interested in having a vehicle with a warranty.

Friday I headed down to our local Kia dealership to look at the Rondo. I chose Kia because their cars are relatively inexpensive and they seem to have pretty good fuel economy. At the time they were also offering 0% financing for up to 72 months. With my history of being a financial moron I was a little worried about obtaining the financing but figured it was worth a look.

The salesman I dealt with was busy when I first arrived and so he just gave me the keys to one of the Rondos and let me take off in it. It was a nice ride and it had all sorts of new fangled gadgets and buttons. The model I was driving had a third row of seats to seat 7 which works very well for us. All of the seats in the back two rows fold into the floor to make lots of space if you need it.

When I returned the salesman worked out some numbers and options for me and we came up with a good package. All the while I was waiting for him to stop and say, "Whoa! Your credit is too shitty! No car for you!"

At one point he went to the back with my information. I figured for sure I was going to be denied. When he came back and started asking about what colors I wanted and stuff I was extremely relieved.

Next the account lady took me into her office. "Oh shit, here it comes!" I thought.

Nope. She just wanted to up-sell me on stain guard and other rust protection/paint protection options. When that was all dealt with she sent me back out to the waiting area.

That's when the salesman grabbed the keys and pulled "my" car around to the door.

"Holy Shit! I'm going to actually buy a new car!" I couldn't believe it. I was ecstatic. "Jules is going to be so happy and the kids are going to absolutely lose their minds!" Yup, Dad is THE MAN!

Then the account lady came out and asked me to come back into her office. I could tell right away that it was going to be something serious. She told me that there was a problem with my credit application. There was a MasterCard that I had go to a collection agency a while back and I was going to have to get a co-signer in order to get the financing.

I mentioned that the credit card had been all paid up over 2 years ago but that didn't seem to make any difference. My other option was to buy it without the financing with an interest rate of 13%. Hmmm, my payment plan before was just in my budget with an interest rate of .9%. This option was out of the question as it would leave me paying about $640 a month for the next 5 years.

She then gave me a glimmer of hope. She said that she could call the bank and see if she could get approval of my credit application since the debt was cleared up quite a while ago. I asked her if they ever allowed that to happen and she said yes they do.

I then left the dealership feeling full of disappointment and a little stunned. I felt like a little kid who had had an ice cream cone, unwrapped it and was about to take the first lick and then had it taken away because he didn't wash his hands first.

Before I went to the dealership I'd sent an email to my Mom to inform her about what had happened with the van and that I was looking to get a new Kia. When I arrived back at the office I saw that she had replied to my email. In that reply she offered to be a co-signer if I needed one.

"How perfect!" I thought. Oh well, if I'm turned down for the financing at least I'll have a co-signer and still be able to make the purchase. "Whew! What a load off!"

I called Jules to tell her my adventure so far and mentioned that no matter what we should be able to have the car by the next day.

Later in the afternoon I got a second email from my Mom. It seems she spoke too soon. Since her and my Dad are in the process of buying a house here in Brandon she was a little concerned about what kind of affect co-signing on a $25k car might have on their mortgage agreement. She said she would prefer not to co-sign unless it was absolutely necessary.

Not the best news. But I might not even need a co-signer anyway.

Just before 4:00 I got the call from Kia. They would not approve my credit application without a co-signer.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Since it was the end of the day I wasn't able to contact my Mom via email and would have to wait until they arrived in town Saturday morning to find out what the deal was.

When I got home I was horrified to find that all of the kids were very excited that we were going to get our new car tomorrow. It's all they talked about all night and the next morning. I told them numerous times that they shouldn't even think about it until they see a car in the driveway because it wasn't a for-sure deal. But they had already clasped onto the idea and they weren't going to let it go at this point.

The next day my parents arrived at around noon. Just as I'd feared the first thing "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" says after they arrive is, "Can I come with you to get the car?"

I replied back that we might not even get the car so she should just be quiet about it. My parents then went on to discuss other options. I should go to the bank and see what they'll do. Maybe I should try some other dealers around town. I should look at a used vehicle. That kind of thing. All I was hearing was, "You do not have a co-signer!

My Mom said that she would talk it over with her banker to see what co-signing would do to her credit rating in regards to their mortgage but she couldn't do that until Monday. I'm pretty sure the banker will say that it isn't going to help their mortgage situation any.

So now I'm back to square one. I'm stuck going to the bank to see what kind of loan they'll give me, if any. Best case scenario I get a loan from the bank and get to buy another used vehicle with all the perks of buying used. Like no warranty, constant repairs and shitty mileage.

This is fun!

3 comments:

Heather said...

Well. Once they sign their loan agreement, she should still be able to co-sign for you. You might just have to wait til that's done to get your new car.
You may be better off with a used vehicle anyway that has a good reputation. Those Kia's have a good reputation for things like bumpers and steering wheels falling off. I'm serious. And their long warranty only covers drive train after a certain length of time. So if the bumper does fall off, you have to tie it back on with a rope.
However, they are economical. Good luck, I know how it goes.

Kris said...

Keep your chin up buddy. I've been down this road before. Still am in fact. That's why I ride the bus. Dammit, now I'm depressed....

Heather said...

Do you have any idea how lucky you are to have a bus you can take? Holy crap, I'd love that!! No more gas to buy, no car maintenance. What a dream come true!