07.08.2004
2004: year of the loan
It occurred to me while reading a comment from someone who apparently still comes here that it sure is weird that anyone still comes here. I don't want this to be a piece of crap, never-gets-updated page. But just not-wanting something doesn't keep it from happening. Further, I don't want this to be a place where when I do post anything it's some sort of complaint about trying to get a loan.
But I can't have it both ways. If I don't post, nothing's posted. If I do post, it's about loans because, apparently, that's all I'm going to deal with this year. 2003 was the year of whatever-2003-was-the-year-of; 2004 is the year of trying-to-buy-shit-I-can't-afford.
My situation hasn't markedly improved since my previous rant. TCFKA Uncle Cletus is still disfunctioning in one of my parking spaces; my dad's Miata is still parked beside it, still getting me to and from work. My wife's car is still parked against a curb on the street because we only have the two spaces and I can't pull the fucking trigger and have TCFKAUC towed off to charity until I replace him. In exactly one (1) American week I'll have enough money to pay off my wife's car. I've dealt with a different credit union recently, but been unable to get pre-approval for a used car for $17k.
No matter how I try to explain this situation I come out looking like an idiot. Maybe an out-of-luck idiot, but an idiot nonetheless. Every time I get denied I apply somewhere else for a higher amount. The reason I applied for $17k is that I could afford to make payments on a used car in that range once we don't have my wife's car to pay for anymore, if I got a reasonable interest rate. What I found out in this process (my aunt works for this particular credit union, and while she can't deal directly with me in trying to get this loan, she was able to tell me their process and talk to their loan department,) is that: 1. my debt/credit ratio is too high. 2. $17k is a lot to ask for for a used car. 3. They "want to work with" me, and if I get a sales agreement from a dealership and fax it to the credit union they might be able to give me the loan. 4. Not having my wife's car loan in the debt column "might:" help.
That last bit is what bothers me the most, because it sort of makes the whole thing not quite add up. I figured out my debt/credit ratio. I'm right at the limit of where I should be while making those payments, meaning that any sizeable loan would put me over the 36% mark. Subtract the payments on my wife's car and I'm in good shape. So if the problem is the debt/credit ratio, then paying off the car shouldn't be a "might" help thing, it should be a "yes, that'll allow us to give you the loan" thing. Maybe they just don't want to go there; maybe they hear all the time that, "I'm about to come into some money and I'll be able to pay off X then..."
So here's what I've decided, given all that info: I'm going to pay off my wife's car and then try to get a new car for around 20k. I'll have a little over a thousand to put towards it, so I'll be asking for a loan of about 19k on a new car, instead of 17k on a used car.
So far I've gotten one definite price from the internet sales department of a nearby dealer that puts me just where I want to be. Assuming that car's still there after I pay off the other car next week, I imagine what's going to happen is I'll have the sales agreement faxed to the bank and be turned down again, and then... well, someone told me stealing a car's a better idea than knocking over an ATM machine...
