You are so right... I decided to buy a pre-owned one for the first time... Bought a 2008 for $11K and I am quite satisfied

Sweet. I really like them. Especially the old school column shifter ones.

Impala's are nice. And you can get the nearly new ones for $12K.

You are so right... I decided to buy a pre-owned one for the first time... Bought a 2008 for $11K and I am quite satisfied.

I do

See, you are too practical LOL. You are right though.

I do . Hey the rear-view windows is one thing and the side view windows is another, but when you get ready to change lanes and those 3 mirrors neglects to show you what's beside you, its time to bring out the deductible.

Yeah they are and they are roomy. I only have one problem with them, when I am changing lanes, I have to rise up out of my seat to see cars to the left or right from the rear seat windows. Those cars are high as I don't know what in the back. I drove one of my friends to walmart because he injured his leg, and I drove home in the fast lane all the way home because of that humpback issue

Eh, who needs rearview mirrors anyway

My credit scores range TU 570 EXP 583 EX 572 ...how long is the waiting process before i should start applying for credit....everytime i apply for credit i am denied for too many recent inquires...and i can t get a secured credit card from BOA because that state I had a previous bankruptcy that was 8 years ago ...i have been denied several places due to the bk on my credit thats 8 years old...i dont understand the denial ...can somebody give me some advice...and thanks again for everyone that replied to my other question...im new to the website ...i appr the comments and advice

Tu 570 Exp 583 Eq 572

Yeah they are and they are roomy. I only have one problem with them, when I am changing lanes, I have to rise up out of my seat to see cars to the left or right from the rear seat windows. Those cars are high as I don't know what in the back. I drove one of my friends to walmart because he injured his leg, and I drove home in the fast lane all the way home because of that humpback issue:laugh:

LOL to the bell-bottom pants and fishbowl boots...LOL... Thanks so much for the input. I'll definitely consider the 6000-8000 car loan amount. Whatever I decide to get (which will probably be Impala #3

Impala's are nice. And you can get the nearly new ones for $12K.

The days of you going from 500-700 in two days is more over than bell-bottom pants and fishbowl boots. LOL.

Settled In Full (SIF) is not a horrible idea, it shows that you addressed your past credit problems and made an attempt to repay. This is a good idea if your charge off's are relatively new.

While it's noble...if you can try to get the collections just deleted, that is always preferable. If he just merely pays it, it will reset the clock on his SOL.

I recently got into a position financially where I could actually pay most of them off. I'm sure these things are really case by case but I'm wondering how I should start (newer ones or older ones), if "settled for less than full amount owed" is even worth doing, and if the only real time to pay a charge off is when the collector sends you in writing that once the amount is paid the will remove it from your credit (as I was told by a good friend in the 700 club). I'd appreciate any suggestions!

Hello and welcome. It sounds like you are off to a great start. You have two new credit cards and an installment loan. For sure, hold off any any new applications for a while so that your inquiries fall off.

If you are in a position to pay off in full some of the smaller balances, I would recommend calling the bank to see if they would agree to deleting the trade line if you paid in full. Just be sure that if they agree, you obtain something in writing on company letterhead so that you have backup. I would imagine that a few banks would agree to this given the current economy.

Settled In Full (SIF) is not a horrible idea, it shows that you addressed your past credit problems and made an attempt to repay. This is a good idea if your charge off's are relatively new.

LOL to the bell-bottom pants and fishbowl boots...LOL... Thanks so much for the input. I'll definitely consider the 6000-8000 car loan amount. Whatever I decide to get (which will probably be Impala #3

I feel you. I seems like it's not terribly easy (any more) to get a secured card without first showing you are somewhat creditworthy. Maybe you should try a recon and perhaps put $1k in it, as opposed to $300 (I did...$1k one month, and 2K the second....was very tempted to put $8k in, but I was close to unsecured land and I feared they would have tied up the $10k for up to ONE more year).

If you got cash for a $20k car, then get your score up before you get a loan. You can put a nice down and then deal with a 4 year (no 5s and 6s....please, the 4 year PLUS a 20% down will make sure you don't hit negative equity...depending on the ride, of course.) The one thing with Citi you gotta be mindful about is that you will wait 18 months to get your money and unsecured. Depending on your finances, maybe you can do that. The interest will be nice. BOA has no interest. But you can get your money back after 9-12 months (provided of course that you didn't mess up a payment). Everyone's credit journey is different but that doesn't mean the attack should never be aggresive. My first year I was super aggressive and used all my tools at my disposal (letters, lawyers, BBB, all that [yeah the BBB can actually be effective with certain collections that want to maintain a A+ rating...[/quote].

Try going for CJ NOW (you will be approved, they approve anyone and they report to EX and TU) and then perhaps try Macys. At best you will get the $100. Then see if you can get a gas card. You need some credit as soon as possible while you are repairing. Otherwise, it will take that much longer. A secured CU loan that reports to all three (gotta make sure they do that, because some only report to one and that's useless), will DEFINITELY help you, and after you pay it off, you should be able to get a unsecured from them.

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Listen, if your credit is bad, DO NOT GET A CAR like an Impala. Get yourself a nice 6000-8000 car. Pay it off in 3-4 years, watch your score go up NICELY, then use that car to trade in for an Impala. Yeah, Chevys are selling for pennies on the dollar now, but you don't want that insane debt of $10k-15k MORE just to get an Impala. Trust me, I know you don't want to hear it (I didn't either), but if you heed that advice, you will thank me, I promise you. You will have a nice credit score, after that 6000-8000 loan, plus a couple of CCs (make sure a secured card is from BOA or CITI....they GROW with you, and that's what you want). The days of you going from 500-700 in two days is more over than bell-bottom pants and fishbowl boots. LOL.

Good luck! You can do it.

LOL to the bell-bottom pants and fishbowl boots...LOL... Thanks so much for the input. I'll definitely consider the 6000-8000 car loan amount. Whatever I decide to get (which will probably be Impala #3 ) I'll either pay for it in cash and not finance it at all (so no new debt), or I might take 6000-8000 and do a CD secured loan with my credit union just to have it reporting. I'll apply for the BOA and CITI secured in about a year, applied for the BOA in January and was denied. I've read such good reviews on both of them here and the CD that the CITI secured uses earns 4.07%. Thanks for the well wishes on my long road to recovery!

Thanks for your input! What I am enjoying most about this forum is the way everyone is sharing personal knowledge based on their own real life experiences. I’m not in any hurry to get my credit perfect, I just want to make constant strides to improve it and with time I know things will get back on track. Honestly, I'm not noble enough to just pay off the collections and not have it do me any good credit wise, but I also did not want to be sitting on a lot of money and not applying it to past debt if that was really going to help. I’d rather apply that money to debt that isn’t going anywhere, like paying an extra $1,000 on my student loans each month.

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That how I was able to improve my credit, because I had spend a good number of years buying the stuff/services I needed with cash money. With credit, you can apply your PAY-IN-FULL technique, because you have already gotten the discipline. The perfect example for me, is the 55" Flat Screen TV. I WANT ONE! I have enough credit to buy one right now. (I mean right now!) Question is, can I afford to buy it in cash in 20-25 days? No, I cannot currently, but by the next Black Friday, I most certainly can. Point is, just because I can do it, does not mean I will, because I am a hater of paying interest, and you do not need to pay an APR to get higher CLIs or keep your card. The CC banks/lenders will still make money off of you with the transaction fees (and depending on your current scores, an AF...when you get into 700-land (Canaan-land), you can pretty much say no to AFs and get better cards.

Also, if you have a student loan and it's not defaulted, make sure it stays that way...otherwise you will have to do a loan rehab and get off-set on tax refunds...and that's not cute. Take it from someone who knows...


If you have collections, learn fun things like "statute of limitations", "Date Of First Delinquency" (which will trigger your statute of limitations [SOL]). Each state is different, but you can find yours with a quick goggle search. In NJ, it's 6 years. After 7 years, (from [DOFD], it goes off your credit report.) There are numerous things you can do to get them off your report.

I am fortunate, financially, to be able to purchase everything I need without credit, but I think I'll be ready for a new house in a few years. It is almost time for me to purchase a new car ( I want a new Impala) but right now I'm in a position to purchase one with cash, or possibly even with a CD secured loan from my credit union. If I decided to go that route it would strengthen my relationship with my credit union as I know they are more prone to factor in your relationship with them as well as your overall credit.[/COLOR]

Listen, if your credit is bad, DO NOT GET A CAR like an Impala. Get yourself a nice 6000-8000 car. Pay it off in 3-4 years, watch your score go up NICELY, then use that car to trade in for an Impala. Yeah, Chevys are selling for pennies on the dollar now, but you don't want that insane debt of $10k-15k MORE just to get an Impala. Trust me, I know you don't want to hear it (I didn't either), but if you heed that advice, you will thank me, I promise you. You will have a nice credit score, after that 6000-8000 loan, plus a couple of CCs (make sure a secured card is from BOA or CITI....they GROW with you, and that's what you want). The days of you going from 500-700 in two days is more over than bell-bottom pants and fishbowl boots. LOL.

Good luck! You can do it.