An interesting birthday today

Yes, it was my birthday. And while typically such a thing would be BTS material I had an interesting day car shopping today.

Now I do not make a whole lot of money but could put $2000 down on a new car on the modest end. Like a Ford Focus or Ford Ranger. Financial checks were made and the resulting credit score was 637. Again not the greatest as I have had to take some time to pay off a student loan and a couple other bills over the past few years and I have only been with my current employer since March 2009.

Long story short, I qualified for Ford's top tier for Ford Financing and could get a 6 year note on a Focus for 1.9%. or do 5 year note for a slightly higher rate and take advantage of a $3400 cash back incentive. But there was no bank that would make a loan.

Interesting that after both TARP and Obama's Stimulus Bill of 2009, which benefited the banks significantly, that the banks found me too high of a risk to offer a loan. Yet Ford, the last remaining privately owned American car company, (and did not take any bailouts like GM and Chrysler did) would do a loan with no problem at 1.9% to boot.

I can only wish that enough people would do what I did today and start asking the tough questions as a group.




[edit on 29-12-2009 by Ahabstar]

Yeah, we the people are really getting the shaft. We need to bring this country back to the way it used to be.

reply to post by Ahabstar


1. Ford is a Publicly owned corporation. But I get what you mean.

2. Banks notoriously always charge more (interest) for auto loans.. they are higher risk loans, because theres a risk you may wreck it or do God knows what kinda crazy modification, or get it stolen.. which yes, it's why banks mandate premium insurance, but they still don't like Auto loans. Especially now that it's harder to sell the loans when they do make them. If you were to get a loan through say a credit union, you would have paid 4-5% on the loan.

3. Car corporations fund through capital and bonds, their own "bank" of sorts.. they sell you their car with their own money, you then make the payment. You will notice that GMAC (GM's "bank") was bailed out long before the auto company was.

You are not entitled to cheap money. cheap loans. a loan at all. No one, anywhere, at any point said that "we the people" deserve loans when and where we want them.. personally, I would have denied you a loan too, in fact, I probably would have advised you to go buy a used car.

The point being that without consumer loans, of which auto loans are, then manufactures have to consider scaling back production. Which ultimately mean job losses. From the worker on the line to the vendor that drives by in the "roach coach" to the farmer that raised the hog that became the hot dog.

It is a sick, real world version of the joke about all the body parts deciding who gets to be the boss and the anus wins by refusing to work making the whole body sick.

My original thought for this year was a decent used car at an affordable price and buying outright or a small loan of maybe $3-$5K depending on what I found. To replace the 1991 Ranger that I currently own. The idea being, that a $200-$250 monthly payment was better than facing a potential $2000 annual bill in small repairs (tires, brakes, alternator, etc.--not that anything is wrong with any of those things just being realistic) keeping a 19 year old vehicle on the road.

But with billions given to the banks to "stimulate" the economy, there should be results beneficial to the general public. Far as I can tell, that money is only being used to purchase other banks and trickle into the market to create false growth while 1 in 10 remain unemployed and 1 in 5 remain underemployed or not counted at all.

While $240/mo is possible, I am holding out for a better offer. Considering that my disposable income may have to go towards other things over the next 6 years. Like another unwanted action by our misrepresentatives in Congress.

[edit on 30-12-2009 by Ahabstar]

reply to post by Ahabstar


I agree, the banks stole our money and ran off with it to make insane profits on the markets and purchasing other banks.. since most banks have since repaid the debt with their profits from trading, we really have nothing to hold over their heads anymore. We are no longer majority share holders.

It was a looting of the US Treasury, and all involved should imo be charged with Treason, and their punishment should be accordingly.