Posted on 10/12/2008 8:59:55 PM PDT by bornred
An inflatable gorilla beckoned from the roof of Don Brown Chevrolet in St. Louis, servers doled out free bowls of pasta and a salesman urged potential customers to "come on up under the canopy and put your hands on" a new set of wheels.
But sitting across from a salesman in a quiet back room, Adrian Clark could see it would not be nearly that easy. This was the ninth or tenth dealership for Clark, a steamfitter looking for a car to commute to a new job. Every one offered a variation on the discouragement he was getting here: Without $1,000 for a downpayment, no loan.
...
"I think we're undergoing a fundamental shift from living on borrowed money to one where living within your means, saving and investing for the future, comes back into vogue," said Greg McBride, senior analyst at Bankrate.com.
(Excerpt) Read more at biz.yahoo.com ...
Started plastering when I was 14, ran a new car get ready with a partner at a Chevy agency, had a speed shop building engines and raced cars until I got married in 58 and then went into the family contracting business plastering for wages.
My home cost $34k in 1966.
> There shouldn’t even be financing on cars. Save your money and pay cash.
Hear, hear!
> Of the more than a dozen cars that I’ve owned I paid cash for every one of them.
Me too, though only on about half a dozen. In fact, I’m well into middle age, and have never owned a new car.
You're right, nothing ends forever. However, this shift in lending (requiring down payments, good credit, verifiable income) is going to be with us for quite a while.
You are correct. My wife and daughter work in the mortgage industry. Mortgages are to be had as well. However, borrowers must be more credit worthy than just a few months ago. Also, banks that have not engaged in much sub-prime business are better positioned to make loans. Thus, there is not as much credit available as there was and as a result credit risks are having a very difficult time getting more credit.
Good for your parents! They taught you to fend for yourself when you were young and impressionable. Today, I know a lot of teenagers that get hefty allowances from parents. The only decision making the kids have is what to spend the money on. Your parents had you make a more important decision, do I want to do without things, or do I want to get a job. That is a priceless education!
Great story. And the funny thing is experiences like that make you stronger and better.
Oh my, in order to move you'd have to----make arrangements??? In advance??? Oh the humanity. You are a waste of space and a waste of air.
I'll tell you why you have so much trouble. It's YOU. You're the defect in the system. It's not the system. It's not car loans. It's not mass transit. It's you. You live by the credo "I can't." That's why the marketplace has given you such negative feedback for so long.
You're probably even more of a downer in person. And if you really are as old as you say you are, it's too late for you. You're just a negative person and your attitude has shaped your results.
A big Amen to that!!!
No doubt Mr. Clark will get the needed $800 the Mr. Lefty and Mr. Fingers Loan Company, without worrying about late-payment penalties - until they show up at his door.
you should be shopping for $200 junkers on Craigslist
********************************************************
There is no such thing as a $200 junker ... scrapyards are paying $200-$250 for cars to crush ,, anything that runs is at least $800 and if it has working a/c it’s $1500+ ... a $800 car still has the same insurance and tag/title/registration expenses as a more reliable $4,000 used car and probably burns more fuel... The repair expenses that someone in his position can’t budget for makes the more expensive car much more attractive,,, what good is a $1000 (tmv) junker bought at a BHPH lot for $2500 if it’s going to get repo’d in under 6 months when it breaks down in a major way and you can’t afford to fix it. He needs the leap of faith from a self financing dealer or he needs to ride the bus.
>>>I don’t have a car and I am totally dependent on transit to find and maintain employment, and it totally sucks. I’m tired of finding listings for great jobs and not being able to get to them.<<<
The obvious solution would seem to be:
1) Find a job that you CAN get to on mass tranist (or alternatively move to a place where you can get to “great jobs” on the bus or train.)
2) Work hard at that job, and SAVE money to buy an inexpensive, older car that will get you to and from one of those “great jobs”. Not glamorous, but useful and an investment in your future.
3) Save up money from that great job, that the old car enabled you to get, to buy a better car, either with cash or with the loans that will become available to you when you have saved a down payment and can demonstrate that you have sufficient, steady income.
This is the way America used to work. Same goes for houses. Once upon a time, the American Dream was something you worked hard for and really appreciated when you achieved it, not something you felt entitled to, and took for granted when you got it.
you should be shopping for $200 junkers on Craigslist
********************************************************
There is no such thing as a $200 junker ... scrapyards are paying $200-$250 for cars to crush ,, anything that runs is at least $800 and if it has working a/c it’s $1500+ ... a $800 car still has the same insurance and tag/title/registration expenses as a more reliable $4,000 used car and probably burns more fuel... The repair expenses that someone in his position can’t budget for makes the more expensive car much more attractive,,, what good is a $1000 (tmv) junker bought at a BHPH lot for $2500 if it’s going to get repo’d in under 6 months when it breaks down in a major way and you can’t afford to fix it. He needs the leap of faith from a self financing dealer or he needs to ride the bus.
I've got to agree with you there. The system only works properly when those who follow the rules prosper, and those who break the rules are punished. When skipping out on your debt pays, the honest people lose out.
WOW ... what a concept!!!
Quit whining, take a low end job if you must, SAVE $$$, buy a clunker and get to better work.
Find a roomate. Find a job inside bicycle commuting distance. Problem solved.
1) Be thankful for what you do have instead of being bitter about what you don’t.
2) Use what you do have to your advantage in any way you can. You appear to have a computer. This might be a good place to start.
3) The only true barriers to your success are in your own mind. Those barriers the hardest for many to overcome, but you must do so if you are ever going to be successful.
4) If you’re older and don’t have any marketable skills, you’ll need to get some. In the meantime, humbly remember that the only person you can blame for this is yourself. Don’t wallow in that, but don’t make it anyone else’s problem either.
5) Just find a damn way. If you can’t think your way out of problems, you’re probably not going to be of much use to an employer. Get someone to cosign if you need a car. No cosigner? Check craigslist for people who are looking to share a car or someone who is willing to carpool for gas money. Talk to neighbors, friends, anyone you can. Why do I have to suggest these things? You should be thinking about this on your own.
6) If there’s some private sector program to help you overcome this problem, avail yourself of it. There’s no shame in that, but remember that it’s not something that you are entitled to, bur rather something that was given to you by the generosity of others. Return that generosity when you are in a better position.
So if someone lives in BFE and they don’t have a car and they can’t get to a job, how do they pull themselves out of it?
Oh, and look for a roommate to share the apartment, for substantial rent savings. Having an apartment to yourself is something to look forward to when you get your act together.
This will be good for the entire nation given time. What people should not expect is for this change to have immediate results. The results will be slow in coming and impact many segments of our economy for quite some time. The reason for this is that too many businesses relied upon their customers using credit to make purchases. There will be a long lull affecting many industries as Americans adjust to the tightening of credit, but once customers get back to buying most goods and services with cash saved, the economy will once again be robust.
The era of living beyond your means is coming to a close for this generation. Credit will always be there for those who can pay.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.