Life happens... Moving on!

[TheBrightSide]

*[Rant alert]*

About to voluntarily give up my latest 2010 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS manual coupe, for repossession.... It was an impulsive, last minute, "spur of the moment" kinda thing, when I first got the car. I remember wanting the vehicle so badly, as soon as I saw it on the internet listings at a somewhat nearby Chevrolet dealership. I had gotten a loan approval for about $20k, and had it increased to $25k (I forgot the reasons why/how). I barely had anything to even down pay on the car, and even asked my mom for some spare savings that she tucked away for me (that was nice of her).

I was looking at some other private party Camaro SS' as well, with some being 1SS and 2SS coupes mainly. I traded in a 2015 Honda Accord EX-L V6 manual coupe (with navigation), and the dealership barely gave me $9k... Some folks on here might not be into Japanese imports, let alone imports, but I definitely know what my car was worth, and I shouldn't have taken that deal. AT the time, I was just getting so sick of 4 and 6-cylinder platforms, not to mention most of my cars (daily driver or side, beater cars) were front wheel drive.

By the time I had gotten to the dealership that day, I had barely gotten my current daily driver together, to trade in (the Accord); and the sun was also setting. Not a great or smart thing to do, obviously; but I ended up checking out the 2010 Camaro at the dealership, and they refused to put it up on a post lift because there was no one there. That was probably 1 or 2 of my first signs that I shouldn't have just up and got the car, like an idiot.

I took the car on a test drive, with a friend I brought along (tried to talk me out of getting the car, sorta), as well as the salesman. The rear differential chattered like hell on turns, and even after driving for 15+ mins on the freeway and around some turns, it continued to chatter by the time we returned to the lot the car came out of. Definitely tried to bring the issue up, but the salesman and sales manager disregarded it and didn't bother to care...

The next day, I jacked up the car from home, and the factory water-to-oil cooler was clearly leaking. I kept trying to have the dealership sort out everything, but ended up just changing all the oils and fluids myself. The mating surface to the oil cooler was defective, as gaskets I bought, didn't fix the leak(s); and the old gaskets appeared to be just fine. And of course with my luck, the engine oil pan gasket began seeping down oil, from the sides of the oil pan... The car aesthetic-wise, came with a factory Ground Effects appearance package; and most of the places I brought my car to, always damaged the side skirts, because they weren't careful. Mind you, the car was on bone stock suspension as well; but I guess the side skirts were a weird size or proportion to work with on lifts..

On top of that, I signed up for a 60-month finance (I forget the APR %), and my monthly car notes were $625, with insurance ranging from $200-300 a year. I had gotten a citation and messed up traffic school, after wanting to appeal the citation. I didn't know that I was subject to court fees and such, as I'd never been in such a situation (I have a pretty good driving record). Ended up needing my mom to help me get out of that financial shithole, and she was pretty unhappy, which I totally get.

I have student loans that I took a forbearance on, and haven't applied for an income-driven repayment plan (IDR) yet. I got medically separated from my pretty stable state job at the very end of this May 2025, and I applied for unemployment and was denied. Wrote an appeal for that, saying that I had documents from work, showing that I did in fact attempt to seek out "lesser" work (what unemployment denied for).

As a result, I need to let the Camaro go, since my plans are to save up and move out. I'm about to land a decent job here soon, and have been living off of my very last paycheck back at the end of May; and my aunt/Godmother is the only other person who's helped me try to even save the Camaro.

I have other things in my life I have to take care of, and I know I rant a lot online; but this car has truly been my motivation to get up most days, even if I don't drive it. I feel like it's a bit materialistic, but I know to an extent, that I deserved it, but could've definitely made a smarter choice.

I'm barely 27 years old, and I've lived with my parents for a while, and I didn't get along with them, due to conflicts of interest. I eventually attempted to move out, right before COVID came in early, Spring of 2020; and that put a huge dampener on my plans... My mom gaslit me and guilt-tripped me, into thinking that I wasn't able to move out on my own; and there's a bunch of reasons why I got other cars to compromise with what my parents were bitchin' about.

I'm building up a backbone to move on in life, and this car has done a lot of things for me. I might stumble back on this forum from time to time, but I'm getting rid of the car, as soon as I swap some factory parts back on, like the hood and trunk spoiler. I have a couple other things, like an oil catch can, that I'll take (swap back on the stock fitting). I'll just give the new owner or whoever, that buys it from auction, my custom air to oil engine cooler (thermostatic setup), as well as a custom stainless steel braided transmission cooler line setup (has -AN fittings).

There's a lot more personal things that I'd wish to discuss, involving my time with this car, and other things in my life that made it hard to maintain and keep the Camaro... Maybe some day, I'll get another 5th gen Camaro, like a ZL1 or Z28 model. I do like the appeal of the 6th gen Camaro's, but the push start theft rates really made me reconsider. Also, some things like the exhaust system on the 6th gen Camaro's, are a lot more complex and harder to work on, compared to the 5th gen Camaro's. I've gone as far as dropping the transmission (manual, Tremec TR-6060) and re-installing it, so getting another 5th gen Camaro might be something I get back into later on. I was aiming for a 2012-2015 model, even though I really like the 2013, since it has all of the 2010-2012 exterior/aesthetics, but combines it with a lot of the '14-15 interior upgrades (due to facelift).

Had I gotten a C6 Corvette however, and the clutch slave cylinder died, I would've probably let it go for (voluntary) repossession immediately. I don't really have much room, let alone all the work to take apart the torque tube, and then drop the rear subframe/cradle.... I'm sure whoever gets my 2SS Camaro next, will enjoy it. I have to double check with my creditor, to see if I will have to pay the remainder of the fees, once they sell the car (for less than what I owe/my lien is worth). I'm trying to get the car into decent shape, since I don't think the creditor will waste money to detail the car for the auction. But then again, every credit loan company might work differently.

[Aqua Blue RS/SS]

Why don’t you put it up on market place or something and try and sell it off to pay your loan off rather than bomb your credit score and screw your self for several years to come… the though of letting it go for repo makes no sense to me.

[Mr_Draco]

I totally agree. You need to sale the car privately if able instead of letting it go to repo. Repo, both voluntary and involuntary, kills your credit report for the next 7 years and practically guarantees that you can not buy another car or even a house during that time. At your age, this is a very bad decision.

[TheBrightSide]

So… right now, I’m going up on being over 90+ days late soon, with my car note. I don’t have enough to pay for anything, except maybe for one month’s worth of payment (minus late fees, etc.); and the creditors said that they basically wouldn’t be accepting it, because of how I’m going to keep chasing being late, probably until I land a job.

The creditors, which I found out recently, had placed my car on a 76-day late payment, consideration for repossession. I have the car in the garage right now, and I’m still connecting the trans harness, and then doing all of the other parts. I don’t know if I’ll be able to sell the car, for as much as what I have left on my lien…

I just cancelled the auto insurance policy and the insurance company was going to refund the rest of what I hadn’t used for this coming month (October). But aside from that, my car note is due in another 3 days or so, and then I’ll be down another $625. Is it worth keeping my car hidden, I guess (technically), and eat the coming car note charge for this month, in order to find a private party seller? That, and how would it work, for me to sell it, and let the person know that I’ve fallen 3+ months behind payments..?

[el ess A]

Wow...good luck with that. Did they also tell you that if you owe, say 20K for example, and they manage to auction it for 12K (example) that you're still on the hook for the remaining 8K plus any late fees? The debts ain't going away. Did you even sit down with someone at the bank and try to work something out? It usually doesn't work, but if you haven't, I'd at least try there. They want your money more than the car, that's for sure.

When I was your age, I was well on my way to financial nest egg. My goal then was to retire at 60. Wife and I actually retired in our 50s which was even better, and was better off than I had originally calculated. I truly believe the wife and I are in good shape money-wise because of years of financial discipline. We worked hard and put a nut or two away every paycheck and now we don't worry about being broke any time soon. Now in our 60s, I worry more about RMDs and how it's going to fugg our taxes in our future. (First-world problems, I know.)

I don't know you or your situation, but here's some general advice I'd give anyone from what you just posted...(I'm not being accusatory, just basing it on what I've read in this thread)

Does your soon-to-be-new employer know this debacle? If not, and they find out (background checks aren't always your friend), they may decide to withdraw their job offer. This entire financial episode can destroy your credit-worthiness which in turn could jeapordize your ability to land a good job. Because they see it as not handling personal financial issues, you could drive their bottom line into the dirt and/or it at least shows a questionable level of trustworthiness and stability. No car = less chance you'll show up for work regularly. Employers are sometimes picky that way. TIP: DO NOT LIE TO YOUR POTENTIAL EMPLOYER. If they ask anything, be open/honest. People can work with honesty.

I've hired several people for my teams in my day. And if I were a potential employer, I wouldn't hire you knowing all this, plus your student loan issues along with your driving record issues.

I agree, if you can, don't dilly dally and get that car moveable and put it up for sale first if you can. If you're not going to be able to get what you owe by selling it, remember YOU don't control the title, the bank does. So you can't simply sell it to anyone unless the bank gets satisfied. Nobody's going to buy it without the title, so you may be stuck getting it repossessed. But if you try and hide the car from them, you're going to put yourself deeper in a hole.

Regardless, it seems you have a major cash flow and impulse-buy problem and you ended up further down a hole than you should have let it get to. Whatever happens, I suggest you find some financial seminars/courses (usually can find them for free) on how to handle money and your bills, especially on how to save and reduce debt load. Adulting is hard, and cars are expensive dependents.

You are in this place mostly due to decisions you made. Things don't just happen TO people. Luck, good or bad, is rare and has little to do with your lot in life, at least in America. People's choices along the way usually put them in the place they are. Even when they think that choice isn't anything to worry about at that moment.

Every choice you make needs to be financially beneficial to you from here on out. Swallow any pride or materialistic ideas, for now at least, and let go of the things holding you back, and figure out how to get ahead and stay there. You've got a lot of financial fires to put out.

At least there's some positive learning here. You said that maybe you can one day get back into owning a 5th gen. That's a good start. You acknowledge that right now isn't the right time. So maybe work toward that first-step goal as low-hanging fruit and start climbing out of that hole you dug.

Good luck to you.

[Moto-Mojo]

Ah, the 5th Gen Camaro Fever! I'll be 70 on my next birthday but I too made a not-so-prudent decision when I bought my leased SS. Ten long years of Camaro payments in one form or the other. Finally paid it off this year. But cars can sure mess with your head. And don't get me started on women!

Good luck. As some have suggested, bite the bullet, do what needs to be done and realize the long term implications of a poor decision - BEFORE making one.

[CamaroCracka]

On of the best things that ever happened to me was having to declare bankruptcy at 22. I learned you can live without credit and banks were not my friends. You will do fine no matter what you decide.

[TheBrightSide]

Originally Posted by el ess A

Wow...good luck with that. Did they also tell you that if you owe, say 20K for example, and they manage to auction it for 12K (example) that you're still on the hook for the remaining 8K plus any late fees? The debts ain't going away. Did you even sit down with someone at the bank and try to work something out? It usually doesn't work, but if you haven't, I'd at least try there. They want your money more than the car, that's for sure.

When I was your age, I was well on my way to financial nest egg. My goal then was to retire at 60. Wife and I actually retired in our 50s which was even better, and was better off than I had originally calculated. I truly believe the wife and I are in good shape money-wise because of years of financial discipline. We worked hard and put a nut or two away every paycheck and now we don't worry about being broke any time soon. Now in our 60s, I worry more about RMDs and how it's going to fugg our taxes in our future. (First-world problems, I know.)

I don't know you or your situation, but here's some general advice I'd give anyone from what you just posted...(I'm not being accusatory, just basing it on what I've read in this thread)

Does your soon-to-be-new employer know this debacle? If not, and they find out (background checks aren't always your friend), they may decide to withdraw their job offer. This entire financial episode can destroy your credit-worthiness which in turn could jeapordize your ability to land a good job. Because they see it as not handling personal financial issues, you could drive their bottom line into the dirt and/or it at least shows a questionable level of trustworthiness and stability. No car = less chance you'll show up for work regularly. Employers are sometimes picky that way. TIP: DO NOT LIE TO YOUR POTENTIAL EMPLOYER. If they ask anything, be open/honest. People can work with honesty.

I've hired several people for my teams in my day. And if I were a potential employer, I wouldn't hire you knowing all this, plus your student loan issues along with your driving record issues.

I agree, if you can, don't dilly dally and get that car moveable and put it up for sale first if you can. If you're not going to be able to get what you owe by selling it, remember YOU don't control the title, the bank does. So you can't simply sell it to anyone unless the bank gets satisfied. Nobody's going to buy it without the title, so you may be stuck getting it repossessed. But if you try and hide the car from them, you're going to put yourself deeper in a hole.

Regardless, it seems you have a major cash flow and impulse-buy problem and you ended up further down a hole than you should have let it get to. Whatever happens, I suggest you find some financial seminars/courses (usually can find them for free) on how to handle money and your bills, especially on how to save and reduce debt load. Adulting is hard, and cars are expensive dependents.

You are in this place mostly due to decisions you made. Things don't just happen TO people. Luck, good or bad, is rare and has little to do with your lot in life, at least in America. People's choices along the way usually put them in the place they are. Even when they think that choice isn't anything to worry about at that moment.

Every choice you make needs to be financially beneficial to you from here on out. Swallow any pride or materialistic ideas, for now at least, and let go of the things holding you back, and figure out how to get ahead and stay there. You've got a lot of financial fires to put out.

At least there's some positive learning here. You said that maybe you can one day get back into owning a 5th gen. That's a good start. You acknowledge that right now isn't the right time. So maybe work toward that first-step goal as low-hanging fruit and start climbing out of that hole you dug.

Good luck to you.

Yeah, I figured out within the later part of the first year and half of owning the car, that I had dug myself a pretty deep hole. I had a stable state job at the time and had a 4-yr degree, so I didn’t exactly see anything except having just recently missed my demanded student loans. Turns out I had to pay at least a bit, I believe, in order to show them that I was trying (not 100% sure on how that is).

And as far as the auction for the repossession goes, yeah, I will most likely be having to pay off the remainder of the difference… I’m trying to clean up the factory hood I left outside in the sun for a few months now. Luckily, the car itself doesn’t really have much damage besides a small dent inside the passenger door well. There’s no rust or anything crazy, besides a small engine oil pan gasket leak.

I’m assuming stuff like no cosmetic engine cover, as well as aftermarket trans cooler lines and custom engine cooler, will probably tank the asking price even lower. But again, it’s an auction that I have no idea or access to info about, so I’m not sure if they would have reserve for all repo cars like mine. I would hope that the repayment plan isn’t too crazy, once I end up paying off the difference, however.

Now, as far as background checks… They run your credit as well, I’m assuming then? Like you said, I’ll be honest with my new, soon to be employers, since I applied to some higher than entry level positions. My credit score right now, unfortunately sits around 490 or so, especially with how bad the student loan forbearance affected it… I don’t think I really have anything else to lose, unless I decide to declare bankruptcy.

My mother decided to spare me, so she’s lent me a beater car (an old Mercedes SUV). I’ve pocketed enough to get one-way liability insurance on it, as well as a roadside membership for safety. My traffic citation was for an improper turn, and I should’be taken care of that like I did my very first one, for an improper lane change, but again, the point had already been assigned to the DMV and the court case was finalized, so whatever’s on the background check is what whoever sees it, will go by…

Either way, my plan hopefully right now, is to land a decent job and get a side gig, so that I can start paying off the remainder of the reposession and then take care of the student loans through an income driven repayment plan (IDR). I have credit card fees as well, which I recently missed as well. I’m on a repayment plan for that as of this new recent New Year’s, and they told me not to miss payments, but here I am, so I’m not sure what will happen to that… If I can catch up, I’ll make a one or two-time payment. I guess I have to contact them and see, as I’ve been dodging most of the creditors’ calls for a while now…

And yes, I didn’t mean to be ignorant by titling my post as life “happening”, but more so to mean that we all make mistakes. I didn’t want it to seem like it was something easy and erasable, like pencil on paper. This will clearly affect my finances/credit for 7+ years. My driving record, on a side note, should be fine in another year and a half, so I can save maybe more on insurance. After all, I’m pinching pennies now, since my early to mid 20’s were a downhill rollercoaster ride of accumulating questionable financial decisions…

I wish I could blame my mom for pressuring me to continue school and get my 4-yr degree, since I didn’t end up going to the military or into the trade work field, as I wanted… I hate having victim mentality, but I didn’t exactly have a perfect upbringing, and I lacked having a “backbone” to do what I thought was the best for myself. As a result, I drifted in between compromising on what my parents liked and wanted, versus what I knew was the absolute best and greatest decisions for myself. I thought about whether if I had gotten the Camaro 2 or 3 cars prior, if things would have changed. But to be honest, who knows if I would’ve ended up getting the thing repossessed near the very end, with barely less than a few grand left to pay… Maybe what I meant by life “happening”, was as in like a spiritual sense (although some of you may not believe in such), that my life was bound to take such a path, so I could rise up from it and get better, stronger, wiser, etc.

[TheBrightSide]

Originally Posted by Moto-Mojo

Ah, the 5th Gen Camaro Fever! I'll be 70 on my next birthday but I too made a not-so-prudent decision when I bought my leased SS. Ten long years of Camaro payments in one form or the other. Finally paid it off this year. But cars can sure mess with your head. And don't get me started on women!

Good luck. As some have suggested, bite the bullet, do what needs to be done and realize the long term implications of a poor decision - BEFORE making one.

Wow, a 10-yr finance…. I’ve never financed a brand new car, so I wouldn’t know how that works exactly. I know with my pre-owned (not certified), I was limited to a 5-yr plan max, so that’s what I took or I would’ve probably opted for a lengthier finance term.

Looks like it worked out for you in the long run. Did you end up having to do any major work or repairs while you were paying off your vehicle all this time? I definitely regret spending money into certain things that weren’t totally essential for my Camaro, but I guess I would’ve been pretty bored had I not done a few small to decent things (that wouldn’t have killed my wallet).

[InFiD3ViL]

I would recommend getting whatever you need to finish taking off/out of the car as soon as possible. You cancelled your insurance, which means the DMV will notify the bank that holds the loan on your car that it is now uninsured, which also means that it will likely be prioritized for repo. As for your other issues, I suggest staying as much on top of those student loans as you can. Mainly because they will NEVER be removed from your credit report. If you default, the govt. will hunt you down for eternity and will garnish wages, tax returns, etc. Forbearance itself should have zero effect on your credit, as that will show as current. Only issue is with forbearance, interest still accrues. Maybe see if you can qualify for any sort of deferment, as that also stop interest from accruing.

A lot of people are struggling right now right along with you. It may be a long 7 years, but you will come out of this ok if you learn from this. Is bankruptcy an option? Unfortunately, bankruptcy will not help with the student loans, but can wipe everything else out. Man, what a scam the student loan industry is...ask me how I know. Best of luck man. I hope things get easier for you asap.

[TheBrightSide]

Originally Posted by InFiD3ViL

I would recommend getting whatever you need to finish taking off/out of the car as soon as possible. You cancelled your insurance, which means the DMV will notify the bank that holds the loan on your car that it is now uninsured, which also means that it will likely be prioritized for repo. As for your other issues, I suggest staying as much on top of those student loans as you can. Mainly because they will NEVER be removed from your credit report. If you default, the govt. will hunt you down for eternity and will garnish wages, tax returns, etc. Forbearance itself should have zero effect on your credit, as that will show as current. Only issue is with forbearance, interest still accrues. Maybe see if you can qualify for any sort of deferment, as that also stop interest from accruing.

A lot of people are struggling right now right along with you. It may be a long 7 years, but you will come out of this ok if you learn from this. Is bankruptcy an option? Unfortunately, bankruptcy will not help with the student loans, but can wipe everything else out. Man, what a scam the student loan industry is...ask me how I know. Best of luck man. I hope things get easier for you asap.

I'm not exactly sure, since I checked Credit Karma and I know it's not 100% accurate, and some specific things are based on what you link to it or give it access/share information to. I totally "forgot" to check my e-mails when I first got my Camaro; and for the next year and a half or more, I proceeded to default and miss about a solid year's worth of payments.

I believe it was through the Dept of Education, which maybe called me a handful of times, but never blew up my phone at all whatsoever. It was also through parent plus(?) student loans, since my mom offered to help me co-sign onto the loans through FAFSA or whatever it was at the time. Clearly, I knew nothing regarding finances and the specific financial aspects of higher education, and my mom pressured me relentlessly to continue, so I simply dove head first and only really cared about academics, up until I graduated.

Only as of recently, has my Credit Karma account showed up a bunch of Dept of Educ negative/delinquency reports, while my credit score absolutely tanked 200+ pts. There was maybe a few credit card and auto loan delinquency/missed payment reports as well, but I'm not sure which ones truly did the most damage...

The only other thing I missed, was like a few short weeks (1-3 weeks' worth) of Affirm loan payments; but I ended up paying those off already, so I'm not sure and would have to go back and double check to see. Usually, those companies are pretty lenient, but will call you within like a week or two of being late on monthly payments. They don't charge late fees, but I believe they will easily charge you off, so I'm assuming that's not good either of course.

I also still have some medical bills that I haven't paid off, since I was struggling and it wasn't a priority to me at the time of this new year (2025). I remember reading about a bill being passed, to where medical bills couldn't affect your credit, but they could still be reported to the credit bureau. I'll probably pay them off at some point; but if they're not going to impact me like crazy and affect my credit score directly, I'll put it off for now..

Luckily at the time that I did end up having those hospital/medical fees billed to me, I had medical insurance while working through the state. My state job was certainly a stable full-time job, and it paid decent. I also needed to take care of my dental stuff, which I neglected, and am now forced to deal with Medi-cal. Not the end of the world, but I'm limited right now, until I get a full-time job going, with benefits and all. My main priority is to take care of my debt and sort it out, while I save some money and plan to move out from my parents'. My parents' household is pretty toxic, and my older sister (2 yrs older than me) moved out a few years ago with her boyfriend, and she's doing pretty decent. But that's a whole other story that I probably don't even have a specific place to share on here haha.

[morepowerjoe]

I'm sorry but I have to say a few things. If you spent as much time working as you do on this darn forum you would probably be ok. And what do you mean you didn't check your emails? You didn't know you had a car payment? Come on. Most guys your age are still living with their parents and for good reason. Interest rates are way too high to be buying anything with a loan right now especially with sup par credit. You should swallow your pride and move back with your parents if they'll have you until you get back on your feet because rent is too high right now as well. It would be in your best interest to pay off those student loans before you move out too. You should be really grateful they even let you borrow a car. Your parents were probably right; you really couldn't afford to move out. Did you have any savings? Emergency fund? You should have at least 6 months' salary saved up and a paid off car before you even think of moving out on your own. As far as your degree goes, it doesn't really matter what your degree is in because what it shows potential employers is that your dedicated and dependable. That you can get up every day and do something. I made quite a few mistakes as well when I was younger, but I learned from them and I hope you did/do too. Sorry to be so blunt but the worlds not a nice place and the sooner you learn that the sooner you will get ahead.

[Moto-Mojo]

Why do I get the feeling 'TheBrightSide' is AI? I find some of the odd phrasing and "loquaciousness" very AI-ish.

[el ess A]

Originally Posted by Moto-Mojo

Why do I get the feeling 'TheBrightSide' is AI? I find some of the odd phrasing and "loquaciousness" very AI-ish.

He's not AI.