Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep Eagle Bankruptcy: Does it Affect You?

As a consumer of a Dodge Ram truck myself, I found out recently how this bankruptcy affects me personally. To grasp how, I have started at the beginning so please bear with me as I explain, it could help you in the future.

In April 2005, my daughter who had recently separated, moved to Washington state with my two grandchildren to start a new chapter in their lives. I had flown to Colorado to help with the packing and drive to Tacoma which we did in her 2004 Saturn, a small two door car which from day one of owning had constant problems, a lemon some would say. So the four of us, one cat, one hamster and of course a lot of luggage set off on our journey which took about four days. On day two the car did not want to start, yep you guessed it a dead battery! To keep from worrying if the car would start when ever we needed to stop for gas, food, rest-breaks and hotels and not have to have it jump started, the battery was replaced. Day three we awake and come out of the hotel to find a flat tire, lovely, we put on the spare, and when the trunk is packed full of luggage this is no fun believe me, and go to the nearest tire store. There we were told that not only is the one tire bad but the second front tire is also bad from wearing on the insides due to the front end being out of alignment, so here we have two new tires added to our list of repairs along the way. Day four and we finally arrive in Washington, I am so glad to be home and out of this little deathtrap that Saturn calls a car that anytime we went some where together from then on we went in my Ford Explorer or Ford F150.

OK, so life goes on and my daughter gets a good job with a mortgage company making a really good income and by October of 2005 has saved enough money for a decent down payment. Off we go looking for a nice new/used car and we end up at Pierre Money Mart who has more cars in her price range as well as types of cars she likes, to choose from than most other dealers. After hours of looking and test driving and not finding anything that was either in good condition or what she liked or has those wanted creature comfort features we all look for, I spot this super nice, fully loaded, Dodge Ram 1500, 4X4, four door, short bed truck complete with tunnel cover and a tail that is jet black and gorgeous inside and out and of course in the price range; Yeah! After the test drive we are both just loving this truck so she buys it. All is well for about five or six months, but being a person who has owned and driven only small to mid-size cars, she is having a hard time adjusting to the truck and ended up getting in an accident which was not her fault but made her even more uneasy driving the truck, so she saved more money for a down payment and off we went looking for another car. This time she finds a nice BMW in her price range but since she only had the truck for a short time she still owes way too much to add to the price of the car and not end up with a car payment that would blind any person. So She buys the car and keeps the truck but intends to sell it, now I am totally in love with this truck and we work out an agreement that My husband and I would take over the payments and keep the truck. We left the truck in her name as we already had two vehicles and had to sell one of ours first, as time went on it just sort of ended up staying this way and this also helped to build up her credit again.

So here we are back in the present day and we decide it is finally time to refinance the Dodge and put it into mine and my husbands names and let it start showing on our credit. On to Chrysler now, as most of us know Chrysler has filed for bankruptcy, they come out on top, out of debt, restructured and reorganized. They along with the Government of the US as well as Canada, the UAW and bond holders now own a new company. Who ends up paying for this? The workers of 789 dealers and who knows how many automobile plants as well as long time employees who now end up in the unemployment line instead of the assembly line. The same will be true of GM when they finally come out of bankruptcy court. It is said that 1,124 dealers will be sold and unable to sell any of their inventory, plants will be shut down and others such as Saturn sold off to the highest bidder. (No great loss there in my eyes.) Basically over 3,100 dealers will be kicked to the curb by October 2010 when all is said and done by these two giants of the automotive industry.

So how does this all affect me personally? Well remember that My husband and I took over the payments on the Dodge Ram but left it in my daughters name? When we decided to put it in ours I went to our Credit Union that we have been with since the military sent us here to Washington in 2005 and applied for a refinance loan. We had the credit to do so but here is the whopper, the kick in the rear, the unbelievable situation that these bankruptcies have put us and many more owners into that will stop most if not all of us dead in our tracks!

Banks now require a twenty to thirty percent down payment on any of these vehicles made by the companies in bankruptcy in order to protect themselves. Yes they will refinance or do a new auto loan on a Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep Eagle or GM but until they know how the companies will do after all the bankruptcy mess is over they have the right to require a larger cash down payment in order to keep their losses down should they have to repossess on an auto loan that requires them to have to resell in order to clear the debt of the loan. Now the original loan on the truck is for six years, three and a half years into this loan and now in order to get a new loan and put it our name we have to come up with just about half of the remaining balance due on the original loan, which comes to about seven grand. Now in the every day average joe's life, who has this kind of a down payment?

So here we are back at square one with no options but to leave things the way they are for now. I hope this story will help make other owners of Chrysler and GM autos more aware of how these bankruptcies affect us little people, the people these companies rely on to buy their products and keep them in business. On a lighter note, I do Love my Dodge truck and do not regret owning it and would surely purchase another in the future, but for now I am going to have to be satisfied with sitting back and letting the dust settle before making any future major car buying decisions.

Good luck to all of you Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep Eagle and GM automobile owners.