I recently talked with a bad credit car loan customer about a problem that he had with his car. It seems that he decided not to purchase an extended warranty…

It’s not the first time and, unfortunately, it won’t be the last

I recently had a chance to talk with Phil. Phil has lived in New York City for the past 24 years. Living in the city, he never really had the need for a car and, truth be told, for most of that time he really couldn’t afford one. A few years ago, Phil decided to go back to school. He earned his bachelors degree then went on to law school, earning a Juris Doctor degree. About a year ago, he passed the New York bar exam and he currently practices law in the city.

During all this time, he never had a car and, thus, no car credit. A year and a half ago, he decided that he could finally afford a small car. Because of his limited car credit, he knew that he would have to pay a higher interest rate to begin with. Phil picked out a Chevrolet Aveo – both for its size and to keep the payment affordable. The dealer offered to sell him an extended warranty, but he decided against it. After all, the Aveo only had 50,000 miles on the odometer.

A few days ago, Phil had to make an unexpected trip of about 900 miles. Halfway through the trip, the Aveo broke down. He ended up renting a car to finish the trip. Upon reaching his destination, he learned that the engine timing belt had broken and the Aveo needed a rebuilt engine. The total cost, including the rental car and motel (he had to stay overnight when the car was towed) came to almost $800.

Could you afford to do this?

Fortunately, Phil was able to pay for the repairs – his career is going well right now. In fact, he plans on buying another car later on this year and he will qualify for a much lower interest rate since he’s been on-time with all his payments. But how many of us could afford to do the same thing?

Here at Auto Credit Express, we’re different.

Many of us at Auto Credit Express have witnessed variations on this story, but most of them don’t have the same happy ending. This is why we always recommend that you consider an extended warranty that covers most, if not all, of your contract length. In addition, our web site, www.autocreditexpress.com, contains calculators and a resource page to give you a better idea of what you can afford. Once you’ve made a decision, you can fill out our secure application in the comfort of your own home, knowing that if you do have bad credit, your application will be sent to our closest affiliate dealer that specializes in subprime auto finance. Remember, here at Auto Credit Express, we want you “on the road” to better credit!