So here’s my situation, wife and I were struggling for awhile because of multiple deaths in the family which we had to pay for funeral expenses. Both my inlaws died penniless, and when it came time for the life insurance policies to reimburse us for all the funeral costs, low and behold the insurance policies were considered void. Long story short, I ended up doing a debt settlement plan about a year and half ago.
Well fast forward, I recently lost my mother who left a significant amount of money to me and my older brother. She also left us her house. We sold the house and I walked away with ALOT of money. My wife and I both got promotions at our jobs so we now make decent money as well.
I paid off all my unsecured debts except the debt settlement can’t be paid off early because I have one creditor who refuses to settle with them at the moment.
TLDR: I have cash now, but meh credit (600 score for me, 640 score for wife)
We have a family SUV which I finance, and my wife is currently leasing her commuter car an Audi Q5 which we pay about $650 a month for, but the lease is ending soon.
She wants to lease another car and wants a “hot mom car” in her words, but I think she really wants a BMW.
So the question is do I try to take the Q5 to one of the dealers here or do I try to repair my credit more. There’s really not much more I think I can do until I get this debt settlement done, I’ve paid off 90% of my debt, opened up a gas credit card and another card with good rewards which I use for gas and groceries and just pay the balance in full at the end of the month.
First, I’m sorry for your loss. You’re going to get dinged on money factor (interest rate) regardless on your new lease, but if you’re cash flush, I’d do maximum MSD’s or a one pay lease to soften some of that blow. Check the marketplace if you’d like some help negotiating. I’m guessing you’ll want your wife as the sole signer on the new lease based upon scores.
Sorry for all those losses. Man, I cannot even imagine it. I lost my mom last year and still cannot get over it daily.
Anyways, if you’re wife wants a hot mom car, I would wait out till the end of this year and extend your Audi. Election time can change things also, usually better.
They might be slightly better than LR leases but X5 leases still suck at Tier 1. And BMW leases suck without loyalty in general. God knows how awful they are at lower tiers or without loyalty.
If you finance at least you can keep refinancing every time your credit improves. With a lease you are locked into the rate for the full duration.
I should probably specify, “Luxury Sedan or Cross-over with a panoramic moon roof.”
I considered looking into a Hyundai option like a Santa-Fe or even the Pallisade and her response was “F you, I wouldn’t be caught dead in a korean POS.”
I’m considering looking into a Volvo S90 or XC60 as well.
I basically need something that gets like 20 MPG for her that will make her feel like a bad ass mom.
I’m a police officer and have an assigned take home cruiser which I pmuch drive everyday. The only time I really drive our Infiniti or her car is to pick up the kid from school or when I go grocery shopping or run errands. I personally couldn’t care less what I drive as long as it goes from Point A to Point B.
We’ve had our QX80 for about 3 years now, and only have 15,000 miles on it
I feel like your priorities aren’t straight in this matter. Credit is Tier 3-4 status across the board. You aren’t going to like your payment on a hot mom car.
Ok I’ll keep chipping away at credit repair, my question then is what would be considered a good score/good credit ratio in the future. I think realistically I can get to the high 600’s in a couple months. Most of the debt settlements are done, and I’m in the process of getting those knocked off my credit report. I think next month ill be below 10% credit utilization when reporting time comes because I just paid off a lot of unsecured debt on both me and the wife’s end.
Edit: I guess I should also add at this moment I could easily put down 7-10K on top of MSDs for most brands. I can afford a $1000/month easy.
It’s a weird position in where I’m cash flush, but crappy credit. I’d rather not just buy a car outright and want the lease option because the wife is the type who always wants that new car every 2-3 years.
And yes I’ve been smart and put away a lot into savings/investments already.
If you are sitting on a large amount of cash, have you considered looking at what some of these “hot mom cars” cost used/cpo when they come off lease from other “hot moms”?
