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My mom and I are always fighting over my car, I wish I never got it?
Long story short two years ago my mom took me into a car dealership to get a car so I could go to work and drive myself to college. Well I was young and stupid (I think I had just turned 18) and she let me pick a car that costs me $321 a month in financing fees + $110 in insurance fees. Well now it's four years down the road and I'm always struggling over how to pay it as I'm a full time college student who lives way from home.
I have a job, but it doesn't pay that much and they're always delaying sending me my paycheck (I'll think they're going to cut it one week and they don't do it until the next week and then I have to wait another week to get the paycheck). Obviously this a problem of it's own, but I can't really get another job that will work with my crazy school hours.
I'd been paying it fine for a while but I had to ask my mom for money twice early last year for it and now I'm running low on money again due to getting really sick and winding up with some hefty medical bills I had to pay.
I CAN skip a payment, but my mom has to be the one to take the skip payment form in for me because it's a small chain of banks and the nearest one to me is an hour and 45 minutes away (in the town where she lives). She never wants to do it for me and screams at me about being irresponsible and how it's going to ruin my credit. Well I called the bank and they said it doesn't get reported to the credit bureau as long as I use their skip payment form (it just gets added on to the end of my loan). My mom didn't believe the lady and said she didn't know what she was talking about. This has happened multiple times.
I get so pissed about it and we fight over it all the time and it's caused a lot of tension between us. I really feel like it was her fault for letting somebody who had just turned 18 pick out a brand new car that was way too expensive for them to possibly afford on their own. I mean she was with me and she didn't stop me, she just let me do it! I know some of you will say she was trying to teach me a lesson about life, but this is a very expensive lesson. I wish I had a used car like all my friends and only pay $200 instead of $431 every month! Even better I wish I didn't have a car. I wish I had a scooter or something.
I wish I could sell the stupid thing, but it has some damage on the front end I couldn't afford to fix when somebody backed into me in a parking lot and left without leaving a note or anything. My insurance wouldn't cover it. It's also now well below KBB and I don't have enough money to buy myself anything else to replace it.
It tortures me every month as I struggle to pay it and my only saving grace is living on campus and having the majority of my bills for that paid through scholarships.
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Want to answer more questions in the Relationships category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Families?
There is a lot to learn about owning a car and insurance as well as medical bills and health insurance.
Let’s tackle the health insurance first. If your mom has health insurance through work and has a family policy you are covered on it until you are 26 living at home or at college. This is covered under the ACA (Obama Care) which is still in effect.
Don't let your mom fool you on this as it is easy to find out simply by calling her employers Human Resources Department and finding out if she has family coverage and who the insurance company is. If she does have family coverage ask for a claim form be mailed to you and submit your bills to the insurance company and make sure you have them send the check to you at school. Call their claims department to make sure this can be done this way.
IF you're not covered check with your school you may have student health insurance under that you are unaware of. Some schools added automatically to tuition.
Now for the car; let’s start with the bank. You have a four year old car you purchased at 18 which would make you now 21 or 22. Time to stand on your own two feet and cut mom out of the picture. You will be surprised if you do as I suggest how soon mom calls and asks why you are not calling and asking for her help.
1. Call the loan department at the bank and ask if you can fax the skip payment for to them. Explain to them it is a hardship to get it to them as you are an hour and a half away. I'm fairly certain a fax copy will be sufficient.
2. While you have the loan department on the phone ask them if it is possible to renegotiate the loan for a lower rate. If you’re not upside down on the loan, meaning the book value on the car is less than the value of the loan they should allow you to renegotiate the loan for a payment you can afford. Do not say anything about the damage unless asked.
3. Talk to your car insurance company and find just what type of out exactly what insurance. The bank requires you to have a certain amount of Liability insurance and collision as well as fire and theft. The collision insurance is the insurance that fixes the car when you’re at fault in an accident or if someone damages your car and leaves without telling you. On this insurance there is a deductible meaning the fix, something of the repair is your cost, the insurance pix up the rest. Ask the insurance agent what your deductible is.
Do this yourself for if you’re on moms’ policy and the insurance company pays out a claim they can raise the rates. If mom did the leg work on this she may have told you the insurance company refused to fix your car. Verify this for yourself. No insurance company refuses to fix your car if you have the proper coverage which you must have for the duration of the loan.
4. While you are talking to the loan company and you have found out you can fix your car but need money for the deductible. If the loan value on the car is more than the car is worth ask if they will loan you the amount you need over the amount you owe.
5. You can call the credit companies to get a copy of your credit report or simply go to freecredit.com to view your credit rating. This will tell you if your right or mom is.
I know college is trying and you probably don't have a lot of time to spend. From what you have written I believe you need to stop being dependent on your mother as the information she is giving you if she is giving you the information you have written is wrong or you did not understand her. Doing it yourself will allow you to get the information first hand and to ask questions from the proper source. Doing it now will also prepare you for going out into the world better prepared then you are now.
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