Car Girl

Review of Credit Connection

Ok. Pardon the long post but want to give readers ...

Ok. Pardon the long post but want to give readers the big picture here. I worked part time/ sporadically for two years while caring for an ill parent at home. Circumstances became such that I had to place my parent in a nursing home. Well, after that the parents monthly income went to the home for care and I was only working part time so there was no money to purchase a solid used car for cash while I got back on my feet. My other car needed a bunch of work so that wasn t an option either. I needed a car to go back to work full time as I work varied shifts and public transportation in Central PA sucks. Enter Credit Connection.

They are useful if you plan on using the car in the short term while making other arrangements. The cars usually have problems, are high mileage, and the payments are outrageous given the age and condition of the vehicles. Beggars can t be choosers I guess so I got a used sedan with higher miles. I sprung for their so called extended warranty that raised the payments an extra $40 per month. I knew from the beginning that the car was a rip off but with limited credit, limited recent employment, and a need for a car right now I signed on the dotted line.

Mind you I hate being ripped off so I took a second job to save for a used car I can pay cash for and I m about 2 months away from being able to give them their car back and buy a used car for cash. No more legal extortion. Remember, these type of places prey on those in situations and that is how they make their money. They aren t really helping if you pay for the car two or three times its value plus are stuck with the high maintenance costs from all the problems you will encounter. And make no mistake....you will pay those payments or the car will be cut off. They don t care if you just spent all your money on repairs you get NO breaks on those high payments.

I must say that my car is fairly dependable but it will need work coming up. It s still way overpriced. In my search for another car I have seen the same year, make, and model of car that I have at $200-2500 less. Now this is if you pay cash or can get low cost financing through a bank or credit union. I do the bare minimum for safety s sake and so the car will take me to work--I did the brakes-pads only-I will not spend money to do the rotors for a car I m not keeping- and changed the oil- and the check engine light has been on since three days after I got the car. It s been on for nearly three months and it will not pass inspection like that. But I don t care because I ll be turning the car in shortly and it will no longer be my problem.

In short...if you need a car quick and don t intend to pay it off just use it for up to 6 months maybe do that. Other than that if you can go elsewhere please do so. Otherwise you will be ripped off. Oh and did I mention you can make every payment on time without fail and Credit Connection does not report to the three national credit bureaus? Essentially you re wasting your money if you pay a car off with them and you re being overcharged. The good payment history won t be reported so you will stay stuck in the same situation.

If possible go to a car lot that participates with Credit Acceptance/Guaranteed Credit approval. The down payments are comparable and you can get the payments reported to the credit bureau to improve your credit score. That s my next move after I have been at my job for a year or so longer.