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Petersburg Area Buy Here Pay Here Car Dealers

One option for those with poor credit histories in the Petersburg Virginia area, is purchasing your next used car, truck, van, or suv, from a Petersburg area buy here pay here car dealer. These dealers rarely consider prior credit backgrounds when making the decision to provide in house financing to their customers.

Buy here pay here dealers focus on your source of income, and your ability to make your monthly payments.

As for buy here pay here dealers who wish to post their available vehicles for sale, we welcome you to post with us for free. We have browsers, in the Petersburg area, who are in need of the in house financing options you offer.

Petersburg Buy Here Pay Here Pitfalls

Before buying a car, or truck, from a Petersburg area buy here pay here car dealer, customers should first understand how the buy here pay here dealer works. Although these type of dealers generally adopt a very lenient approval policy when considering an applicant's request for financing, they also monitor, very closely, the customers payment history, and will often repossess the vehicle at the first sign of a loan default, or late payments. It is not uncommon for a buy here pay here dealer to install a "kill switch" prior to delivery, insuring that they can disable the vehicle remotely, should the customer be late with any of the agreed upon payments.

Because buy here pay here car dealers generally accept customers that are considered a high risk, their interest rates will be higher than that of a conventional car dealer, and, in many cases, may be an percentage equal to the legal limit allowed by the state of Virginia.

Although, for some, a Petersburg area buy here pay here dealer may be the only option for securing a car or truck with the help of a car loan, they should be considered a last resort, and used only after all other lenders, and dealers have been visited.

The latest trend in the buy here pay here car business:
Buy a car, get a GPS, too.
_{Posted August 16, 2013}

The twist is you may never know about it.

Buy here pay here car dealers — especially the ones who cater to customers with bad credit —  are increasingly placing GPS devices on the cars they sell.

These devices aren't the kind you mount on the dashboard to navigate city streets. They're electronic locators, designed to help the repo man find your car if you stop paying. Some devices can even disable the car until you pay up.

In the cat-and-mouse game between the late-paying car customer and the buy-here, pay-here dealer, the GPS locator is a new weapon.

The trouble comes when the buy here pay here car dealer fails to mention it.

"They don't want the customer to know that if they don't pay, they can come find it," said Duane Overholt, an industry critic who runs the website stopautofraud.com.

Car repossessions guided by GPS are so widespread the buy here pay here industry has its own trade group: The Payment Assurance Technology Association.

The group has a code of ethics that requires its members to "fully define and disclose" these devices to customers.

"It's the deep sub-prime, buy-here pay-here, consumers with poor credit scores," who are targeted with these secret devices

Some of these devices not only serve as locators, but also as reminders. If a payment is due, the device beeps for 20 seconds — kind of like a seat belt reminder — after starting the car.

A customer with a low credit score often is happy to buy a car with a GPS locator installed, and to sign a contract that discloses the device. Without it, he or she might not be able to buy a car at all.

Michael Fischer, who owns GPSandTRACK in Phoenix, said the decision of whether to disclose the devices should be left to dealers.

They aren't being used to spy on customers, he said, they're a way of getting cars back if people don't pay.

"The dealers could care less what their customers are doing all day," he said.

Jon Mills, professor and dean emeritus of the University of Florida's Levin College of Law, said secretly placing devices raises "a lot of red flags."

He called it "an intrusion upon seclusion." The practice reminds him of the controversy that arose after several large rental companies were caught secretly placing spyware on computers they rented out.

"Essentially what they're trying to do there is stalk the person," said Timothy Kaye, a law professor at Stetson University. "And you don't have a right to stalk anyone."

Vehicle Review: 2012 Hyundai Sonata
_{Posted May 23, 2013}

Whether it's the Elantra scrapping with the economy compacts or the Equus trading barbs with encrusted luxo-yachts, Hyundai seemingly has a fighter in every weight class. Among midsize sedans, the 2012 Hyundai Sonata was the Korean automaker's contender. In prior years, the Sonata was nothing more than a midpack player, but that all changed with 2010's full redesign, in which the Sonata gained dramatic new styling, new engines and a revamped interior.

Under the hood was a choice of a powerful 2.4-liter four-cylinder or, in lieu of a V6, a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder. With 198 horsepower (200 in SE trim), the base engine satisfied just about everybody, especially when it returned a very impressive 28 mpg combined when paired with the six-speed automatic transmission. Equally impressive is the turbo engine, which cranked out 274 hp yet still gets nearly identical fuel economy estimates.....more

Ask The Right Questions
_{Posted May 13, 2013}

Getting the right answers starts with asking the right questions. That's why we created Buy Here Pay Here Financing Basics and this list of questions designed to give you a starting point in your conversation with a Buy Here Pay Here (BHPH) Dealer. Choose the ones that matter most or add your own questions to get the information you're interested in.

1. What do I need to bring when I visit your dealership?
Bringing the correct documents to a buy here pay here dealership can speed up your purchase process. Although the list of items can differ depending on your unique credit situation and each dealer, we interviewed buy here pay here dealers around the country, and here is what they suggested you take:

Driver's License
Proof of Auto Insurance
Financial Info (bank and credit card account info to fill out credit application)
Social Security Number
References (with complete contact info)
Proof of Employment and Salary (paycheck stubs, with one less than 30 days old)
Proof of Residence (mortgage document or rental lease agreement)
Current Phone Bill (or other utility bill such as gas, electric or water)
Down Payment
To find out exactly what to bring, call the dealership before you visit. They'll help you pull together everything you need.

2. How do you accept payment?
Instead of making monthly payments to a traditional lender, you make weekly or bi-weekly payments at a BHPH dealership. Many BHPH dealers require you to bring cash physically to their location, but some are expanding the ways they'll accept payment. Ask if they take payment by phone or online. Some dealers will require an automatic withdrawal if you currently have a checking account, savings account or credit card. Other dealers offer the option of paying through money orders. Explore a variety of payment methods with your dealer to find one that best fits your financial situation.

3. What is your late payment policy?
You'll want to understand the dealership's late-payment policy. Will they repossess the car the day after you fail to make a payment, or is there a grace period? Will they contact you or simply take the car back with no questions asked? More than likely, this will never be an issue, but it's good to know what to expect if an emergency temporarily delays your payment. You might also ask if the dealership regularly reports both positive and negative payment information to the credit reporting agencies. If you have a good payment record and the dealer reports this information, this can help you start or rebuild a credit history.

4. Where are you located?
When selecting from a list of buy here pay here establishments, location is important. Pick one close to where you live or work so that it's convenient to come in to make your payment. What's more, BHPH dealers prefer to work with customers who live close to the dealership so that it's simple to maintain the financial agreement geographically. So, finding a dealership nearby may make it even easier to get the car loan you need.

5. What value do you place on providing quality vehicles?
Bad credit shouldn't prevent you from getting a good vehicle. In fact, many buy here pay here dealers are focused on offering reliable vehicles. They understand that to ensure your faithfulness to the payment plan, they need to offer you a dependable vehicle. Ask dealerships about the inspection standards or reconditioning processes they use to prepare vehicles for purchase. See if they offer maintenance and repairs onsite, or if they have a partner provider who does. A reliable vehicle serves the interests of both parties, and a dealer should be happy to provide you with this information.

Buy Here Pay Here Car Dealers *
Bad Credit Approved With Proof Of A Steady Income **