Category Archives: Interviews

Interview With BHPH Expert Todd B President of Drive 1 Again

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Please give my readers a history of DRIVE 1 AGAIN. How long has your car dealership been in business?

DRIVE 1 AGAIN (D1) opened it’s doors to customers at 10890 W Colfax, Lakewood, CO in April 2013. The D1 executive team members are all residents of Colorado. Before D1, I owned and actively managed the 5000 Car Store (5K) chain of Buy Here Pay Here car dealerships based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 5K started in 1999, and grew to 3 used car dealerships before it became a used car super center under a different name and new ownership. In 2012, we developed a new concept platform in the Denver Metro Area. We’ve had a warm response from our customers to our integrated sales, service, finance and warranty model.

Does your dealership primarily sell domestic or foreign used cars? Or would you say it’s a mix of both?

We sell American used cars and a variety of foreign used cars, trucks and SUVs such as Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Kia and Volkswagen. Customers who want to buy American are pleased to learn that many foreign cars, like the Toyota Tundra, are produced in the United States with mainly domestic parts and USA assembly. If a car’s VIN starts with a 1, 4 or 5, it’s assembled in the USA. We list all VIN numbers on our inventory page, and we offer free vehicle history reports for D1 pre-owned vehicles.

If a person has just declared bankruptcy and they want to buy a vehicle, what do you suggest they do?

At DRIVE 1 AGAIN, we simply don’t check credit scores. We are more interested in our customers’ current financial status rather than past financial mishaps. For our in-house, auto financing program, we require a low down payment and verify current pay stubs or other sources of income to confirm that the customer can easily afford the monthly payment. Customers are eligible for D1 Financing once their bankruptcy is discharged.

Should a consumer run their own credit report before they purchase a used car?

Since credit is not a concern at DRIVE 1 AGAIN, it’s not necessary. We encourage our customers to improve their credit scores with on time monthly payments. When customers request our credit help, we are hopeful to have the capacity to begin reporting quarterly car payments to the credit bureaus. If a customer misses a payment, we are on the phone immediately; often the evening the payment is due. If our customers can improve their payment patterns and rebuild credit scores, then we both succeed together.

If you’re divorced and as a result of that divorce have bad credit, what tips would you offer the consumer on how to obtain a loan?

The D1 Sales team is well versed in bad credit auto loans, and the cause of bad credit is not relevant to D1. We welcome single, divorced, married and widowed customers with any credit status!

What questions should the consumer ask the BHPH dealer when they walk into the car dealerships?

Customers should ask about the vehicle’s current condition. What service or maintenance has the dealership performed to recondition the car? We perform a 52-point inspection on every vehicle. Also, customers should inquire about any used car warranty and roadside assistance programs. D1 includes a 90-Day Limited Warranty and 1-Year Roadside Assistance with every vehicle purchase. These customer protection programs are usually only available at new car lots.


What are some common buy here pay here misconceptions the public should be aware of?

BHPH dealerships often get a bad rap for well-deserved reasons. The D1 Team has recognized this shortcoming and works on the opposite side of the spectrum. We offer D1 Certified, fully reconditioned used cars because we want our customers to drive safe, reliable cars. To keep our customers on the road without added financial burdens, we discount in-house auto service and include the limited warranty and roadside assistance with all used car sales. We are always available by phone or in person to help out with car related questions, concerns or issues.

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Todd B.
DRIVE 1 AGAIN
10890 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood, CO 80215
PHONE: 303.274.7692
FAX: 303.274.7690

This is our twenty-sixth interview in our “1000 Interview Challenge” If your interested in an interview, please contact me.

This interview was conducted by Shane McC. Shane currently is attending RISD studying computer programming. He enjoys traveling and plays hockey. He played for the Boston Junior Bruins of the EJHL during the 01-02 season. You can follow him on Google+

Interview With Uncle Casey of Little House In The Valley

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Tell my audience about yourselves. What made you want to start your website littlehouseinthevalley.com?

Little House was initially created to promote healthy, financial management to our readers. Many individuals feel that only rich people need to properly manage their money and credit but in fact, smaller incomes need to be monitored and managed just as much if not more.

Please name some quick and easy ways for a person to improve their credit even if they’ve recently been through a divorce or some type of financial calamity?

You can’t improve your credit until you know what’s hurting it. Get a copy of your credit report. You need all three and can get them directly for free from Experian, Equifax and Transunion. You may have to pay for an actual FICO score, but you don’t necessarily need that to start making improvements.

Then, carefully review it and discover what is positive on your report and what is negative. Once you’ve determined that you can start strategizing.

Buying a used vehicle can be a difficult and arduous process for anyone. What advice/tips do you specifically give to women that “go it alone” in the car buying process?

Do your homework! There are definitely more guys “into cars” and simply have learned more about them, but Women should always narrow their search down to 2 or 3 cars they are interested in and research them online. MSN Auto, Consumer Reports and Kelley Blue Book are all very trusted resources to get your initial questions answered before you ever meet anyone at a lot.

When a person walks into a car dealership what are some credit questions you recommend that the consumer asks the salesman or finance manager?

None. If you don’t already know your credit standing and how APR’s work you shouldn’t be financing a car. Financially savvy people typically already have the loan worked out with their bank before-hand. The dealership will probably sell you a car no matter what your score is, but make sure you get a low APR over the term of the loan. They can do the math right there in front of you and show you exactly how much interest you’ll be paying and what that car will ultimately cost you in total.

How long does the credit restoration process take?

That greatly depends on what your credit report tells you. You might only have a couple of items that are easy to repair, or you might have loads of debt (even some you forgot about) that could literally take years to erase. If you are concerned about improving your credit the sooner you start the better.

If a person can’t purchase a vehicle in cash, what’s the ideal down payment you recommend they have? Does a larger down payment mean a shorter loan and APR?

More money down helps in the long-term of the loan because you are borrowing less money and in theory will pay it back quicker. BUT, make sure you discuss the percentage rates. A smaller loan doesn’t mean you are paying less for it.

If you’re a first time car buyer and you’ve never shopped for insurance before, what are some tips to get the lowest payment possible? What are some questions you should ask your insurance agent?

Auto insurance has gotten extremely competitive and you can now get quality insurance very inexpensively. There are literally dozens of websites that let you compare companies and their rates based on your zip code and a few short questions.

Besides littlehouseinthevalley.com what are some of websites/blogs you would recommend our visitors visit while trying to improve their credit?

CreditKarma.com is great. Although not 100% accurate, you can easily sign up for a free account and view your credit details (again, not 100% accurate), but very close and they also have a credit ‘Report Card’ which is very useful in discovering how your credit score is made up and specific advice on how to improve it. It doesn’t show up as an inquiry on your credit report if you use CreditKarma.com.

Uncle Casey
Little House in the Valley
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This is our twenty-fifth interview in our “1000 Interview Challenge” If your interested in an interview, please contact me.

This interview was conducted by Shane McC. Shane currently is attending RISD studying computer programming. He enjoys traveling and plays hockey. He played for the Boston Junior Bruins of the EJHL during the 01-02 season. You can follow him on Google+

Interview With Jon Dulin of Money Smart Guides

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Tell my audience about yourself. What made you want to start your website moneysmartguides.com?

I started MoneySmartGuides because personal finance is not taught in schools. As a result, most of us learn personal finance from our parents. If they weren’t great with money, chances are we won’t be either. By taking some time to learn the basics of personal finance, we can take control of our lives. I try to teach my readers some of the basic ideas so they can handle money wisely.

Please name some quick and easy ways for a person to improve their credit even if they’ve recently been through a divorce or some type of financial calamity?

The easiest way to improve your credit is to pay your bill on time each month. The second would be to keep your debt levels under control, since your debt to credit ratio is an important factor too. These aren’t sexy, but surprisingly, personal finance isn’t either. Anything that claims to fix your credit in 5 minutes is a scam. Like everything in live, it takes some time to improve your credit.

When a person walks into a car dealership what are some credit questions you recommend that consumer ask the salesman or finance manager?

You want to know what the current offers the dealer or manufacturer are offering. Ideally, you should run your credit BEFORE going to dealership. That way you know what your score is. Some sleazy car salesmen (not all, just a few) will tell you that your score isn’t good enough for the special financing. Always ask to see the report they run.

How long does the Credit Restoration process take? Generally, it takes 7 years.

If a person can’t purchase a vehicle in cash, what’s the ideal down payment you recommend they have? Does a larger down payment mean a shorter loan and APR? You should put down enough of a down payment so that you can afford a loan no longer than 5 years. If you have to go out farther than that, you can’t afford the car. With that said, don’t just focus on the monthly payment. Negotiate the overall price of the car. A salesman can get you to “afford” almost any car when you tell him you want a monthly payment of X dollars. If after negotiating the overall purchase price, you can’t afford the monthly payment of a 5 year loan, you either need to put more money down, or you just can’t buy the car.

If you’re a first time car buyer and you’ve never shopped for insurance before, what are some tips to get the lowest rate possible?

What are some questions you should ask your insurance agent to know your getting the best possible deal? You should shop around a few different agents. Once you get one quote, show that to the next agent. You want to make sure you are comparing apples-to-apples. Insurance policies can be complicated, so showing them your quote ensures they are quoting you the same coverage. I would urge you to steer clear of the state minimum coverage. The point of insurance is to cover you should you get into an accident. If you only have the minimum coverage and get into an accident, the insurance company will only cover you so much. The rest is your responsibility. If you don’t have enough money to pay out of pocket in the case of an accident, then you need to get more coverage from the insurance company.

Besides moneysmartguides.com what are some of websites/blogs you would recommend our visitors visit while trying to improve their credit?
I personally enjoy reading Bogleheads.org, the finance forums at FatWallet.com.

Jon Dulin of Money Smart Guides
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This is our twenty-fourth interview in our “1000 Interview Challenge” If your interested in an interview, please contact me.

This interview was conducted by Shane McC. Shane currently is attending RISD studying computer programming. He enjoys traveling and plays hockey. He played for the Boston Junior Bruins of the EJHL during the 01-02 season. You can follow him on Google+

Interview With Jake Parker of Best Auto Sales LLC

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Please give my readers a history of Econo Auto Sales. How long has your car dealership been in business?

Best Auto Sales LLC has been in business since September 12, 2010. We finance every single deal in house and are a true BHPH operation. If people need financing on a car they can come to us and we will find a way to approve the deal. Being that we are the bank it is completely up to us to finance a car. That being said we will approve a car deal that other people and business just can’t and want do.

Does your dealership primarily sell domestic or foreign used cars. Or would you say it’s a mix of both?

We sell a mixture of both types of cars at our dealership. There are certain cars that we will not sell because they are not reliable or they just are not good cars but we definitely sell both classifications of cars.

If a person has bad credit how do you suggest they improve there credit? What advice would you want to give that person?

If a person has bad credit the first thing they should do is find out exactly what items are on there credit that need to be paid or taken care off. They should handle those items first. Once the current bad credit issues on your report are fixed then I would recommend trying to get a retail credit card at a store you know you are going to use often. When you go and buy your items at the store of your choice find out when your payment is due for the credit card and make sure you make the payment on time and do that every month and your credit will improve like that quicker than you think.

If a person has just declared bankruptcy and they want to buy a vehicle, what do you suggest they do?

Almost all dealerships will not sell a car to a person in a bankruptcy because it is not legal for there name to be on the paperwork. If you establish a good relationship with a BHPH dealer then it can be done. The car can be put in a family members name that is a very reliable person and the person in bankruptcy can actually pay for the car and drive the car. The name of the bankruptcy person can not sign any documents or have the car put in there name. Although I do not recommend this, there is a way to make this happen.

Should a consumer run their own credit report before they purchase a used car?

Yes. There are free credit reports all over and it would help the person to have an idea about there credit before they go in a dealership. It is not absolutely necessary to check your score before you buy a car but if you can get your score then it will help you know what your situation is before you go in to buy a car.

If your divorced and as a result of that divorce have bad credit, what tips would you offer the consumer on how to obtain a loan?

This is really going to depend on the car dealership you are dealing with. Places like us can and will approve people in a situation like this because we understand that this stuff happens. If you can’t get a car on your own then have someone cosign with you on the car loan and that will help your chances. If you look at the good dealerships then this will not be a problem. We have these customers all the time and treat them as good as a person who has never been through this hard time.


What questions should the consumer ask the BHPH dealer when they walk into the car dealership?

Ask them what there interest rate is and what type of warranty do they have on there cars. Make sure they are not talking about a warranty that you have to pay for additionally. The warranty should come with the car you are buying. So interest rates and warranty.

What are some common buy here pay here misconceptions the public should be aware of?

Some people think that all BHPH dealerships are trying to get over on people and take advantage of them, and sell all there cars as is with no warranty. That is very far from the truth. Every car that we sell is fully inspected and comes with a 3000 mile warranty. Even after that we will help our customer fix the problem through a number of different ways. ( install for free, pay half, add repair to the back end of there loan,etc. ). We also treat people very fare and give them a price and interest rate that is lower than the completion. We treat people great and will continue to do so.

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This is our twenty-third interview in our “1000 Interview Challenge” If your interested in an interview, please contact me.

This interview was conducted by Shane McC. Shane currently is attending RISD studying computer programming. He enjoys traveling and plays hockey. He played for the Boston Junior Bruins of the EJHL during the 01-02 season. You can follow him on Google+