Three years ago, 28-year-old Blaisey Arnold entered a local car dealership and came away with the keys to a Chevy Tahoe worth $84,000.
But this month the wedding photographer and mother shared a video on TikTok describes how she was forced to sell her dream car.
Despite paying $1,400 a month in payments totaling more than $50,000, she still owes a balance of $74,000 to the lender: GM Financial.
Not only did she not make a down payment, she also says she traded in a previous car on which she had negative equity.
Negative equity exists if a driver has more debt on his car loan than the car is currently worth.
Sometimes a dealer or lender may offer to roll the balance of an existing car loan onto a new one, making it more expensive.
Blaisey Arnold, 28, paid $1,400 for three years to pay off an $84,000 loan she took out to buy a Chevy Tahoe
Pictured is Arnold’s $84,000 Chevrolet Tahoe, which was financed by GM Financial
While it may seem convenient to convert debt into a new loan, it can be very dangerous, and dealers know that Not properly informing buyers that they are still responsible for the remaining balance.
“Honestly, it’s mind-boggling to me that I put $50,000 down on this car and only paid off $10,000,” Arnold said.
She told DailyMail.com that the loan was made to her on the day she visited the dealership – and it had an APR of 10.2 percent.
‘I didn’t go with my husband and as a woman I feel like they took advantage of me. “They knew I really wanted the car and that I was alone,” she said.
The $84,000 loan was made to her by GM Financial, General Motors’ financial services company and the only lender to approve her that day.
“The dealer pretty much told me they can get me out the door in an hour. “He didn’t act like it was something I had to worry about,” she said.
GM Financial told DailyMail.com it could not discuss Arnold’s loan and provided an opportunity to comment.
a 2021 survey from Consumer Reports found that lenders are increasingly able to prey on the vulnerable, especially those with lower credit scores. With such loans they earn more interest and can eventually seize cars.
Auto loans are becoming a major source of stress for car-obsessed Americans, leaving more and more people with runaway debt.
Last year, US auto debt reached a record high of $1.6 trillion, an average of more than $13,000 per household.
In February, the Federal Reserve released data showing that Americans were falling behind on car payments by the highest rate since 2010.
In recent years, the cost of car ownership has risen enormously. Not only are car manufacturers charging more for new cars, used cars are also becoming more expensive.
In the two years after January 2020, used cars and trucks increased in price by more than 50 percent, according to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Arnold said getting stabbed taught her a lesson — and she’s since told her followers she’s trying to take the Tahoe for a ride.
“I’m getting older and realizing more about life and having a family, the things you have to pay for and the cost of living,” she said.
“I’m done with all types of loans and now have plans to pay it all off.”