As long as your bankruptcy is discharged, it shouldn’t affect you to any greater degree than a negative entry upon your credit report would. In today’s climate, you will probably need a further 2-3 years before the effects of the bankruptcy upon your credit history begins to improve further to lenders.

With the credit markets having never been tighter, almost every type of customer is finding borrowing to be more difficult, and lenders are scrutinizing factors like income and length of employment more than they have ever done so before.

You may need to provide a larger down-payment (40-50%), but since used cars of that range don’t typically rapidly depreciate further, that may satisfy the requirements of some financing companies that cater toward higher risk propositions provided you can demonstrate current employment and income that would allow you to comfortably make your payment.

The best person to speak with would be the “F&I” (finance and insurance) manager at a local car dealership. His ONLY job is to arrange insurance and financing for customers. He works with many financing sources and will have a good sense of whether or not you can obtain financing and, if so, what obtaining financing would require.

With respect to obtaining a “decent” vehicle, more people than every are looking toward used vehicles to economize, “cash for clunkers” literally destroyed 1/2 million vehicles that would have eventually found their way into the used car market. The unprecedented demand combined with a short supply has driven used car prices skyward. You can still probably find a practical and reliable used vehicle, but it may be older, with more miles, and perhaps a more modest model than you had first intended.

Whether it’s worth waiting or not is entirely up to you. Being without a vehicle has costs of its own, and I don’t know of many people who could pursue their livelihoods without one. That means, even if it’s a bit of “highway robbery”, having a car is almost always better than not having one. And even though it may prove to be a relatively very expensive proposition (with higher interest rates, etc.) you can at least use it as an opportunity to positively rebuild your credit, something that WILL have a significant impact upon improving your credit score.

Best of luck. I hope this helps.