Can I trade in a car that I have not paid off yet?

Answer 1

Yes you can but be careful the negative equity will be applied to the purchase of the new car, The best thing is to try to sell it out rite

Answer 2

Yes you can, providing you qualify for more credit. They basicly pay off your loan and add the difference between what they can sell the car for and your loan balance to the cost of your new car. The dealership will make money off of both transactions. You are usually far better off to sell the car yourself and work out a temporary short tem loan with the bank. Go to the dealer first and see what they will give you for the car versus what they will charge you for the new one. Go to a few dealers and find out how much you would pay for the same car bottom line with no trade-in. Look at Kelly Blue Book for what your car would sell for "retail" vs "wholesale". Once you have all this information, you can see the best route to go in your own interest. Why do you need all this? Some dealers will give you a higher than normal resale value on your own car but get you on the net price they would have sold the new one for. Get the information and do the math.

Be careful about doing this! If you have an accident, most regular insurance policies will cover you for the value of the car less depreciation. You will still owe the balance on the whole loan. This is what they mean by being upside down on a car note. (You owe more than the property is worth.)

There are insurance companies that will write a policy that covers you for the loan balance and higher premiums. If the additonal amount is significant, I would recommend this or... buying something used that you can afford. I practice what I preach about this. If I cannot pay off a note in 3 years or less, I don't buy it. I can't borrow my way out of debt. If others don't like the looks at what I drive, that's their issue... but I have the funds to take a vacation to where I want to go and when I want to go because of a very low debt preventing me from making other plans.

Good luck

Answer 3

Yes, as long as it is paid off in the trade. However, some people actually owe more than what their trade is worth. This can cause problems as you are "upside down". Some finance companies, depending on your credit, will stack the extra amount on top of your loan, but i dont recommend it because you will be in the red on the new vehicle. good luck!

Answer 4

Sure, it's done all the time. One caution though. Check your car's trade-in value on http://www.kbb.com and compare that to what you still owe on it. If you owe more than it's worth, you'll either have to add that to the new note (very bad idea) or come up with that amount in cash as a "down payment" towards the whole deal.

Answer 5

Yes you can,I just did it. I owed about 9,000 on my old car and wanted a new one and they took it in trade. All they do is pay off your old loan for you and add it to your new loan amount.

Answer 6

its done all the time. do you really think the only people buying a new car have paid off their loans. ha ha. they refinance by raising the monthly rate or adding a year or two to it.

Answer 7

Yes you can. But whatever you have left to pay on your car will be added onto the cost of your new car. Therefore, higher car payments, woohoo!

Answer 8

yes but it depends on how long you have had the car and how much you owe on the car as well if your willing to go upside down for the other car.

Answer 9

yes the trade in value you get will go to what you may owe. the balance if any would be put to the knew car.in some cases you may find yourself in the negative numbers. not always good!

Answer 10

you can if you have the title in your name with no leins on it or if where you trade it in that dealer agrees to pay off your loan with funds from the trade in price.