I want to trade in my old car for a new one?

Question

I brough a car for 7971.00 ,finance charge was 3886.02, put 1500.00 down leaving me with a balance of 11857.02......Pay 282.31 a month. Now it's been 8 months and now my balance I owe on the car is 9598.54.......If I go to the dealer and tell them I want to trade in my car for a new one (2006 Chevrolet Monte Carlo LT) and the cost for this car is $14,995. Should I wait another 8 months or can I get a good deal for this car by trading in my old car.....HELP!!!!! I'm lost

P.S. The blue book value of my car is 5000

I don't need an education smart ass I just need answers. I know I got screwed but I need a car at the time so I didn't have a choice.........

I not dumb nor stupid I know I got screwed in the deal but at the time I needed a car for work and school and didn't have good credit that's why I got finance almost 50% for the car....

Answer 1

You are what's known as "upside down" on your car payment (where you owe more than it's worth) and this is a sunk cost.

How on earth did they get away with giving you such a huge finance charge? You *really* need to check your FICO score and credit report. You can check your credit report for free at the government's site at http://www.annualcreditreport.com It'll cost you money to get your credit score, but if you do one of those free trials make sure that you cancel. See if you can improve your credit score by reporting inaccuracies, paying bills on time, and trying to pay down credit card debt.

Would this be a used car? If so, that's a better move than buying new because the car depreciates so much once you drive it off of the lot. See if you can haggle and bring a guy with you. Threaten to walk out and they'll be more willing to negotiate, often. Don't give your keys for the trade-in appraisal because a dealer can "lose" or otherwise hold on to them. I'd try to sell your car on your own because the trade-in value is almost always less than the Blue Book value.

Answer 2

Many times a sales person or finance person at an auto dealership will tell you that yes, your interest rate is kind of high but! You can easily refinance after a year for a lower rate! When in reality you really can't no matter how well you have paid your car note. In reality it will actually take about 2 years of on time payment along with other regular payments of other debt that you may have before you start to make any impact on your finance charges and the kind of deal you can make the next time you buy a car.

I've been in a similar situation as I'm sure many of us here have and as one person suggested here the only way I made any real impact on my payoff for my car was double my payments. One regular payment one applied to balance. It's was painful but it did eventually put me in a positive equity situation and helped me to get better rates.

Bottom line is if the car you have now is still running and dependable hang on to it. Continue to pay, send extra towards the principal if you can manage it. Keep in mind that the new model years on most cars comes out in September and that is when many of the manufacturers will start to offer Dealer to customer incentives to help sell off the past year model that the dealer may still have in stock. With the right incentives and a little patients you could very well end up in a comfortable position, may not be prime yet but it's better than rolling all that extra money into a new note and struggling with a payment that's too much to handle.

Good luck and take care.

Oh one more thing that is highly recommended! If you can get financing before you even head out car shopping than do it! To a dealer it’s a cash sale and money always talks!

Answer 3

This is one of the 49 or 50 reasons I hate auto dealers so much. They don't give a DANG about your financial situation, and they were laughing and congratulating each other after you left, proud of how badly they raped you.

Like someone else said, run your car until it is beyond repair and make all the pmts, which will build you a good credit rating, THEN you can buy a new car with a LOW rate.

Answer 4

If you trade your car in now you will owe way more than what they give to you. This charge will get wrapped into the new car loan and you will start out owning another car that you owe way more than what it is worth. Start makeing double payments on your car and do that until it is worth more than you owe. I know you must like Chevys, but if you buy a Honda or Toyota you will not have this problem of your car depreciating faster than you can pay for it.

Answer 5

The answer to your question is going to be very simple: WAIT.

Unless the car is falling apart, having mechanical problems, or not running -- stay still, don't make a move, don't trade-in! If you do you will get deeper into a hole than you already are.

You know this, now act accordingly.

.

Answer 6

The newer cars are junk.Aluminum heads,and blocks,timing belts,computerized injection,and one year transmissions.
I traded a 92 for a 83 Mercedes diesel. It will burn grease when fuel gets to be $5. this summer.

Answer 7

dang! 50% on your car loan........you don't need a car.....you need an education!