My car payment is very high, should I trade in for a lower payment, Details included below.?

Question

I am changing careers at age 43 due to unfortunate health
issues. I am a single woman with no spouse, no savings and no help during the past 6 months with bill paying. I have now found myself in quite a mess with my finances. My past credit score was excellent (high above average) & in the last 6 months it has dropped to fair (below average). It is very hard for me to make financial decisions & any advice would be helpful. My 1st idea & thought is to downgrade my SUV, hoping that in-turn it will allow a much lower mnthly payment. I have 1 year left before my truck is paid off, however, the payment is so high I will not be able swing the payments for the next 10-12 mnths. My bank will NOT refinance my auto & I'd rather not have a repo on my credit. I can't afford to get professional finacial advise, so I look forward to any suggestions. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for your input. Sincerely, Im (Clueless):)

Answer 1

Honestly, the best idea is probably to do whatever it takes but pay that car off and keep it. If you try to trade it in and buy a cheaper car, you will lose in a long and possibly even short run. Considering that you have only one year to go on your SUV, I figure it's about 3-4 years old. So, it probably can be used for another 4-5 years with very little problems. So, no matter how difficult this year will be, once you pay it off, you will have 3-4 more years with no car payments. If you trade it in right now, for a cheaper car, you will still have to take out a larger loan since a used SUV, probably costs less than a new car. So the new loan will have a balance of the old loan + the difference in trade in value of your SUV and the price of the new car. The payment may be less, but it will be for another 4-5 years. In my opinion, find a way to bite the bullet and finish paying this thing off and keep it. Every time you buy a new car, you lose money. So, why would you want to replace a car when you already have financial problems.
I know this is a tough advice to swallow. Just look carefully at your finances and see what non-essential things you could cut... Perhaps TV Cable? High Speed Internet? Look at your car loan, is there any kind of additional credit insurance you are paying on it? If yes, cancel it. Look at your Cell phone bill, can it be downgraded to perhaps use fewer minutes? Same with your home telephone, are there features you don't need but paying for (i.e. three way calling, call forwarding, etc.)?
After careful consideration you may be able to find a $100 per month laying around, that would be huge help in paying off that car. Once you're done with the car, life will get even easier.
Good luck.

Answer 2

If you only have a year of payments left and the vehicle is in good condition I would look to refinance from another bank , credit union . Depending on your interest rate , putting the balance on a credit card may be an option but check your interest rates carefully.

If it has a fairly high market value then selling it privately would be the better option. You wont get much for it as a trade in on a lower priced vehicle.

You should be able to get some financial advice from your bank, an assistant manager , or manager , it does depend a lot on the bank.

Answer 3

We're in much of the same position. We figure however that they're no sense in over-spreading your finances. There are often options in certified pre-owned that can save you 1000's off the price, get into the vehicle you want, at the price you want and with the warranty terms you want. 2-3 year old lease returns are the best bet. It's not a fast solution however and you may need to take a couple weeks to find the right deal. If a dealer really wants your business, you set the parameters and have them do the work. Tell them you want a used ___________. You want a biweekly payment of _______________ and these are the options you want. Don't be picky on colour and you'll be surprised what they'll find and bring in for you from another dealership. New is not a good value with the appreciation, delivery and PDI. 2 Years used is a better deal. Good luck

Answer 4

If your auto isn't that old and you only have 10-12 months worth of payments, then it sounds like a great trade in car. Choose a modest car, maybe even a toyota corolla or something. They will roll up your remaining SUV payments into this new loan. Just buy a used car with low payments and better gas mileage. You'll be better off in the long run. You'll save gas money and you'll end up with lower car payments.

Answer 5

Have you tried looking at other banks, and credit unions, to see if they will take over your loan? They may even be willing to extend the term to reduce your monthly payments. Usually a credit union will be your best bet because they normally have lower interest rates. If you do end up Having to purchase a different vehicle try to sell your current SUV yourself first. Private sales usually bring in more money than trade ins.

Answer 6

If you still owe 12 months on your car, you will still owe it even after trade-in. i doubt you'd get much of a deal or a decent other car out of it from a dealer. Another thing -- dealers aren't in business to make you money. Any "deal' they give you on trade-in they'll pack back into the final sale price of the car you buy. Your best bet probably is to sell your car, pay it off, then use what you have left to purchase a cheaper car. You can use Trade-in-Value.com to do the math. Also, google "NADA" and "Kelly Blue Book" to get other estimates of what your car is worth for sale or trade-in.

Answer 7

If your bank won't refinance the SUV, you owe more than it is worth. You need to arrange a private sale and get the current lender to loan you the balance. They already have an unsecured loan even if they don't know that. Replace the car with a "garage sale" car.

Answer 8

Go trade it in. LOTS of dealers are having some big sales because they need to get the 07s off their lot to make room for the 08s. When you do that try to see if the dealer does business with a credit union because like the other guy said they are much nicer than the banks. Try not to buy used because they charge a higher interest rate. Good luck.

Answer 9

car payment high trade payment details included

Answer 10

your in a pickle aren't you. try going to a credit union for a refi. they usuall are more for the people than a big bank or finance co.