UPDATE on "What to do about my car?"

[Minnie_me]

Ok, so I just checked with the Kelley Blue Book site, and the bank.....and I owe EXACTLY as much as my car is worth right now --- -isn't that an amazing coincidence?!?!!

So now I'm even more confused.

And there's another twist. Part of the car loan is consolidated debt. My soon-to-be-ex just reminded me about that.

So now I'm even MORE confused! LOL!

I want to drive a less expensive, more fuel-efficient car. Right now I'm driving an SUV that gets an average of 21mpg and I'm paying $432 a month (but some of that is debt!). I'm concerned that I'm going to go through all of the hassle of buying and selling a car, just to end up paying the same amount!

Why does this have to be so hard?

 

[mrsklamc]

Do you have carmax where you live? They will make a bid on your car, good for a week or X number of miles. I would go there and see what they offer you.If you want/need to you could probably get more selling it yourself than what Carmax offers. If you can cover the loan, you should be able to figure out what payments on another car would be before you sell yours and buy another. Since you don't especially want to keep your car due to gas mileage, head to a credit union and see what you can get pre-approved for for a car loan, assuming you can pay off this one with the sale of the car.

 

[WheelCEO]

just so you know, dealers don't go by the KBB.. they go by auction prices. Your best bet is to drive into carmax as stated above and what they offer you is what every dealer will give you.

 

[CowboyCO]

Ok, so I just checked with the Kelley Blue Book site, and the bank.....and I owe EXACTLY as much as my car is worth right now --- -isn't that an amazing coincidence?!?!!

So now I'm even more confused.

And there's another twist. Part of the car loan is consolidated debt. My soon-to-be-ex just reminded me about that.

So now I'm even MORE confused! LOL!

I want to drive a less expensive, more fuel-efficient car. Right now I'm driving an SUV that gets an average of 21mpg and I'm paying $432 a month (but some of that is debt!). I'm concerned that I'm going to go through all of the hassle of buying and selling a car, just to end up paying the same amount!

Why does this have to be so hard?

You need to figure out if switching cars really does save you any money. You could trade it in, buy a new car that gets better gas mileage and still end up paying about the same money overall.

For example, you trade and get a Honda Civic, which averages 30 mpg. That's an improvement of 9 mpg. If you drive 1200 miles per month, , then you gas savings (based on gas at $2.75 national average) , you'll save $47/month on gas. BUT you'll have to pay sales tax on the new vehicle. Insurance could be higher, and if you have no equity in you trade, your payment could go up also. You have to work all the numbers.

I drive a Tundra that averages 20 mpg. I looked into getting a subaru that gets 27 mpg and the math didn't work out that I would save anything.

 

[bumbershoot]

You need to figure out if switching cars really does save you any money. You could trade it in, buy a new car that gets better gas mileage and still end up paying about the same money overall.

For example, you trade and get a Honda Civic, which averages 30 mpg. That's an improvement of 9 mpg. If you drive 1200 miles per month, , then you gas savings (based on gas at $2.75 national average) , you'll save $47/month on gas. BUT you'll have to pay sales tax on the new vehicle. Insurance could be higher, and if you have no equity in you trade, your payment could go up also. You have to work all the numbers.

I drive a Tundra that averages 20 mpg. I looked into getting a subaru that gets 27 mpg and the math didn't work out that I would save anything.

Excellent post!