My car situation, what should I do?

Question

I have a 1998 acura tl, I was 19 when I bought it and paid way to much $7995 , I Put $3000 down and now I owe $5500 huh?! anyways I want out but It has some cosmetic defects (made by me) . the kbb value is $2260 , I want to trade but I wanna know will it be best to do a dealer that offers " guaranteed trade or like $5000 guaranteed or should I just come up with the remainder for a down payment?

Answer 1

how many miles per year do you drive? if you drive less than 12,000 miles per year, go trade that puppy in on a cheap small car for a 2 year lease. They will "roll" the difference in the acura's worth into the lease residual. This will likely bring the lease payment up slightly, and raise the residual significantly. The residual is the amount you pay at the end of the lease to purchase the car. You are not going to purchase the car, you are going to turn it in and either walk away, free and clear, or lease or purchase another car. Either way, you get a different car now, and get rid of the loss you took on the Acura. I strongly suggest a Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge product, they have a LIFETIME warranty.

Answer 2

It really depends on the dealer.  Most guaranteed trades have stipulations.  Like you can only buy a brand new car. Or pick from only a few models. If the car your looking for qualifyes. That might be the way to go.  

On the other hand if you go in with a cash down payment and no trade-in some dealers will be more willing to work with you on the over all price of the vehical.  You may get a better deal way because the dealer will have to put money into what you trade-in to resell it.

Answer 3

All car dealer advertising is fake.  Your first step is to ignore it completely.  They don't give away free money at the car dealership.  They will only give you money that they profited from you.

Regardless of what the radio ad tells you, you must pay the car off yourself.  Once it's paid off, you really should just drive it for another 5 years with no car payment.  but if not, then yes, you'll be paying the difference.  A car dealer will probably just tack it on to some financing, but you'll still owe it.

Answer 4

Do you think a dealer is going to pay $5000 for a guaranteed trade in out of his own pocket? You'll pay for it, somehow.

Answer 5

Great tips for  buying  cars:

(1)   Buy from a  private seller  IF you can  by   looking at places like  www.autotrader.com,    www.cars.com ,   looking at   newspaper  ads,   etc.  because you'll save money  if you buy from a private seller, and  a private seller is likely  going to  fully  reveal to you any problems the car may have.  

(2)   Pay as  Big a  down payment as you possibly can.

( 3)    If you finance,  finance it for as  Few a number of months as possible, because you save lots of money on interest.   For example,  choose  36 mo. loan  rather than a  48 month loan.