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[cryptoadam]

So I have a decision to make.

Have a car with 18 months or so left on the financing. 2011 Optima SX. Found a good deal on a 2015 Optima SX-Turbo. It does have high KM (157K) but I don't mind, my car now has 165. I know these cars these days can go to 200K +. Pro the car is 4 years newer so its an upgrade.

Why I am on the fence is because I still need to pay off my loan. The dealer offered me 2500 on trade in, which is pretty low. The car value is from 4k-8k, but I have seen it sell for about 6-7K (with lower KM). Now my back up camera stopped working (700$ to replace factory) and there is some damage near the front tire.

I don't really care to try and sell it myself. Most prospective buyers would not like the damage (its just cosmetic) or the back up camera not working. I figure I will get lowballed, and not to mention having to wait for someone to buy it. I have tried in the past to list it on autotrader but never got any bitters. I had a car before that that I also tried to sell on autotrader and had 1 or 2 visits but never actually sold the car.

So even though the dealer is offering a really low amount on the trade I still fell like this would be a good deal. BTW I have about 5K left on my loan, so essentially 2500 or so will get rolled up as negative equity on the loan. Ideally I would of liked to keep my payments the same but the quotes are giving me a higher amount.

I am also weary of being tied down for 5 more years, when in 18 months I will be free of any loans. OTOH in that 18 months I will probably want another car since my car will be 10/11 years old at that point.

I am conflicted on this, mainly because of the low offer on the trade giving me higher negative equity. I also look at it though that in the end I saved 2500$ on the price of the car loan. But the trade in is really low. But I know trying to sell it will take a long time (lose this offer) and most likely I will only get 1K or so more if lucky, and then there is taxes that you have to pay in a private sale.

BTW price of car is 10995 CAD. This is a good deal most likely due to the high KM on it. But KM's don't bother me. Also I know many mechanics so I always have someone to help me out with repairs.

So GAF talk me into what might be a bad decision LOL. Maybe I leave it up to faith and see if its still available in a few days and if not then I know it wasn't meant to be.

 

[RainblowDash]

The car value is $4-8k and the dealer is offering $2.5k

How much do you have left to pay off in 18 months? I’m assuming the dealer is paying the difference for the offer they are giving you.

 

[cryptoadam]

The car value is $4-8k and the dealer is offering $2.5k

How much do you have left to pay off in 18 months? I’m assuming the dealer is paying the difference for the offer they are giving you.

5K left on the loan. The dealer will pay off the loan so the difference is essentially 2500 which gets rolled into the new loan. If he would of said 3500-4K I would of bought the car yesterday but 2500 almost felt insulting.

 

[RainblowDash]

So the car value is $7.5k. You still owe $5k so that’s why the dealer is giving you the difference of $2.5k

If you decline, are you sure the car maintain that $7.5k value in 18 months? It won’t due to how car value depreciates so rapidly.

 

[V2Tommy]

The cheapest car is the one you already own.

Pay off your loan and choose differently after that.

 

[off duty ninja]

 

[godhandiscen]

You are going to extend your debt for a car that is the same, just 4 years newer? Do you rent or own a house/apartment? That should be a priority.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

A car is the worst financial investment imaginable so unless you are swimming in money to burn you're almost always better off driving what you have as long is it works.

 

[cryptoadam]

You are going to extend your debt for a car that is the same, just 4 years newer? Do you rent or own a house/apartment? That should be a priority.

I rent.

It would essentially be the same payment I am making now, at most an extra 30$ a month. Thats why I am interested in the car since I can get a 4 year newer car but still make the same payments. Though you are right that I will extend my debt. But like I said OTOH by the time my lease is up I will probably be in the market for another car so I will end up probably doing another loan.

 

[DESTROYA]

Go to another dealer and see if they can do better on the trade in.
Personally I would keep the old car, your essentially not upgrading much and shaving off very little mileage.

 

[bitbydeath]

Hold off, pay off your existing. The mileage alone being that close would be a deal breaker for me. You know what you have now but don’t know what you’ll be walking into. Four years newer doesn’t mean it was treated as well.

 

[Richard Packer]

Personally I would keep the old car, your essentially not upgrading much and shaving off very little mileage.

This. The car you want is already at 157k. That's a lot of mileage for a 4 year old car.

 

[newtypepilot]

don't end up like that woman who spent over 40k on a hyundai

 

[HoodWinked]

sell your car for $5000, pay off the loan and take the bus

 

[Gargus]

Don't buy a car unless you have to.

So many people do not know the Joy's of owning a car with no car payments. I bought a brand new car in 2005 and paid it off in 2009. I haven't had a car payment in 10 years and I love it. It has 160k miles on it and still runs great. Aside from usual stuff like tires, oil change, brakes I've put about 2k in repairs on it. Of course I was smart and I bought a Toyota and I have taken care of it.

But unless you need a new car it's stupid to just keep yourself making payments all the time.

 

[Phase]

Don't buy a car unless you have to.

So many people do not know the Joy's of owning a car with no car payments. I bought a brand new car in 2005 and paid it off in 2009. I haven't had a car payment in 10 years and I love it. It has 160k miles on it and still runs great. Aside from usual stuff like tires, oil change, brakes I've put about 2k in repairs on it. Of course I was smart and I bought a Toyota and I have taken care of it.

But unless you need a new car it's stupid to just keep yourself making payments all the time.

Good advice. I had a mazda 3 that I paid off, but then sold it and bought a bmw 135i. I have 3 more yrs before I pay it off and kind of wish I kept the mazda. BUT, I bought the 135i for performance and have some performance/suspension mods and it's so fun to drive. I've even taken it to the track a few times. Even though I probably should have saved I don't regret getting the bmw. It's totally been worth it.

But in OP's case I can't justify the upgrade, especially with over 150k on it. It would have to be very well maintained for me to even consider it. In my case I bought it from a guy I knew that took very good care of the car. Think about what purpose the car will serve and whether it is any different to you current car in that respect. Also, what kind of repairs the car will likely have at that mileage. If you're serious about getting it take it to one of your mechanic friends and have them look it over.

Good luck OP.

 

[rykomatsu]

Think of these questions around the total cost of ownership.

• What is the insurance rate? From an SX to SX-Turbo, I would venture to guess insurance rate goes up
• What's the cost of gas? I would venture to guess you are going from 87 to 91 or 93 octane. That's likely an extra $5-7 per fill up ($2.19 for 87, $2.79 for 93 here)
• What is the cost of ongoing maintenance? A turbo trim will likely require more expensive tires as the wheels are probably 1-2" wider than your SX trim

Sure, you have repairs, but do you really need them? That sounds like a poor excuse to buy a car. While you could say the rear camera is safety equipment, I'm sure you could drive without it. Damage near the front wheel I would guess is also cosmetic, so probably can ignore it.

 

[godhandiscen]

I rent.

It would essentially be the same payment I am making now, at most an extra 30$ a month. Thats why I am interested in the car since I can get a 4 year newer car but still make the same payments. Though you are right that I will extend my debt. But like I said OTOH by the time my lease is up I will probably be in the market for another car so I will end up probably doing another loan.

Yes, but you are extending the time you will go into debt. You need to think about whether the difference you will pay over time is worth the upgrade to a newer car. You can actually calculate the number; the number of months extra you will be in debt times your monthly payment. If that figure is anywhere around $5k, then it is not worth it.

 

[haxan7]

Last car buying advice thread I think someone decided to buy a new Civic Type R for 40 grand.

I hope cryptoadam does right by NeoGAF here. A lot of sensible advice been given.

 

[rykomatsu]

Last car buying advice thread I think someone decided to buy a new Civic Type R for 40 grand.

I hope cryptoadam does right by NeoGAF here. A lot of sensible advice been given.

A lot of times, buying a car is not a rational or pragmatic decision.

For many, it ends up being a projection of who you are as a person and/or a status symbol of sorts of success. For others, it's about getting from point A to point B in comfort and style. Yet for others, it's a safety decision in that the value of my safety far outweighs the $XXk the vehicles with the safety features they want costs.

There's the objective information on the total cost of ownership. Then there's the subjective additional value a certain vehicle (upgrade) provides which may or may not exceed the objective cost of ownership.

 

[Cato]

So I have a decision to make.

Have a car with 18 months or so left on the financing. 2011 Optima SX. Found a good deal on a 2015 Optima SX-Turbo. It does have high KM (157K) but I don't mind, my car now has 165. I know these cars these days can go to 200K +. Pro the car is 4 years newer so its an upgrade.

Why I am on the fence is because I still need to pay off my loan. The dealer offered me 2500 on trade in, which is pretty low. The car value is from 4k-8k, but I have seen it sell for about 6-7K (with lower KM). Now my back up camera stopped working (700$ to replace factory) and there is some damage near the front tire.

I don't really care to try and sell it myself. Most prospective buyers would not like the damage (its just cosmetic) or the back up camera not working. I figure I will get lowballed, and not to mention having to wait for someone to buy it. I have tried in the past to list it on autotrader but never got any bitters. I had a car before that that I also tried to sell on autotrader and had 1 or 2 visits but never actually sold the car.

So even though the dealer is offering a really low amount on the trade I still fell like this would be a good deal. BTW I have about 5K left on my loan, so essentially 2500 or so will get rolled up as negative equity on the loan. Ideally I would of liked to keep my payments the same but the quotes are giving me a higher amount.

I am also weary of being tied down for 5 more years, when in 18 months I will be free of any loans. OTOH in that 18 months I will probably want another car since my car will be 10/11 years old at that point.

I am conflicted on this, mainly because of the low offer on the trade giving me higher negative equity. I also look at it though that in the end I saved 2500$ on the price of the car loan. But the trade in is really low. But I know trying to sell it will take a long time (lose this offer) and most likely I will only get 1K or so more if lucky, and then there is taxes that you have to pay in a private sale.

BTW price of car is 10995 CAD. This is a good deal most likely due to the high KM on it. But KM's don't bother me. Also I know many mechanics so I always have someone to help me out with repairs.

So GAF talk me into what might be a bad decision LOL. Maybe I leave it up to faith and see if its still available in a few days and if not then I know it wasn't meant to be.

Don't.

Wait out the 18 months and then add Twin Turdos to it.
It will be epic. You will like it!

 

[cryptoadam]

Thanks to everyone in this thread. Well for now I decided against doing anything. I will leave it to fate if the guy gets desperate and calls me back then I will think about it. Who knows might change my mind again.

But in the end the sensible advice seems to be drive my car until the thing dies. If I really look at it I will end up paying 30+K with probably 5 K in interest to drive 2 cars for 8 years which is a shit ton per year. I mean right now I have paid 4K a year or so to drive my car which isn't great value. My car aside from the camera runs fine and I bet I could drive it for 10 years total and get better value for it. Also being tied down to debt I don't like it.

Oh I should of mentioned I am a pretty stereotypical jew and don't like spending money LOL. I think the word for it is miser. I really only wanted to go for it because the price was pretty good usually the car sells for 2-5K more and I was hoping to get enough on a trade in to cover the rest of my loan.

But add a new twist to the story I spoke to another dealer that buys cars and they will look at my car. Its a bit far to drive so I might not go but I figure why not check it out if they buy me out so I can pay off my loan then maybe I will get myself back into debt LOL.

With my luck they will give me a good offer and then the car I want will be sold.

 

[GAMETA]

A simple new car in Brazil costs at least R$40.000. Minimum wage (and general) is R$12.000 a year.

4 years of work to buy a fucking car, and it's a crap one with no AC, manual windows and crap engine. Not only I can't afford one, I refuse to.

On your side of the world tho... just buy the frigging car already.

 

[highrider]

I can’t ever tell anyone it’s a good idea to take on a car payment unless you’re just establishing credit. Cars are a hustle and most people overpaid for what they drive.

 

[Mohonky]

Drive it till it dies, replacing it is just giving money away.

I dont really understand everyones rationale when it comes to cars of 'well my loans nearly over, time to go get myself some more debt!'

 

[BigBooper]

If you are going the cheapo route, you should also look into your insurance. I'm driving the same car I bought in 2001 and it's a 1994 model. I just have liability insurance so it only costs me about $170 twice a year. I've also never wrecked it though, so if you're a crappy driver, maybe don't do that.

 

[EverydayBeast]

If its not broken down you're good the car buying experience is overrated anyway

 

[SpiceRacz]

Hold on to the car. Unless you really need a new one, don't get into another auto loan. If you do go the route of buying one, do not settle for the 2.5k trade value. Tell them they pay the existing loan off or no deal. Be prepared to walk away.

 

[V4skunk]

A car 4 years newer with similar mileage is not really an upgrade. It's all down to the mileage.

 

[Phunkydiabetic]

The cheapest car is the one you already own.

Pay off your loan and choose differently after that.

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