Stick With Old or Go With New? Decision to be made TODAY

[Anonymous]

Hello!

2011 Compact car, current payoff would be $10,100, with two car dealerships offering about $9,000-$9,200 for trade in.  Only about 27,000 miles on the car but 27 months left on the loan at a 5.9% rate. Monthly payments about $395.

Interested in LEASING a mid-size sedan 2015 new car with a few more bells and whistles than the current compact car has.  They have not pulled our credit reports, but have about every other piece of information about us in order to make an offer.  (Can they see our credit reports without an actual hard pull?)

The quick offer is a 10k miles/year 39 month lease roughly $345 a month, and they would deal with the negative equity of the current compact car.  The price tag of the car is $24,000 (give or take).

On an emotions standpoint, this is a deal worth taking.  I worry a bit that the current car could break at any point, and we'd be stuck with a huge mechanic bill.  I like the idea of not having to worry about maintenence and expensive mechanical problems with cars getting on in years. (Thinking down the road a bit).

I need help with the practical/brains side of things.  Credit scores are about 650 (maybe a bit higher for me), but the husband has some late car payments, mostly from about two years ago.  I feel like we are still stuck in a position where we have to take what we can get when it comes to financing.

Also, is there any benefit into "rushing" into this as our next car payment on the compact car is the 15th.  Should we sign before this date and therefore not have to pay this month's $395 compact car payment?

We are also looking at another midsize sedan from a different car company, and they are offering the same comprable deal.  Seems like we could keep going back and forth between the two to get a better deal? 

Thank you so much in advance for any advice!!

[lincar66]

What kind of cars are you looking at and what kind of car do you have are your options flexible because I can tell you with the right negotiating you should not have to carry any negative equity and could get 6to7k off a new car at a killer interest rate 

[Anonymous]

What did you decide and how did it go?

[Hoya08]

It's a 2011 with only 27,000.  What is wrong with it for you to worry about a 'huge mechnical bill'?

Furthermore, when you trade-in, the dealership doesn't necessarily payoff your 'old' loan immediately.  You should plan to make the scheduled payment until the loan is officially paid off.  Any overpayments will be returned to you.

[Creditaddict]

What are you looking at leasing... the numbers don't sound good to me based on a $24k price tag unless you are putting $0 down and they are paying the $1k negative equity?

But 10k miles a year is about the minimum and 39 months is like the maximum, so they are stretching you in both directions on top of a monthly payment that doesn't sound very good... I don't think you have a good deal at all...

Despite wanting to lease, you can still use truecar to put in for dealers that participate and fill out with the exact options you want to get the bottom line price on the new car you are looking at... then using those numbers you might find that you cover your negative equity with the car price difference!