@Anonymous wrote:
I actually wound up buying a Corolla LE after all on December 30th 2017. Paid 18,200 OTD for the car but rolled in 4,500 in negative equity, bought GAP for $495, and paid 500 loan fee to Springboard auto, total financed 23,700 at 13.4 for a 72 mo term at 484 a month. Car is way better than I thought with safety tech, roomy backseat, 30 mpg in mixed driving, and free oil changes up to 50k miles. Actually decent to drive. But I am starting to have a little buyers remorse right now as the seats are not supportive with my back issues and are uncomfortable.
Sorry to hear about your bad experience at the Ford dealership. Finance managers will always try and sell you things you don't need that make the dealer enormous profits. In your case, however, GAP insurance makes sense.
But wow, with that interest rate you'll be paying nearly $11,000 in interest over the life of the loan! That's nearly half what the car is worth; you'll never be above water on that loan. Is there no way you can get a better rate on a different car from another dealer?
Well, 8.1% would certainly be an improvement over your current loan. But for a new car (2018 or 2019), you should be able to get dealer or manufacturer financing at a much lower rate than that.
I would do whatever you can to refinance or terminate your loan at over 11% as soon as you can. If you decide to keep the Toyota, then refinancing the loan through a bank or credit union might be your best option.