Santander car payment too high I can’t pay it anymore please advised me by what options I can have

[ClaudiaO]

Okay y'all I am financing a car through Santander consumer USA car is about 45000 and monthly payment are 800 and the maturity date of theme loan will be February, of 2028....  and all payments have been on time for a little  over a year. And they cut my hours at work and I have been struggling to make my payment since I have to stop paying other bills to make sure my car payment is made since I have kids. I called to see what Santander can do for me and they said I can try to Refinance it I tried it 2 times in a year and still no success.  I don't know what to do I still owe about under 35000. Help 

[junebug225]

Do you potentially have any equity in the vehicle? If so you could try selling or trading it for a cheaper vehicle.

[RSX]

definitely need to sell the vehicle asap - even if you need a loan for $5k to make up for any negative equity - this car is only going to get worse - not better - this car is dead to you

you cannot have an $800 car payment, if you work at a place where they can cut your hours and leave you with less money per month

kids/roof over your head/food are your priorities

depending on where you live, you might be able to bus/uber everywhere you need to go  - that might be an option rather than an $800/mnth car payment

I wish you luck unloading this boat anchor.....

***future car purchase - cost of the car should be under 50% of your current gross salary

[Traveler101]

You need to first find out how much you owe. Then get some prices on a possible trade in. Then go to a site like carvana, or simular. Find out what they are willing to pay you. Some pay more, do your research. You do not want to rollover any negative equity. It would be best, get rid of it. Put the negative equity onto a balance transfer credit card. Gives you time to pay that amount off interest free. Then buy yourself a vehicle that can suit your purpose. Nothing glorious. You buy what it takes to get the job done. If you do this rite, you can alleviate many of your headaches. Think about a budget and your children and your wallet. Best of luck.

[Horseshoez]

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@RSX wrote:

definitely need to sell the vehicle asap - even if you need a loan for $5k to make up for any negative equity - this car is only going to get worse - not better - this car is dead to you

you cannot have an $800 car payment, if you work at a place where they can cut your hours and leave you with less money per month

kids/roof over your head/food are your priorities

depending on where you live, you might be able to bus/uber everywhere you need to go  - that might be an option rather than an $800/mnth car payment

I wish you luck unloading this boat anchor.....

***future car purchase - cost of the car should be under 50% of your current gross salary

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Wow, thinking back, I don't believe I've ever purchased a car anywhere near that percentage of my salary.  Maybe I'm just too conservative, but I would think it is a stretch for most to buy a vehicle above 30% of annual income.  That said, there are folks like my neighbor's kid, still lives at home, makes about $50,000 per year and bought a new truck for $70,000.  

[RSX]

@Horseshoez it's a rough guideline i have always used - and if you have a 4yr loan, then your annual merit raises help year over year

i am not saying i have ever spent the full 50% - just that i don't even consider any cars above that - makes the shopping experience a lot easier when you have a 'hard ceiling'

i do agree that 30% is a LOT safer

[Traveler101]

I had the 800 a month payment. It's a killer. And rates were cheaper then. Also, the longer you keep it, the less in value generally speaking. I was 10k in negative equity at one point. That was a hard lesson learned. I paid aggressively my negative equity on balance transfer card. At today's rates, that's insane. You would be digging a deeper hole. I loved my cheaper car more than my fancy one. So did my wallet. I miss the toys, not the payment.

[Horseshoez]

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@Traveler101 wrote:

I had the 800 a month payment. It's a killer. And rates were cheaper then. Also, the longer you keep it, the less in value generally speaking. I was 10k in negative equity at one point. That was a hard lesson learned. I paid aggressively my negative equity on balance transfer card. At today's rates, that's insane. You would be digging a deeper hole. I loved my cheaper car more than my fancy one. So did my wallet. I miss the toys, not the payment.

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I just wrapped up well over a decade of zero car payments, and then decided to splurge, new payment is $850 and change.  A few decades ago a car payment like that would have killed me financially, now, well, let's just say it is relative; there was a time when a $150 car payment hurt far worse.

[TRC_WA]

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@RSX wrote:

***future car purchase - cost of the car should be under 50% of your current gross salary

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@RSX 

Agreed...  I'm right at $100k and my fully loaded '22 Bronco was $44k MSRP and I'm sitting on about $8k in equity.  Payment is $600 with an interest rate just under 7% which isn't bad given the current state of things... and my profile.  Plan to refi when reports go clean later this year.

@Horseshoez wrote:

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Wow, thinking back, I don't believe I've ever purchased a car anywhere near that percentage of my salary.  Maybe I'm just too conservative, but I would think it is a stretch for most to buy a vehicle above 30% of annual income.  That said, there are folks like my neighbor's kid, still lives at home, makes about $50,000 per year and bought a new truck for $70,000.  

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@Horseshoez 

Hahah.... or the guy working at Amazon for $19 hr that bought a Tesla.  I know a few of those guys.

[sccredit]

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@Horseshoez wrote:

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@Traveler101 wrote:

I had the 800 a month payment. It's a killer. And rates were cheaper then. Also, the longer you keep it, the less in value generally speaking. I was 10k in negative equity at one point. That was a hard lesson learned. I paid aggressively my negative equity on balance transfer card. At today's rates, that's insane. You would be digging a deeper hole. I loved my cheaper car more than my fancy one. So did my wallet. I miss the toys, not the payment.

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I just wrapped up well over a decade of zero car payments, and then decided to splurge, new payment is $850 and change.  A few decades ago a car payment like that would have killed me financially, now, well, let's just say it is relative; there was a time when a $150 car payment hurt far worse.

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Spot on. There was a time when a $238 was difficult to make on a monthly basis. My $785 payment right now is a cake walk because there is a 10x+ difference in income to go with it. If I were to spend 50% of my gross on a vehicle with a 4 year note I'd be paying more than I pay for housing.