@pmany0324 wrote:
Hello,
Kinda new here and had some questions about trading a car in that has negative equity. I have done research and I know it's not wise to do this, but maybe after you hear my story someone can give me advice or help me with other options.
April of last year, I was hit by a drunk driver, who ran a red light and t-boned my car. My car spun, 180 degrees facing oncoming traffic and ended up inches away from falling into a full canal. The idiot took off and was apprehended later after he hit another car. Anyways, to fast forward, I have insurance he didn't (No suprise!), my insurance covered what they could, but I hired a lawyer for the rest (still in progress). I had a total of $6k in damages, car wasn't totalled but my body sure felt like it was! To make a long story short, the accident injured my back and has of course scarred me for life. My car is 2005 Nissan Altima (manual transmission), low mileage, very nice car, but since the accident I have had such a hard time driving, sitting for a long period of time and shifting while driving around town. My question is I currently owe $12,900, I got the car for $14,995 after BK (discharged August 2008). I know that is a lot and interest is a lot too! Of course I didn't expect such an accident to happen , and I was expecting to keep the car until it was on it's last leg. But after all this time, I just can't do it anymore. I'm getting older, and my injuries just won't allow me to drive a manual anymore. I am still in the rebuilding process, my scores aren't as good as I want them to be due to high inquiries and high utilization but I plan on paying off my small ones in Feb when i receive my taxes. I want to trade it in for an automatic, but with research I would probably have to put down a substantial amount. Something i don't have right now. KBB and Edmunds shows my car being worth about $7,000. I can put about $1500 down, but the rest I would probably have to find rebates for and i'm not sure if my credit is good enough for newer cars that offer rebates. Any advice and suggestions would greatly be appreciated. I don't want to make anymore dumb financial mistakes, so I'm hoping someone can help.
Thanks in advance!
Your best option is probably to keep your current car while you make the biggest extra payments you can each month until you have brought the loan principal below what www.edmunds.com says your car would be worth as a trade in. To help you with your injuries, google Relax The Back Store, there may be a store near you or else you can order online, they have all sorts of supportive items that may help you feel more comfortable in your old car until you can afford to replace it. My wife and I have found various helpful items there (neither of us has serious back trouble, but we're both middle-aged people who spend lots of time sitting at computers!).
TU 791 02/11/2013, EQ 800 1/29/2011 , EX Plus FAKO 812, EX Vantage Score 955 3/19/2010 wife's EQ 9/23/2009 803
EX always was my highest when we could pull all three
Always remember: big print giveth, small print taketh away
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