auto loan question - using it to help with CC debt - can I do this?

[Anonymous]

My data... I have 2 CC balances - $6K at 0% through June, then 15.99% $2.5K at 7.9% fixed. My FICO hovers aro I keep getting BT offers from my Discover, where I have no balance, for either 0% or 2.9% with 3%-4% fees, so as long as I'm getting the offers, I can keep BTing that balance while paying it down. I just paid off my car loan which was $300 a month. I intend to use that monthly $ to pay down CC balances. This car is a 2003 Chevy Cavalier with only 40,000 miles. Some cosmetic damages. But I had another idea. What if I bought a new Cobalt (about $12,500 MSRP) - and financed it. But I cashed out my Cavalier trade-in (c. $2,500), factory incentive ($1500), and GM Card Rewards ($2200, but GM is offering to up it to $3000 as an incentive to buy their vehicle.) Will they let me do that? If so I could walk out with $7,000 cash to pay off almost all of my credit card debt. In the meantime, I'm getting a new vehicle, under warranty, for a similar amount of $. (I had financed way more than the value of the car, because I kept getting new vehicles before achieving equity in the old one.) Of course my insurance would go up. What do you all think of this idea?

[Anonymous]

I copied this from the CC board, and my FICO got lost in the translation. It hovers from low 700's to high 600's.

[203bravo]

Interesting idea, but it doesn't work that way.  They will take any incentives and the value of your trade in and apply it against the loan amount.  Also, check both incentive plans for the fine print to make sure they can be combined - most of the time you can only use one incentive program at a time, but not sure with the rewards you have earned on the CC.

[Anonymous]

How about this... we're obviously going to negotiate the price of the vehicle down from the MSRP - what if instead both parties agreed to negotiate UP the price of the trade-in, since I can get cash for the trade-in? This would get some more cash in my hands (to pay off the CC debt), but not as much as the original plan.

[Anonymous]

203bravo (or anyone else who knows) - will they apply it the incentives against the loan amount, or against the negotiated cost of the vehicle? Thank you for your reply BTW !

[clocktick]

I had the GM credit card and used it with other incentives.  These come off of the vehicle price.  As far as your trade-in, that agreed upon amount will come off of the vehicle price as well (most dealerships use Galves).  I don't think I'm following you.  Getting a new car would not put any cash in your hands. 

[Anonymous]

What is Galves?

When I traded in a Honda and leased my GM, I left there with a check for the value of the Honda. Will they not do that anymore - it's the same as them buying a used car as a separate transaction, right?

Thanks.

[MattH]

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@Anonymous wrote:

What is Galves?

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An auto price service used by many dealers

http://www.galves.com/