Please come in here and help me with my car dilema.

So i put this in the ask a guy forum cause it's a car thing but i would like opinions from everyone. man, woman, cat, dog, fish, etc...

so i have this car now that's worth 6000. i owe about 9500. it's kind of an suv, gas and insurance is suv like, performance is not suv like.

okay so there's that.

well then there's this car that i've been wanting for a long time. mazda3 hatchback 2004, same year as my car. it has half the miles of my car, is not an suv, better on gas and insurance. only problem is the negative equity on my current car.

so they're willing to sell me this car for just a little more than what it's worth, and pay some of my negative equity. not a lot, but some.

same interest rate.

what do ya'll people and animals think?

pros: my payment would be lower. insurance would cost less. gas would cost less. nice car, sunroof, runs good, low miles, fast (fast enough for me).

cons: paying thousands on negative equity.

Isn't equity kind of an arbitrarily assigned value?

I think you should get off that SUV immediately. It'll only get more difficult to sell as gas prices go higher (and we know they will), while it will cost you more to drive it around.

Get the car you want. Can you fit Sabby and the Baron in it?

honestly they would fit into a regular sedan. probably not for really long drives but how often do we take really long drives with the dogs? maybe when we go camping, for which my car will fit everything, us, the dogs, all the equipment, etc. but it won't even go through a mud puddle. lame.

plus 3 of my tires need replacing, i just replaced one the other day cause it tore, thankfully not on the freeway. and i have to replace one of my headlights cause somebody hit in it a parking lot.

...

That's what you get for driving like a bat out of hell.

Anyway, get rid of that deathtrap.

even after 3500 in negative equity? omg so much!

but i suppose it's only going to get worse.

Fish guy here. How the heck did you end up with a negative amount? But either way, if you for sure you will be getting a stead flow of income for the next year or so, then go for the other car.

how long do you plan on keeping the new one if you make the tradeoff?

mathematically speaking, the longer you keep it if the tradeoff is made, the more money you will save.

i say go for it.

I don't even know what negative equity is.. but i'm all in favor of getting out of the SUV. Plus, think of what you'll save on gas and insurance.

negative equity is when you owe more than what your car is worth.

for me that number is about 3500 and it grows all the time. just a couple months ago i estimated it was about 2000.

so yeah, i'm ready to get out of that.

anyway yeah, i really want this car. but i decided i would sleep on it first.

No easy answer for this problem...

okay so i slept on it. and i still want the car.

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Originally Posted by Gigabitch [Dear Guest/Member you have to reply to see the link.click here to register]

That's what you get for driving like a bat out of hell.

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lol i wasn't even in the car at the time. i was in a store christmas shopping. damn people.

great, you can get what you want and be nicer to the environment and ultimately it sounds like you'll save money.

the new camaro is also coming out if you're interested. anyways, i'm all about driving the car that you want. unfortunately the car that i want is out of my price range.

raverboy

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Originally Posted by misombra [Dear Guest/Member you have to reply to see the link.click here to register]

lol i wasn't even in the car at the time. i was in a store christmas shopping. damn people.

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You probably ran over someone's foot with your cart, and they went out in the parking lot to take it out on your car because you're so mean.

i slept on it another night, and i still want the mazda 3. it's so pretty. if i bought her i would call her august.

aw :) post a photo?

i bought august. yes i did. my car is the freakin BOMB!!!!!!!!!!!

no pics yet. my damn camera broke. but when i do i'll show you guys. this is what it looks like though...

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congrats :) looks great.

What color is it? I like shiny black colored cars...makes them look fancy. But silver's pretty cool too. :)

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Originally Posted by misombra [Dear Guest/Member you have to reply to see the link.click here to register]

i bought august. yes i did. my car is the freakin BOMB!!!!!!!!!!!

no pics yet. my damn camera broke. but when i do i'll show you guys. this is what it looks like though...

[Dear Guest/Member you have to reply to see the link.click here to register]

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We have a car like that. Decent engine, reasonable gas mileage. Is it a standard? You'll be very happy with it.

Glad you got rid of the SUV. LOL, my sister's ex owns a car dealership. They can't *give* away SUVs anymore, so you made the right choice.

About the negative equity on the car? You have that the moment you drive the car off the lot. Don't think of a car as equity, its a longterm consumable.

yeah. i'm happy about my car. my friends are hating right now.

Keep the current car, drive it until it dies. Then, donate it to the Boy Scouts or a local school, take a tax deduction. Then, buy a hybrid...because by that time, gas will be $6.00/gal (no joke).

Okay, what you also do is some discounting. How much money would you have in the way of increased "negative equity"? Let's say $6,000. Pretend like you invest the 10,000 in Vanguard Intermediate Bond fund index (current yield 5.10%) for ten years. You end up with over 16,000. The new car? You gotta factor in increased insurance rates, etc. And, it is a gas car. In 10 years, that's out the wind. It won't be worth shit if 5 years. So, drive the current car til it dies and invest money. The estimate on the bond fund would IF you took the safest investment route--go to Vanguard Total Market Index, and you'll like do even better.

BTW...you never start a post...this is a first!

hey cam! thanks for the advice, but you're two days too late, cause i bought the car lol. i couldn't help it. i have a thing for cars.

Have two of them myself...one classic muscle car, one work car.