A single guy in a pickle and looking for suggestions here…
I’ve got an '04 Blazer and an '08 Rio, both of which are financed. I had the truck for a couple years, then gas prices spiked and I was driving ALOT (5k mi/mo.) for work, so I picked up the Kia for a commuter car.
Now, i’m driving ALOT LESS for work and driving very little in general, but here I am with two vehicles and two loans.
I’ve got like a year left to pay off the Blazer, and its definitely worth more than I owe, but on the other hand, with the Rio I am definitely upside down on it, and a few years to go.
I really don’t have the cash to pay off either vehicle out-right, but I really don’t wanna hang on to two vehicles (for both logistic and financial reasons it doesn’t make sense.)
Any thoughts/suggestions/feedback on what to do?
Check to be sure, but if you are not upside down on the Blazer, sell it.
This assumes the Rio meets your normal car needs.
You will need to contact the lender on the Blazer so if you succeed in selling it, you can obtain the TITLE quickly for the new owner. It’s difficult to sell a vehicle to a private party if you do not have the title IN HAND, but it can be done if you do your homework and the title is not being held in some out-of-state loan office.
You may need to negotiate a 2-week bridge loan, pay off the Blazer, get the title and sell it, then pay off the loan…
Thanks for the feedback. Yes, the difficulty of selling the blazer without a title in hand has been what’s kept me from going down that road just yet. Indeed, the title is being held in some out-of-state loan office… Don’t know much about bridge loans, will have to investigate.
The Rio does meet my needs for basic reliable transportation, but has anyone ever heard of trading in 2 vehicles for a single one? Maybe that should have been my original question.
A co-worker did just that two years ago. Said he got fair value for both and a decent price on their chosen vehicle. Depends on the dealer and how well you may be able to negotiate.
Good to hear. Do you know if the co-worker’s 2 vehicles were still being financed when she traded them in?
I believe one was, a Cadillac Escalade. Don’t think the second one was (Jeep CJ)
My vote would be to sell the Blazer )hopefully it would bring what you think it should) and try to apply any overage to the Kia so you can become right side up. Upside down on a car loan (very common) is not a good situation to be in.
Trading 2 cars in for one can be done but you would be well advised to do your homework. What you think the Blazer is really worth may not be anywhere near what you will actually get and some of the number games are easily played to make you think you’re making out like a bandit.
Keep the one you like the best. Pay it off, drive it for years, and never take on car loans again. Or if you take on a loan never buy brand new, buy slightly preowned.
The Rio does meet my needs for basic reliable transportation, but has anyone ever heard of trading in 2 vehicles for a single one?
My brother-in-law did that when his father died. He had a 3yo car with two years left on the loan…and inherited a 4yo car when his dad died. The car from his father really didn’t meet his needs…and he was having a lot of problems with his 3yo Taurus. So traded both cars in on a newer car.
I would sell the Blazer while gas prices are still relatively low. Then I would refinance both loans into a single lower interest loan. Stick a “for sale” sign in the window of the Blazer and contact your local banks and credit unions to inquire about a debt consolidation line of credit. You will probably still be under water, but you will be able to afford the payments and you will see light at the end of the tunnel.
Then I would refinance both loans into a single lower interest loan
How do you sell a car without a clean title. You can’t get a clean title until you have the loan paid off. Sounds like you’re advocating selling the vehicle FIRST…then clearing the title.
In many states it is a simple matter. You contact the finance company that holds the title to find out what you need to do to sell the vehicle. I am sure it varies state by state, but it is possible to sell a car without owning it outright. The sequence of events might not be that important. If the OP can find a buyer who is willing to pay the asking price, I don’t think he/she should wait for the debt consolidation loan if it may cost the OP a sale. It’s better to dump the vehicle and still owe a little on it than it is to keep letting it depreciate and wait for something to change.
Sometimes, when you are upside down in a loan, you might be able to broker a deal where the buyer simply takes over the loan. In that case, the finance company simply transfers the loan to the new owner. Of course this will depend on the new buyer having good credit.
When my wife and I got married, we both had fairly high mileage vehicles. It didn’t make sense for us to own two cars, neither of which were very practical, and decided to go down to a one car family.
When we bought our current vehicle, we traded both of our cars in. Hers was still being financed and mine was title in hand. Other than being a little more challenging in terms of negotiating for the new vehicle, there were no problems with the whole transaction.
Trading in both cars for another new one is just digging the hole deeper. You want to avoid that if you can. Call the finance company that holds the title to the Blazer and find out what they need to send out the title. Also, check with your state’s DMV on selling a car without the title in hand. It happens every day at dealerships. You just have to write out a sale’s contract that covers the buyer and the seller.
You can try going to a used car dealer to see if they might make you an offer on the Blazer. They will be used to dealing with titles held by banks, etc. and can help you through the process. You obviously would not get the most out of the deal that way, but it may be worth it to save the hassle. CarMax and similar used car places will buy used cars without making a trade.
I would do as OK 4450 suggests and use any extra cash you get out of the Blazer to pay down the loan on the Rio. Plan to keep the Rio until it’s paid off, and then keep making payments into a savings account to eventually fund a replacement. You don’t have to make as many payments on a new car if you pay them in advance.