I have a fully loaded 2005 Nissan Maxima with 82,000 mi and it is paid off. Should I try to trade in for 2 cars of an equal value. I realize i will be downgrading cars.
Do you need two cars? If not, I don’t see why you would want to trade a car that you know, have paid off, and doesn’t have a lot of miles for a Nissan Maxima.
If you do need two cars, how are the cars to be used? If you need one car for long distance travel and need the other car for short, around town use, then keep the Nissan and purchase a second dar for around town. If you truly need two road cars, my temptation would be to keep the Nissan and find a late model car in good condition. In any event, I would be reluctant to trade a car that has been paid off, that I know the history, and has a comparatively low 82,000 miles.
First, assess your needs and then go from there.
Whatever a 2005 Maxima is worth you want to sell it and buy 2 cars with each roughly half the value of the Maxima? That means these 2 cars would be several years older and each have similar or more miles on them than the Maxima.
If you do this you are going to need to budget for a lot more repair and maintenance expenses. Perhaps one or both of these 2 new to you cars will need a timing belt water pump job. You can figure on more brake jobs, an alternator here, battery there, and radiator anywhere.
I’m really not sure what you hope to gain from this move, but I’d figure to more than double your repair/maintenance expenses because you’ll have 2 cars that are older and have more miles on them than your current car.
It seems like you are jumping the gun. A car that young with so few miles should last a long time. If there is nothing wrong with the Maxima, I would keep it.
two cars-means two insurance,those extra’s from state you from-here chicago about over $300 for that like city stickers,plate sticker,parking permit? how about maintainnance,gas,repair’s.how about put money on side for in coming wear and tear items,tires,battery,plugs,filters,brakes,cv joints,fluids etc. etc.
I would suggest that you keep this car until you have saved enough money to pay cash for your next car.
The constant cycle of paying interest on the purchase of every car that you own takes a huge toll on your finances over your lifetime. My father taught this to me when I was very young, and that is the plan that I followed for most of my life.
There were a couple of occasions when I had to take a small credit union loan (at a low interest rate) for a couple of thousand dollars, and I always paid off this relatively small loan within 2 years and then continued to drive the car for another 3-5 years after paying off the small loan. But, to finance most of the purchase price of a car and to finish paying off that financing only around the time that you are getting rid of the car is financially self-defeating in the long run.
Do yourself a huge favor–Maintain the Maxima so well that it will last for many more years, and simultaneously start saving your money so that you can pay cash for your next car.
You need to tell us more about why you are considering this move.
it doesn’t look like they’re talking about financing the vehicles, just trading 1 vehicle for 2 so they still don’t have payments.
Figure 12k for a top of the line, every option available, showroom quality vehicle. That means 2 cars for $6k each.
For that price, a Taurus and/or Impala will net the newest car for that price range. But, I agree with JeM, we need to know what the OP is looking for in terms of their new vehicles. A highway cruiser and a summer fun car, sporty in-town drivers, the list is limitless
Agree; without some rationale behind your proposal, we cannot comment intelligently as to what the best options are for you.
The Maxima is a great car, but a 5 year old Maxima will not bring back enough of a return to buy two new cars of any sort. Not even nearly enough.
I too find myself wondering why you’re cnsidering this.
The maxima’s only worth 15 grand or so ( kbb.com retail value, not knowing the full accessories list ), what two cars would you want for that price ?
A few years ago my dad down SIZED without parting with any additional funds. Sold an 01 E150 Ford van and bought an 07 Focus…zero dollars…priceless.
( sold the van ‘private party’ to net more in pocket, paid cash on Focus deal. )
But, unless you’re predicting high repair costs in the future or are wanting lower insurance prices…
I vote for - keep the Maxima - .
Troll?
Why do people ask these questions and then not reply to reasonable requests? I know they get an email when someone here posts. I suggest we stop answering tis guy.
Sorry for the lack of info. Here is the deal when i bought the maxima I was married with 1 child and needed a better car for my wife and I to drive the kid around. My wife and I both had late model cars hers was better so we traded hers in and got the maxima. About 2 years later we came into some money and paid the car off. Now a while later we had our 2nd child and while we like the car some things aren’t practicle for us and my late model car is worth only about $800 at best, a detail i didn’t mention in my initial question. I also have a work vehicle that is paid for by the company i work for. One major problem my wife has with the maxima is the fact that the car will not warm up in the winter unless it is driven several miles and blows cold air out when you slow down or stop. This is something i’m told is normal for nissan I don’t know much about it. Thanks for the help i just don’t know what to do but i need to do something to quite the wife.
Since you have a company provided car, I’d say you need a “family car” that your wife will drive primariy. On family outings either of you can drive it. Consider trading the Maxima on a Toyota Venza. The 4 cyl. has a new 6 speed transmission, gets decent mpg, and has plenty of room for a family of 2 adults and 2 young children. It is not like driving a huge SUV and your wife might like driving it. The Venza is based on the Camry and should be reliable for a long time. If you like the Maxima performance there is a V6 version of the Venza.
There shouldn’t be any reason for the Maxima to not produce enough heat. But if you’ve failed to remedy that then let your wife pick out a car she wants.
If you trade with a dealer, you can expect to get a trade in or wholesale price for your car and pay retail for the pair you get in return. It’s probably not going to be a good deal for you.