So, I own a 2002 Nissan Altima with 100k mil 2.5 liter engine. She’s a beautiful car but the parts are expensive. I’m still paying for her and when I first signed the paperwork in Feb of 07 I owed 12500 on it. I now owe 10,900 on it. (I’m paying 20% intrest 300$ a month) I tried refinancing and the best they can do is for 48 month period and my payments would be more than they are now.
Advice? I can’t afford the payments, not with gas as expensive as it is now.
Oh yeah if there are any car salesmen on here I’d love it if you had any input
Do NOT try refinancing with an auto dealership!
Go to your bank or credit union. Bring all your documents, car title and loan papers. You should be able to do much better than what you have now.
I did and I googled the value of the car it is HALF what I bought it for…do you think I could just wrap it around a tree say I almost hit a deer and collect the full and the gap?
Insurance fraud is another matter, beyond the scope of this forum. Check with Vinnie at the pool hall.
This is what’s known in the business as being “upside down.” It means you owe more on the vehicle than it is worth. Many others are in similar positions, but that doesn’t make it any less painful.
If you can’t refinance, I suggest making additional payments to pay off the loan sooner. It’s the only way out, really.
Next time you buy a car, do a bit more research on vehicle prices, values, and financing options before you sign anything. Someone really made a killing on this deal, and it wasn’t you.
Nope, the insurance will only pay you the value of the car, which I’m afraid is quite a bit less than 10,900 at this point, so you’ll still wind up having to pay off the difference. The exact same effect could be achieved, minus potential trips to prison, by selling it. Unless you can refinance at a really good rate at your local credit union, your best option probably is to sell it and buy a 1,000-2,000 clunker to drive around until you get the balance of the loan paid off and can afford to pay cash for a better car.
It’s a crummy situation, which is part of why IMHO it’s not a good idea to borrow money to buy a car. Since cars depreciate so much, you’re upside down on it from the minute you drive it off the lot and in most situations you end up paying more in interest than the car’s worth by the time you end up owning it!
How cheap would gas have to get in order for your financial concern with this car be resolved? Maybe it could happen.
I’ll say this; SteveF definitely has a way with words! Thanks for the chuckle.
Since pool halls are sometimes located in the rough sections of town maybe the OP should be advised not to ahem leave the keys in the ignition…