I have a 2005 Nissan Armada that I LOVE! I can't stomach getting a new one and a new payment when I have this one. It is only 3 years old to me, and we got it on a crazy high interest rate so we still owe a decent amount on it. 2 years ago we got the interest rate down a lot, and then a year ago we got it to a 4.9% rate. So it's on a good rate now, we just still owe about $6k more than it's worth. The shop where I get MOST of my work done said it needs a bout $3k in work. To me, that is cheaper than forking over (or rolling over again) more money into another car. Would you fix it and keep it (If you LOVED it) or roll over the money into a new loan and get a newer SUV?
That was what we were thinking too. We are going to take it to the local Nissan dealer and see what the problem is. If we can get it fixed for a decent price, we'll do it with our mechanic closer to home. If not, we may need to get out of it. We don't want to roll over $ again though.
I'd keep it and fix it. You don't want to have seller's remorse, plus the headache of getting all the paperwork straight and a new payment when you can just swallow the additional cost and be happy with it!!
Fix it & keep it is absolutely your best financial bet here. As long as I had the money available to fix it & ESPECIALLY if I loved it, I wouldn't even consider trading it in knowing I'd be upside down in another loan.
I would fix it. You have to stop the cycle at some point where you owe more on a car than it's worth. The only way to do that is keep the car and pay it off. I love my Chevy Trailblazer. It's a 2004, we've had it since 2005 and we will finally get the thing paid off at the end of the year. We owed way more on it than it was worth because we had to buy a different car TWICE because our family grew and we needed more room. That put us at the mercy of dealerships and what they had, wanted to charge and wanted to offer. It's great to know that we can have some bargaining power next time we go buy a car, and a payment that we can more easily handle.
Doesn't matter though 'cause we're gonna fix it and fix it and ride it til the wheels fall off. I love this car!
*ETA-plus, even if you put $3000 more in it, it's still less debt than the price of a new car with the price of an old car tacked on. $9000 for your current car plus repairs, or at least $18,000 if you tack the old car's debt onto the price of the new car.
I'm in the same boat right now. My Grand Caravan - LOVE everything about it EXCEPT the maintenance...this year alone she's costing me $3K. However, that's still less than I would be making in car payments for a new one. So I would repair and keep it.
Since our savings account has taken a huge hit this year, we can't pay cash for a new one like we were planning on...so once we feel stable again, looks like I'll be making car payments...for the first time in 10 years...urgh...
I would have to weigh in if it is going to need $3k of repair each year, each month, one time. If I have to pay more than $3k a year, it is not worth the hassle. I'd roll over take the hit or use the $3k I had set aside for work, put it to a new vehicle, plus trade in (even if upside down) and get a more reliable vehicle.
Even if it is a newer model of an Armada:)
Fix it. You're already underwater. Rolling over what you owe will just put you deeper underwater on a new one.
I guess it depends on what needs to be fixed and what the actual value of your suv is. Years ago I had a 1996 nissan sentra that I loved. It was worth about 1500 at the time. It needed more than 3k worth of work done. At that point it was a better financial choice to get a new car with a bigger payment than to fix the one I had.
We just keep fixing my 2005 Volvo Xc 90 I know car repairs are a pain and expensive but we are almost car payment free and am so excited for that day!
Well, if you roll it over into a new loan you're still going to owe that $6000, it'll just be tacked onto the new loan. How much of this work HAS to be done? I would take it somewhere else for another opinion. Good luck!
Check to see if you might qualify for any recalls...shop around the work...probably better to get the work done than go further into debt unless the car is really old and has a ton of miles!
Hi, Mom:
Fix it. Check around to get a reputable shop with
good mechanics.
Just a thought
D.
