Trading in the FX ??

F

FXchosen1

Member
So here's my current situation. I am in an upside down car loan on my FX, I owe 17k (left) on my FX, but just roughly checking KBB value its only at 10-12k range
My FX just past the 150k mark and I am just really worried about the cost of fixing when the miles get even HIGHER. I am currently a college student with one year left to get my business degree and probably have bad credit (other reasons). I can still make the payments on my FX every month but my 9-5 paying job's pay goes all into the FX leaving me with little to no money left after the payment. I am happily 'getting by' but am considering in getting something different with a lot less mileage just so I can sleep at night not having to worry about if something is going to go bad the next day. I know our FXs are essentially bullet proof, but worst case scenario if something was to go wrong I'm left with little money to get out. My FX has a co-signer that went MIA on me, so I don't know if I would be easily approved for another car.

I know we have a lot of members here that are surely more knowledgeable than I am in life decisions like this ( I consider a car a HUGE decision). I'm just open to advice on what would be the best option for me to take. I don't want to see myself 'downgrade', but in this situation I'm open to different paths for the future.

I was looking into certain new cars with some rebates and cash incentives which I know could help cover the difference I owe. What would you say the dealer would offer me on my FX, and is there anything they could possibly do to help me out ?

Thanks !
 
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is the interest rate of your auto loan above 10% and do you have gap insurance? keep the fx and try to drive it as little as possible until you are done with school or your financial situation improved.
 
If you trade it in they will add whatever you owe on it to the new car so you end up in the same situation, your payments might even go up. I would keep it until it's payed off and in the meantime get yourself a $1000 beater to scoot around with.


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If your credit is iffy, then it doesn't make any sense to try and get into another car especially when you're upside down. You won't qualify for the best rebates/incentives/rates. Plus adding $5-$7K negative equity from your old loan into a new one will basically make you upside down from the outset. If you needed a co-signer for your FX and your credit isn't any better, they're going to want another co-signer on the new loan. Most reasonable option is to keep driving the FX and keeping it maintained. Until the cost of maintenance/repairs is higher than the added cost of a new car, keep your current one.
 
How long have you had the car? Have you been maintaining it properly?

If you've taken good care of it and haven't noticed any changes or weird issues, you shouldn't worry.
If you want more peace of mind you can take the car to a mechanic for an inspection. (Or if youre really cheap you could go take it to some place like carmax or a dealer for a trade in offer. they will check it out for free)

on the other hand if youve been abusing it and slacking on the maintenance, you may want to bail out while you can. going from upside down to more upside down with bad credit may be just making things worse. You can usually get more for it selling private party.
 
Here my question to you. 1. how long have you had the car? 2. when will it be paid off? 3. the person who co-signed for you apparently isnt a relative otherwise you would be able to locate him. 4 since you are making it why not just try to make it another year then maybe you can get a better job, then you might be able to trade it in for a far lesser vehicle nothing fancy (ford focus).
 
Firstly I'd like to thank everyone for the input in my situation, this really does shine light in a different perspective with my situation.

let me elaborate into some more detail:
Signed for the FX in March 2010 for a 6 year term
currently I have 40 payments remaining with the normal payment a month of about $490, if everything continues the way they are going now I would have the car paid off in about 3 more years. I believe my interest rate on the car is about 7-8% if im not mistaken. My Co-signer was a close family friend, he I believe is going through some hard times and completely fell off the radar, but I'm sure I can find him if I look hard enough (hopefully). I maintain every aspect of my vehicle that I possibly can, I do my oil changes, all fluids, and anything I can do to prevent future fixes which in turn would cost more money (if my money allows me to do so). And I also do have GAP insurance.

for the past 3 years I have been commuting ALOT and I mean ALOT trips back and forth to school and work multiple times a week. I average about 30k miles per year since I have taken ownership of the FX. I did consider the fact of getting some beater car for the commutes but that would mean more insurance money to pay, which then I will find myself in much more of a financial bind. I did also consider the fact of basically parking my FX for almost year round to save miles on it and only use it if I especially need it or for the winter time (hate MA snow storms). Anybody know what the average cost of insurance on a simple accord coupe with an I4 or maybe even an Rx8? might be getting overboard but will most likely go with some Honda or cheapie Toyota if I do decide to take this route.
 
Just as a FYI and another datapoint, i traded my 08 FX35 with ~60k miles, some damage (city driving & door dings) for around $20k
 
If you can get a cosigner to shop for a refinance you may be able to get a better rate and save $. There are rates under 2%.

Also check with insurance rates. I remember when I first added a second car, it was cheaper to keep my old one on the policy then to have just the new one. If you shift miles off of an expensive car to a cheap one it may reduce the overall risk. There are multi vehicle discounts.
The other thing to consider with insurance is that a more "responsible" car will usually cost less. So a car that young people (or thieves) prefer, like a civic may be far more expensive than a more expensive but "responsible" car. (corvettes are statistically the safest car around) You can call your agent and ask about what if I get a *** question.
 
Bringing back an old topic, but im at it again !
the FX is at 162k now on the clock and im getting more worried that im getting to that "point" in a car's life
maintenance has been good but I owe about 15k left, I have a 2nd car that I share with my brother a 2007 scion tc (don't owe anything on it) with about 112k miles has a turbo but it has been reliable
me and my brother sat down and talked about it were considering trading in the FX for something else with less miles, ive basically moved all the miles on the scion and the fx is probably averaging 15k -20k miles a year now (which is alot less than before)
any advice?
amd if you were in my shoes, what would you personally do ? im just trying to keep my options open
 
Highway miles vs city miles are very different. I know a guy who bought a 2006 MDX w/ 250k miles on it from a guy that drove a lot of highway miles. Runs like a champ. City stop and go is harder on cars, not high mileage from driving far
 
2 cars in a similar situation- but the owners decided to keep their cars- one being a 03 350z 6 sp. bought it new 185k and going strong. The other - real estate person- 06fx35 awd 200k. Replaced all wheel bearings and rotors and flex pipe on exhaust. Basically the cars are somewhat neglected and run strong. Unless you just want to get out of it or downsize that's one thing but I wouldn't worry too much. I've seen cars with less miles go south a lot sooner. You have a good fx
 
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