Car Financing advice emergency! How do you get out of a financed car your upside down on? Sell or trade or?

May 3rd, 2008 | by admin |
steph asked:


I purchased this 2005 Vibe for a job that didn’t work out. I bought it not the company. So, now I want to get my 16 yr old a car, and don’t need this one. I’m upside down on it by about 1,500. Is there a way to get this resolved or am I just SOL…

  1. 8 Responses to “Car Financing advice emergency! How do you get out of a financed car your upside down on? Sell or trade or?”

  2. By jimspersonalemail on May 3, 2008 | Reply

    Hmmm… Well you could sell yourself or drugs, but that is illegal… That’s a tough one!

  3. By kentata on May 5, 2008 | Reply

    As financing terms get longer and longer, this becomes a bigger problem. Best best – sell it yourself, but this is tricky to do with all the new car incentives out there. Otherwise, you are probably SOL.
    Let this be a lesson, however – it is unwise to extend the financing terms in order to buy a car you really can’t afford. As a rule of thumb the loan should NEVER be more than 60 months … but 36 or 48 is ideal. The higher the APR, the shorter the term should be.
    Good luck.

  4. By Linc on May 6, 2008 | Reply

    Yu are 90% SOL. The other 10% allows you the opportunity to roll it over into another car purchase. That makes you WAY upside down in the next car, but if you are confident you are going to keep it… that’s not a big issue.

    You also have the possibility of selling to a sucker… er.. um.. perspective buyer for a “Take over payments” situation.

  5. By sandi_bottoms on May 6, 2008 | Reply

    SOL… Any dealer wants make a profit when they resell your Vibe. Therefore, they have to buy low. Your best bet is to sell it to a private buyer yourself. You’ll lose a little, but a lot less than trading it in. If you let a dealer repo, it’ll be on your credit for the next 7 years. Don’t plan on buying another car or house for at least 4 or 5 years if you do.

  6. By natlang on May 7, 2008 | Reply

    Give the car to your 16-year-old. Chances are good that they will total it, and then the insurance will cover it.

  7. By AnOrdinaryGuy on May 9, 2008 | Reply

    It’s hard to get out of a deal, just because you want to: you’re bound by the contract. However, if the dealer arranged the financing, the deal is usually tied to approval of the financing. If you lost your job thru no fault of your own, you should notify the finance company, and perhaps they will reject the loan application. That should help to get you out of the deal; although you might not get the used car back, if the dealer has sold it already. (In that case you might get only what the dealer got for it.) You would also have to refund to the dealer anything he paid to pay off your used car, if he can’t get it back himself. Contact your state or local consumer protection agency for more advice on your state’s laws.

  8. By iamamidnitoker on May 11, 2008 | Reply

    you can sell it for what its worth by the kelley book. i wouldnt reccomend trading it in unless they give you at least what its actually worth.

    or you can have someone steal it and claim it from insurance.
    or just set it on fire

    i wouldnt reccommend doing that though.

  9. By southernstranger2000 on May 12, 2008 | Reply

    well you are pretty much s.o.l. unless you find a dealer that will let you trade it in on something else but then they will add the negative equity to the new loan

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