Just bought a car and having buyer's remorse... should I sell?

[Adirondak]

I just bought a 2007 Nissan Sentra for approx. $12,000. Not that much to a lot of people but a lot to me. I work in the entertainment industry and do not make all that much. However, I supplement my income by tutoring, which nearly doubles my income. My car payments are $200 a month. I can definitely afford it, but have wanted to spend 2010 bulking up my emergency fund (currently at 5k) and making some solid investments towards retirement.

I feel as though I could get a comparable Chevy for around half the price I paid for this car.

Is it a good idea to sell right now? Since I bought used is it easier to recoup most of what I paid? Also, how does selling a car work while you have a car loan?

[weissheit]

Tough call, but once you toss a "chevy" into the mix I say stick w/ the nissan. The extra cost to maintain a lower quality car makes it a wash when you factor in the hassle and loss you will likely take on the resale.

Selling a car on your own is a real pain, lots of indecisive time wasters, the cost of advertising, etc. The bank holds a lien on the title and they will not release the lien until it is paid off and you cannot transfer title until this is done also. Hopefully the lien is held by a local bank. So you will have to take a day off, go to the bank w/ the buyer to have the lien paid off and get a release of lien (Time costs). You will have to pay out the difference if the sale price is less. Then you have to go to DMV w/ documentation the lien has been released and then transfer the title (Fees + time costs) Once complete then you will both need to immediately call your insurance companies to terminate & start policies. You will also need to coordinate the purchase of the other car.

Good luck.

[cschin4]

Yes, you already bought it and it's a done deal so at this point you might as well go with it unless you were going to sell and then use mass transit instead. Otherwise getting another car probably wouldn't save you that much.

[bjl584]

If you want to sell go with Autotrader.com. I've used them in the past with great success. For $59 they will list it. You get 15 photos, a large description, and it will be listed until it sells. Not a bad deal especially if it ends up taking a while to sell.

[Scanner]

Hard call.

I mean, do you really, really, really hate it?

You do have to stick with a car a long time (or should - I usually do at least 5 years on my cars, more like 7).

If you really, really hate it, and you can afford it, go ahead and sell it. That's part of life - mistakes. If it's just "buyer's remorse", it may wear off and the car will grow on you.

[Beppington]

If you have at least 6 months worth in your emergency fund, have no other debt, & can still save 10% of your income, in my estimation you can afford the Sentra. I think those are more important than driving a $12K vehicle. You can get a really good, reliable car for $5K, and then you'd have $6K-7K more your emergency fund and/ or savings.

The car depreciates every single day. The savings grows every single day. The two different directions they go is huge in the long term.

It's all about whether or not you're willing to forego some level of lifestyle now for a probable much better lifestyle later.

[disneysteve]

Do you dislike the car or is it just how much you spent on it that you are unhappy about? If you dislike the car, I'd think about selling it. If you like the car and are just worried about the cost, I'd take a look at the big picture. Are you putting 15% toward retirement? Are you living well below your means overall? Are there places you could easily cut back on spending that would allow you to keep the car and still meet your other goals?

I would also never consider trading a Nissan for a Chevy. If you do replace the 2007 Nissan, do so with another quality car like an older Nissan, Toyota or Honda.

[Adirondak]

Do you dislike the car or is it just how much you spent on it that you are unhappy about? If you dislike the car, I'd think about selling it. If you like the car and are just worried about the cost, I'd take a look at the big picture. Are you putting 15% toward retirement? Are you living well below your means overall? Are there places you could easily cut back on spending that would allow you to keep the car and still meet your other goals?

I would also never consider trading a Nissan for a Chevy. If you do replace the 2007 Nissan, do so with another quality car like an older Nissan, Toyota or Honda.

I don't dislike the car and the feelings of buyer's remorse aren't nearly as bad now as when I made this post. I am used to living very frugally so a car at 12 k is a huge expense for me. I think I was just panicking. I can definitely afford it.

While I haven't been contibuting 15% to retirement historically, late last year I started tutoring part time in addition to my full time job. The tutoring has brought in almost exactly the same amount that I make at my full time job - doubling my salary. I now contribute about 20% of what I make to retirement, through 401k and through a personal IRA (I'm 30 years old).

The thing is, I worry about once my clients take their respective tests, and I imagine that the summertime is a dry spell for a tutor. We'll see. Either way, $200 a month isn't much - but with my old car I had no car payments, and the car was old and the body was a little beat up so I only had liability insurance. This is definitely a change.

[jasonnoguchi]

You can sell even if it is on loan. The problem really is how much people are willing to pay for it. If you can, make sure you sell it at a price that does not require you to make up the difference to your lender.

[disneysteve]

Sounds to me like you should keep the car. You seem to be in good shape financially, saving a good chunk for the future and such. I can understand the difficulty in getting used to a car payment again. I've had my car since 1998 and it was paid off a long time ago and we paid cash for my wife's car in 2000. The next time we replace a car will seem rather strange after so many years with these vehicles.

[GREENBACK]

Either way, $200 a month isn't much - but with my old car I had no car payments, and the car was old and the body was a little beat up so I only had liability insurance. This is definitely a change.

This is something that so many people forget about when going to a new or even newer car. Insurance can dramatically increase what you pay in the end for that new vehicle. Funny, car salesmen never mention this