Should I sell my 1 year old vehicle? HELP

[ctjohnson]

If you can't get 38k for the car I would even advise taking out a personal loan for the difference. Say you can get 33k for it, and then take out a 5k loan for the difference and you are still 33 thousand dollars ahead on the deal! That's a ton of debt eliminated and you'll have the former payment money in your pocket to pay off the 5k personal loan in 6 months. Then count this as a lesson learned and never repeat this mistake again.

[TexasHusker]

If you can PM me all of the car details, model, miles, trim level, and condition, I can tell you within a $1000 what it's really worth to unload.

[sv2007]

Right now we usually have $500/mo leftover after bills/food/entertainment etc. But that's just with not really caring about living frugally. I'd like to increase that to at least $2000/mo. Just wondering if my vehicle (my biggest bill) is the best place to tackle first, meaning cutting losses and selling it.

I think you might find this a good read: Idiot's guide to getting rich.

I recently read it and like it a lot because it almost outlined my personal experience over the years. Except I learned mine the hard way on my own. I'm not rich, but I'm pretty well off.

[dawnwes]

Hi all. I'm new here and don't know if this is the right place to post. Anyway I'm 25 years old and have lived my life pretty foolishly up until this point. I'm planning on turning it all around aggressively and as soon as possible. Here's information on the car. Financed $46,000 at 8% interest. Current balance on the loan after 1 year is $38,500. Monthly payments are $804. Household income after taxes is $4800 per month. KBB says my vehicle is worth $38,500 as well so I've just broke even apparently. Also, I'm currently in the military so my rent and utilities are completely paid for if that needs to be taken into consideration. Our goal as a family is to change our lives and try to live on half of any work related income for the rest of our lives until retirement paying off debt first, then investing. Unsure if it is achievable but it is just a goal for now. Sorry for the long post but I guess my question is: Should I sell the vehicle and buy a much cheaper used vehicle ~15,000, take that saved money and use it to pay off CC debt, or suck it up and try to cut back and save what little we can to pay off this car and our CC debt. I know it sounds like a no brainer to me to sell, but my wife says I'll definitely take a loss and lose the $9000 I've already put into the vehicle. Who is right?

It is already gone, no matter if you keep the car or sell. You will never get that back.

But going forward, do you want to keep paying $10K per YEAR just to have a car to drive?

You overbought, you made a decision that wasn't financially wise, but you have the opportunity to change it and change it before it becomes a bigger issue.

Sell the car!

[tripods68]

What car (make/mode) did you buy for $48K?

[Eagle]

Hi all. I'm new here and don't know if this is the right place to post. Anyway I'm 25 years old and have lived my life pretty foolishly up until this point. I'm planning on turning it all around aggressively and as soon as possible. Here's information on the car. Financed $46,000 at 8% interest. Current balance on the loan after 1 year is $38,500. Monthly payments are $804. Household income after taxes is $4800 per month. KBB says my vehicle is worth $38,500 as well so I've just broke even apparently. Also, I'm currently in the military so my rent and utilities are completely paid for if that needs to be taken into consideration. Our goal as a family is to change our lives and try to live on half of any work related income for the rest of our lives until retirement paying off debt first, then investing. Unsure if it is achievable but it is just a goal for now. Sorry for the long post but I guess my question is: Should I sell the vehicle and buy a much cheaper used vehicle ~15,000, take that saved money and use it to pay off CC debt, or suck it up and try to cut back and save what little we can to pay off this car and our CC debt. I know it sounds like a no brainer to me to sell, but my wife says I'll definitely take a loss and lose the $9000 I've already put into the vehicle. Who is right?

I made the opposite mistake in my 20's. I bought a nice used Chevy Prizm 1998 for about $6000 in 2003.

Once I got a "real" job I bought a Honda Civic 2007 in 2007 for a ridiculous amount. I put half down and paid 7-8% interest. I quickly realized my mistake and instead of paying off the loan in 5 years I paid it off in less than 3. My payment was only in the mid 300's though.

Do you have any cash to put towards a replacement vehicle? Does your wife work?

If nothing else remember this: Vehicles are one of the worst depreciating assets you will ever buy. You will always loose money on it. But it's better than riding a horse.

[pflyers85]

Like Dawn said the money you have spent so far is gone. Your wife's logic about taking the loss is not applicable to vehicles and vehicle loans. Her logic would make sense when applied to an asset whose value can fluctuate up or down depending on market conditions. It's not like you will be able to wait it out and come out ahead with a car like you could with a house.