Should I trade in my SUV for an economy car?

J

Jennifer

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I have a Chevy Equinox that I bought used. I have been making payments for only one year, but we are stressed financially and I am trying to do everything I can to lower payments and pay things off. My gas would be cheaper on the car and a sedan would have plenty of room for my family to ride with me. I am just concerned because I am upside down on my loan on my Equinox. Does this sound like a good plan? Any ideas? Thanks!
 
i lol'd at rogue, foreign cars like toyota are still made in america, they're just designed (with quality) in a foreign country. get a toyota or honda! they can be really fuel effiecient and reliable.
a honda accord is a good size sedan, gets good gas mileage, and really good reliability.
or a toyota camry, possibly the hybrid version.
or get a small suv! if that would be better for holding your family
the toyota rav4 gets around 21/29, as well as the honda crv.
i believe the rav4 has an optional 3rd row seat if that would help.
 
First and Foremost, thank you for Buying American and doing your part to help your country get through these ridiculously hard times.

The Equinox gets the best gas mileage out of any crossover.

Let's see.

24 Miles per gallon, highway. In contrast, the best Large car (Chevy Impala) gets 29 mpg and the best midsize Sedan (Ford Fusion) gets 41 mpg.

I must say, you'd be getting much better gas mileage, but seeing as you'd be upside down on the loan and it'd all be one big mess to trade in, if you do the math, the extra gas mileage probably adds up to be less than the price of buying another car.

If you MUST trade in, I'd personally go for an 08/09 Malibu, because they had the best mileage at the time... but umm... I don't advise trading in. If I were you, I'd look into gas-saving tricks such as shifting into Neutral at stop signs, braking gradually and accelerating gradually and other such tips to save on gas. You'd save A LOT more that way than by further stretching your cash with another car.
 
I know what you are going though, but if you are going to take an equity loss, then you are upside down going into a new car that will be a downgrade. I would really appraise that, especially when you talk about what you will be paying and what kind of mileage you are trying to achieve. You really have to move into small cars or hybrids (depending on drive) to get the better gas mileage.

I saw a lot of this when gas hit $4 a gallon. People thought it was a better idea to take a $7k loss so they could say 50% on their fuel bill. When you think about covering the $7k loss, gas is not that expensive because if you spread that extra $7k debt into your new car, the gas hardly makes up for it, make $2 to $3k savings in gas. So a lot of wasted money.

Unfortunately your problem is finances. So you are probably making a healthy car payment, and see all the TV commercials where you could be paying $150-250 a month for a car, and that would help. But remember, you often have to throw down a down payment, most are around $2k to help pay the TT&L. So if you do not pay that, you start out upside down besides what you trade out of.

If you are truly desperate, you might see if you loan company will refinance what you have left on your current car. You might add some years if you are able, but I would not recommend to pay out that long, but maybe enough to get you back on your feet, to where you could double up on payments later on.
 
I know what you are going though, but if you are going to take an equity loss, then you are upside down going into a new car that will be a downgrade. I would really appraise that, especially when you talk about what you will be paying and what kind of mileage you are trying to achieve. You really have to move into small cars or hybrids (depending on drive) to get the better gas mileage.

I saw a lot of this when gas hit $4 a gallon. People thought it was a better idea to take a $7k loss so they could say 50% on their fuel bill. When you think about covering the $7k loss, gas is not that expensive because if you spread that extra $7k debt into your new car, the gas hardly makes up for it, make $2 to $3k savings in gas. So a lot of wasted money.

Unfortunately your problem is finances. So you are probably making a healthy car payment, and see all the TV commercials where you could be paying $150-250 a month for a car, and that would help. But remember, you often have to throw down a down payment, most are around $2k to help pay the TT&L. So if you do not pay that, you start out upside down besides what you trade out of.

If you are truly desperate, you might see if you loan company will refinance what you have left on your current car. You might add some years if you are able, but I would not recommend to pay out that long, but maybe enough to get you back on your feet, to where you could double up on payments later on.
 
If you can afford to make the payments then it sounds like a good idea, but if I remember correctly, the equinox isn't that big of an SUV so it probably doesn't get that much worse gas mileage than a large sedan.
 
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