Once upside down, always upside down?

Avatar for colomom99
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-28-2003
Once upside down, always upside down?
5
Tue, 04-07-2009 - 6:49pm

Good evening, I have a car question. I have a 2003 car with 93,000 miles on it. I owe roughly $10K on it. I obviously drive a lot. It had about 45,000 miles on it when I bought it in Sept. 2006. It was a five year loan. I am upside down in the car and was thinking of selling it or trading it for a cheaper commuter car. My question is: once you are upside down in a car can your ever get out from under that or are you stuck? I know some loans are structured where you pay most of the interest in the first years and more of the principle towards the end. Does anyone know about car loans?

Thanks,
Jenny

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-01-2004
Tue, 04-07-2009 - 9:25pm

I can't give advice on the specifics of car loans, but DH had a similar situation.



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Avatar for fire_bug
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Wed, 04-08-2009 - 8:46am
I think it depends a lot on the car, its condition and how much you're paying for it. Over time the depreciation of a lot of cars slows, and as you get closer to the end of a car loan, you're paying mostly principal. What I would do is look up how much the car is worth, how much you owe on it and find out how much is going to principal each month and see how long it would take you to pay it down to what you owe. Of course, the car will continue to depreciate, but it might give you a rough idea.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-01-2008
Wed, 04-08-2009 - 9:01am

Sadly, I worked in finance for 20 years at a bank and I'm still upside down on my vehicles.

Norma


"Patience is the best remedy for every trouble"- Plautus


iVillage Member
Registered: 08-22-2008
Wed, 04-08-2009 - 9:02am
Look up the Kelly blue book value on line-- I believe there are other sites too.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-04-2008
Wed, 04-08-2009 - 9:53am

Even with a 0% car loan you will probably be upside down at some point in the loan.