Keep car until loan balance tips your way
Dear Terry,
I have a new car that I just brought about three months ago. I am still paying on it but I really don’t like the car. Can I trade it in this early?
— Cynclaire
Dear Cynclaire,
You can always sell or trade in a car, but in your case — assuming you financed the purchase — you almost certainly owe more than the car is worth. That means you’ll likely have to pay thousands of dollars to cover the difference between what the car is worth and what you owe.
A dealer may offer to roll over that difference into the loan on the new car, but that path will eventually lead to disaster because you’ll be even deeper in the hole. My advice: Learn to live with the car until you can afford to trade it in without having to come up with cash to cover the loan balance.
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