Hi Scotty!
let me preface this by saying I did not discover you until I started dating my boyfriend in 2019.
unfortunately in 2018 I was looking to get a new vehicle because my 2004 dodge Dakota kept breaking down on me and I bought a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee (yeah I know. One Chrysler product to the next...)
my boyfriend has educated me on how bad Chrysler products are but I am still paying on my loan. And this week my transmission failed and the car will no longer drive. It revs but doesn’t go anywhere. Thankfully it’s under warranty and hopefully they won’t try to pull a “it’s not covered” BS. it currently has 57000 miles and has been well maintained by myself.
my boyfriend suggests I try to see if I can trade it in (despite its value being under what I owe) and my mom suggests I just keep my current car. I don’t feel safe driving it since I drive on a highway to work daily.
what should I do????
PS my next car WILL be a Toyota!
I would drive it until you break even. If you get a new car now then you'll just be digging yourself deeper into that high depreciation pit.
Don't trade in or you will get screwed. Sell it privately if all possible.
@mountainmanjoe
I guess my worry is the car won’t last the length of my loan. It’s already having a failed transmission, what happens if this keeps happening? I’ll just be pouring even more money into it.
It’s a damned if you do damned if you don’t situation.
@LindsayNicode95
After the transmission is fixed, keep it just long enough so that the trade-in value will pay off the loan. Pay a little more each month on the principal if you can to speed up the process. If you trade it in now while you're Australian (upside-down) on the loan you'll effectively be paying for two vehicles while driving only one.
by break even, I meant when selling the car will cover your debt (or at least close).
It's under warranty so you shouldn't be pouring money into defects. The transmission was unlucky, but a 2 yr old car shouldn't fall apart completely or be unsafe to drive anytime soon.
@mountainmanjoe
So I’ve been talking with dealerships just trying to put feelers out there, and I’d actually be close to breaking even on my trade in value, my debt rolling into a new loan wouldn’t be much.
I’m just scared to drive it because I was on the highway when it gave out, almost getting me into a serious accident, and I almost didn’t make it off the highway. When the tow truck came to get it, it wouldn’t drive anymore. I just feel lost. 😂.
@lindsaynicole95
My heart would be racing too.
But things like that do happen. People get flats, or debris suddenly appears on the road etc. We can't let those things scare us off driving. We need our cars and be able to drive places. The best defence you can have is confidence in your ability to deal with such a situation. Think to yourself as you drive, what should I do if something were to happen? Is there a shoulder? Maybe all I can do is point my car straight ahead and hang on.
Anyway, you break even that's good. Now you can start thinking about what to replace it with. Maybe something with a good safety rating.
In my experience, dealers are professionals at pulling as much money as they can out of you. The will give you a low trade-in value. Or it might seem ok , but the price of the new car will be high. They know all the tricks. You will get more selling privately, and with cash in hand you will have more leverage to get a better deal on the new one.
Assuming the transmission is replaced under warranty. Get it fixed then trade it in and see if the Toyota dealer will roll your negative equity from this loan into the loan for the Toyota.
Have them fix it and see what kind of warrantee they will give you on the repair. You need wheels, right? Plus you're still into it loan wise for awhile. The name Fiat on top of Chrysler scares me too. I've had 3 Jeeps, 2013, 2015,2018. The 2018 was the best, zero problems. The others had 1 or 2 minor problems that warrantee took care of. I see a lot of them on the road and not many for sale in my area, so people must be happy with them. I know I was and maybe you will be happy again.
@bc-st
The breakdown almost caused me to get into an accident is the only reason I’m even considering getting a different vehicle.
I’m so scared to drive it now because no transmission should give out at 57000 miles.
At least your learned at a young age ; )
And get rid of it, your statement above resolves ANY issue with a decision..."I'm so scared to drive it now...."