First off hi I've lurked on the forum for a while now. I'm Sean a 22 year old guy from Southern California, I've wanted a fit since i first laid eyes on them a couple years back, at about that time (about 2 years ago) i was looking for a new/used car, due to some peer pressure (friend w/is300) i ended up with an 01 Audi a6 quattro, nice car but maintenance/repairs are absurdly priced and gas mileage is dismal (4.2 8cyl). So onto the predicament...

I owe about 2k over what my car blue books for (under "good" condition), i am fine carrying 2-3k over onto the new loan. Went to norm reeves honda in cerritos and they offered me 3500 (owe about 11.5), they weren't rude by any means, even a little sympathetic. I know dealers are known to give piss poor trade in offers but that kinda threw me for a loop.

So my question is what should i do? As of now it seems I'm going to have to keep the car for a fair bit longer which sucks as i start a new job in 2 weeks which requires me to drive quite a bit. I think i read about a fitfreak member that works at a dealership in southern California, not looking for a miracle but maybe he could get me a better trade in offer? Or am i stuck with "das boot"? (Audi)

This concludes my post for those of you that made it this far i applaud you, thanks in advance

 

Couple of options
- Take it to carmax and sell the audi there.
- Get your audi fixed and drive it.
- Saveup another year and buy next year.

I've known a few wannabie a richy folk IS300 owners with car loans up to their neck and no house. Don't listen to them. They will screw you like they did themselves.

Do it like me, buy the car cash, forget about payments. Don't have the cash? SAVE UP. . Don't go beyond your means just to buy a car. It's not worth it.

GL.

 

^Kenchan pretty much covered everything.

+rep dude

 

I was in a similar situation when I was a teenager driving Austin Healeys and riding a Royal Enfield motorcycle.....If you are going to finance an exotic high maintenance machine you need to have your own shop, hand tools, manuals, diagnostic tools, knowledge abut every aspect of the different units of the car, and a very large trust fund....A back up car to chase parts with and take you too and from work....Most guys will purchase a second car like the other exotic as a parts car..... A neurologist was picking up his Jaguar after having it serviced at the dealer service department and was shocked at what we was being charged.... He remarked to the cashier that he didn't charge that much for doing brain surgery.....The cashier replied, the mechanic says that he makes more money now than when he was a brain surgeon.

 

thanks for the advice, yea he's young like myself and he's about paid his off (has owned it for about 4 years now). Don't mean to sound like i'm in a desperate situation as my car payments aren't much and i can afford the repair it's just a jab in the kidney every time something needs replacing, looks like my option is to wait another year or so.

indeed, indy shops are still a god send compared to what the stealership charges for maint. Going into it i knew audi's had their fair share of things needed done on occasion, and ultimately the car has'nt had many issues but my concern is what could/will go in the next couple of years, hence me wanting to jump ship now.

thanks for the help gents, coupld more questions if anyones willing to respond.

Another friend has a decent chunk for a payment (600/month ) he mentioned that if you pay weekly i.e. 150 x 4 in any given month vs 600 x 1 more money will go to principle, any truth to this?

 

It really depends on when the interest is compounded on the loan, whether it's daily, monthly, or yearly.

If the loan is compounded daily, then yes, making payments every week will save you money on the interest. If it's monthly or yearly, it won't matter. IIRC, most auto loans are compounded daily.

 

gracias señor

 

Carmax has worked out well for me with 2 different cars. Both times the dealer offered me almost 2,000 less as a trade than Carmax had offered to buy.

Definitely worth looking into. If you owe more than the car's value (sounds as if you might), be prepared to pay off the difference during the Carmax transaction. If your funds are low, you may have to rethink this whole idea.

 

Do whatever you can to get rid of that Audi. It will nickel and dime you to death. I had a car like that. If it's sucking up the gas AND it's not reliable, the sooner you can get rid of it, the sooner you can not have to spend that money on the car.

Play around at Fuel Economy dot gov website. Do a side by side comparison of your car, with your local gas prices and enter in some other cars. Use your own miles per year too. Let's say you do drive 15,000 miles a year, and you do switch over to a Fit, like 2008. You save over a thousand dollars in gas (depending on your local prices) just that first year.

That pays for part of the difference that you would have spent on gas on the Audi, and instead it's going to pay off the extra that you still owed on the Audi.

If you can possibly get what you owe, that's perfect. Do it.

And then pick up a much older used Honda. Just for now. For the fuel economy, the dependability (even on the older models), and to save up more for whatever car you really like. Because you will also be paying far less on an older used model for insurance!

So add that on to your "savings" which would have gone to the other car anyway. If you can save $1,000 on gas, maybe $200 on insurance, and not have to pay about $1,000 in repairs for the following 12 months, you just made up for a $2,200 loss.

See what I'm saying? You would have had to pay for the gas and insurance anyway, and you would have still had the Audi being unreliable, breaking down, and risking your job. You'd still have to have it repaired to drive. You'd have to take a cab or the bus or rent a car to get to and from work.

If you make a good choice on the next car, you won't ever have to face this again.

Some cars are just "needy". They really do need constant attention. And as Kenchan said, that's great if you meet all the requirements of having a needy car. Some folks LOVE to spend their time puttering away on their car. They look forward to it.

Or they have no problem getting it serviced and tuned up and kept in top form all the time. They have the money and the alternative transportation.

Those of us with ONE car, and limited bank accounts prefer a car that keeps on going and isn't all that fussy.

 

I didnt read anyone else's replie, sorry, but when i saw norm reeves i was instantly down to the reply section!

DUDE.. HONestly F-them!

OVER PRICED NEW CARS, UNDERPRICED TRADE IN!

Spreen Honda in Loma Linda, idk how far that is but its SO WORTH THE DRIVE!!!

Check it,

1. they sell their fits for $1,000 below hondas msrp and don't charge you a destination fee! (Base:$13,750 Sport:$15,250!)
2. they give you FREE oil changes for LIFE!
3. tell them what you want for your car, say a $2,000 above what you owe and you'll mostly likely get it, if not at least even!

TRUST ME!

BGS

 

You will still save some on interest (and pay off sooner) regardless because you will end up making a couple of extra payments over the course of the year if you pay weekly or bi-weekly.

 

Thanks for all the replies, ill try a couple other dealerships. In the meantime ill start making double payments, worst case scenario ill try again in a year or so. My concern is that the mileage will be a bit higher due to the job I'm starting next week (involves a lot of traveling). Might negate all the extra payments ill be throwing at it

 

hey, at least when Kmart reads off a license plate number and model of car parked at a tow away zone, they will say 'AUDI' instead of "HYOUNDA" and make you sound rich. LOLz


good luck at your new job.

 

I'm in the same boat.
I currently own a jetta and owe 1000ish more that kbb says its worth and things keep breaking and it that costs way more than nickels and dimes. My parents helped me out with my plan, if I can sell the jetta and go positive on the loan, they will sell me their crv (so they can get the insight) for whatever profit I get. So what I am doing is paying extra each month to lower the loan, sell it asap after fixing it hopefully this summer, get the crv, save 500 bucks a month (thanks to my new job, I now have the ability to save) and hopefully have 3.5-4 grand by next spring and have a nice down payment for the fit. I could sell/trade the crv, but i want to give it to my gf, cause she deserves it (she gave me 1000 for my down on the jetta)

good luck!

btw anyone wanna buy a 03 jetta 2.0 AT for 7 grand? new tires!

 

yea good luck getting kbb value for your trade in though, they low balled the heck outta me, this weekend i'll try a few other dealerships, to see if i have better luck, this time i'll bring in some auto trader ads for similar a6's and the kbb printout instead of just walking in with hopes and dreams, honestly if they even get me within 2k i'm fine carrying that over

who wants the audi?

surely someone out there must not mind getting 15mpg city

 

Whatever you do. Keep that girl friend, even if you have to spend a little extra on her.

 

Clean it up, sell it privately, and be prepared to be patient. I sell all my cars privately. When you get rushed is when you lose money. There are tons of websites you can use to sell it.

 

Dude what are you smoking? You mean they sell all their Fits at a loss? I just looked up on their website and called them and their are selling their Fits at the same exact price as everyone else. $16,260 for a sport plus $710 delivery.

 

That's my plan! She's great!

 

Try to unload it on The Car Lounge message board. Then get the Fit.