getting out from under the vibe

[russ257]

I might be getting a company car. I would like to get out from under the vibe. Thing is I am in negative equity on it. Any ideas on how to try and recoupe my investment. I only need to break even but I dont think anyone would be willing to pay what i owe, since the vibes decided to depreciate so much.

[kostby]

If you take the time to have it detailed AND sell it privately, you SHOULD get more for it than the dealer will offer you at 'book' value. Since you've obviously upgraded the sound system, it's also worth more than 'trade-in book value' to someone looking wanting to upgrade the factory sound system anyway.Be sure to advertise it on Genvibe, put a 'FOR SALE' sign in it, tell your friends you're selling it, and advertise it at work. (I sold one car because someone saw the 'For Sale' sign while waiting to get in the Indy 500!)Check edmunds.com or other used car sites to see the difference between 'trade in', 'private party', and 'dealer retail' values for buying and selling.IMHO if you've taken reasonably good care of the car, there's usually at least a $1,000 difference (e.g. 10% on a $10,000 used car) between what a dealer will offer you as an 'average trade-in book value' and the price the dealer will put it on the used car lot without doing any more 'prep' than just washing it.Here's what popped up when I clicked 2003 Vibe AWD in my zip code (46052) without entering any variables like options or 'condition':Quote » from edmunds.com 2003 Pontiac Vibe AWD 4dr Wagon (1.8L 4cyl 4A) Trade-In $11,407Private Party$12,525 Dealer Retail $14,389

[AKLGT]

I hear your pain! i'm doing the same thing myself unfortunately. if you can sell it yourself than do that, pay out the difference. otherwise, you're screwed. for me, i just know i'm screwed! lol

[drunkenmaxx]

with all the ground clearance, i have no probs getting out from under my vibe...

[Pick]

lol, that was my first thought as well

[tecton]

my vibe cost me 9500$i might be able to sell it for 13 if i tried at it

[MoonDogg]

I did just get a company car.. but want to keep my vibe.. We got an '02 Sunfire GT with 36K on it if anyone's interested though? think we owe about 12G's on it

[AKLGT]

Quote, originally posted by tecton »my vibe cost me 9500$i might be able to sell it for 13 if i tried at ityes, tecton, you got a great deal on that! i'm about $4500-5500 UNDER on mine. even w/ no taxes and only 1.9% rate. ugh!!!

[kostby]

[Putting on the professorial smoking jacket with the leather elbow patches, getting out the fine briar pipe, lighting up a nice burley mixture and puffing away]Hope, Restating the blindingly obvious... (cough cough)Unless and until you actually keep SOME car you buy with financing until it is totally paid off (yes, that means 5, 6, or maybe even 7 years and perhaps 200,000+ miles), applying the 'negative equity' (Isn't it amazing how dealersspeak makes it sound so harmless!) from your current car loan toward the next car loan will only make it worse.Unless you buy an instantly desirable classic (One of the first 1000 Solstices, perhaps?) at way below dealer cost, depreciation will instantly sap 15-30% of the value of your 'new' car as you drive it off the lot. That would be bad enough, but you'll be upside down again by that much PLUS all the 'upside-downness' of your current car loan, which means...unless you hit the lottery...You could potentially be 'upside down' until virtually the last payment of your new car loan.Empowered with this knowledge, you'd better be certain you are buying a 'tank' that will go 200,000 miles and last at least 6 or 7 years without major overhauls. (Sounds like an ad for Toyota!)Class dismissed!

[AKLGT]

i will not be rolling the negative equity into the new loan. that's why the HEFTY and i mean HEFTY down payment. i'll be paying the difference on my loan plus another $3K down on the already lowered price. the interest rate is killer due to some not so good things on my credit right now. then in 8-10 mos i will refinance this newer vehicle and already be $5K under retail. also, i worked in dealer loans and finance as a personal banker. i understand loans and credit quite well. going on 6 years in the field. there are many negotiable things like interest rates, extended warranty pricing, credit life disability pricing, etc. i use the car til the warranty is gone and then get another. i usually look at resale value to be an important factor, but with the vibe i was just thankful to be rid of the $1000/mo truck i was paying on i didn't care. of course now that has bitten my in the a$$! this is why i do not like buying domestic due to such a low resale value. i've looked up resale values on the subies and other imports and it's a HUGE difference! had i gone with the matrix, i would be getting an extra $2K from the dealer as they told me the same thing i (and most everyone on here) already know. the resale value on a used pontiac vibe SUCKS!!!

[russ257]

what really angers me is that a matrix sells for about a grand more on kbb

[joatmon]

I paid cash for mine I remmber you were looking at different areas for a job, so if you might be getting a company car, it sounds like you found one with some good perks, so congrats. Is there any way that they could give you a vehicle allowance instead of a company car? That way you could use it to pay on the Vibe, and still have a super cool car to ride around in.

[russ257]

i plan on buying a second car just something a lil older and a bit sportier. it doesnt have to meet all the daily driver considerations

[drunkenmaxx]

Quote, originally posted by kostby »everything he saidpreach on brother. that is my exact point in this thread:http://forums.genvibe.com/zero...15991i learned my lesson buying above my league.

[jimincalif]

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »i will not be rolling the negative equity into the new loan. that's why the HEFTY and i mean HEFTY down payment.Glad to hear you won't be rolling the deficit forward. I can certainly understand the need for awd in Alaska, especially when you're in outside sales. But consider waiting until September to make the deal. Your Vibe is 2 yrs old, you've already suffered the major depreciation hit. It's not going to go down nearly as much as a new car will in the next 5 months. In the meantime you pay down current loan a bit more, you save a bit longer for your down payment, you put a bit more time between the purchase and your credit problems (just don't create any new ones!) and you might be able to pick up an end of model year 05 at a better deal and still have awd for the winter. Of course if you plan to always trade as soon as the warranty runs out, don't buy the end of year model as you are already that much further behind on depreciation. But it works really well if you keep the car for 10 years.

[AKLGT]

well the new car i'm looking at actually is considered used. it was put on the rental lot but never actually used for a rental. it only has 202 miles on it, 3 of which i put on during the test drive. the issues are that if i do keep the car for another 6 mos, i still have to put another $3K into it to fix the various issues like the bumper, windshield and the $350 tax/licensing fee due at the end of this month. If i'm going to spend $4K on a car, i'd rather it NOT be one that is depreciating more than my car payment! i'm already under so much on it as it is, so right now sinking that much money into it isn't what i want to do. that's what happened with my truck. but this car, i do plan to keep for 3 yrs, not 2. i'll be putting enough down on the already $4K under MSRP that in 8 months, i can refinance with maybe $1000 and still be well under book. I've already looked into the resale and depreciation of this car and it's about $2K/year, not $5500/yr like my vibe GT.