Just Curious.

[VibeR8Lava2Tone]

Just wanted to see if anyone could help me out on a subject. I have a 2003 base vibe with 41K miles that is in great condition and I owe on my loan about $16,700 USD. My question is, just for fun/curiosity....is there any 2004 clearance Vibes that I could trade this one in for and make out pretty good in the end as far as price and payments would go for a new 2004? I figure my trade-in would be around 8000-11000??? I guess I'm just wondering if there could be any way to do a trade-up without getting in a huge hole. Main reason to upgrade would be to get some options (if there are still any 2004s left with the options I want) that I didnt get because I bought my 2003 as a Used car exactly one year ago. Options being: moonroof, blue color, although I have taken a liking to Lava and less miles :-p on a newer car. Thanks in advance.

[ragingfish]

Keep in mind -- it's an american car, and despite it's toyota soul, by this point it will have taken a huge hit in resale value. My vibe is at 44k, and is in fair condition, and I can only get 8500 for it, and that's not taking into account what I still owe...In other words, you're probably better off sticking with what you got unless your ready to essentially buy a second car...

[VibeR8Lava2Tone]

Yes, this is pretty much what I figured. I love the vibe very much, and thats why I'd trade in for a new one, not abandon the line...

[ragingfish]

What I meant was, you'll get so little on trade in you'll pretty much be buying a new car...I love it too -- but I'm considering trading now, and realizing that I've got little to get...

[kostby]

You're already 'upside down' in your car loan for, by your estimate, $5,700 to $8,000 if you trade for a brand new Vibe. If you really want the moonroof, etc., why not look for a very low-mileage '04, and sell your '03 privately?In addition to demos and GM 24-hour Test Drive cars that are returned, some people buy one, then decide it isn't at all what they wanted, and trade it almost immediately.I'd recommend searching cars.com and autotrader.com and the like for (new or) used Vibes across the nation and in your area. I found over 300 listed nationwide back in January/February when I bought my used one. Look for cars with pictures that indicate they have been sitting on dealers lots for a long time. (e.g. still have snow on the ground in July), still have leaves on the trees in December, etc.) I found several 'deals' that way, including the car I eventually purchased, which was traded in late October, and I purchased it in early February. There wasn't anything wrong with the car, it just wasn't in a town where the dealership cared much about selling them.

[AKLGT]

i would just keep what you have. you can add a nice webasto after market moonroof for about $700-850 installed. i've looked into this myself since there was not a GT w/ the moon and tunes package when i purchased mine. because you are so far upside down on your car, you'd be buying more than a new one. you'd just be prolonging the depreciation and would fair even worse imo. heck, if you really like the blue, then get the car repainted! it'd still be much much cheaper than trading your current lava in for a new one. depreciation is just too much!i looked up my 03 gt and the trade/bank value is only $13,700! i owe just about $18K! so keep driving it and just add the moonroof or get the car painted. that's going to be your best bet! plus, it's still a toyota engine. good quality that will allow you many more miles to come.

[Mavrik]

I'm going to agree with everyone else lol, but the only way myself personally if I were to trade for another Vibe would be to upgrade my base to a GT. That would be the only reason, the depreciation value just doesn't make it worth it otherwise.

[GMJAP]

Even you might be better off with the base and supercharger than a GT.

[ColonelPanic]

As a guy who's technically still paying on his previous 3 cars, I'd say I can't recommend it. You may want to try paying a bit more each month toward the car loan, or perhaps just throwing a few extra bucks each week in the bank so you can have a hefty down payment later on down the road.It is very tempting though... Can't tell you the number of times I though it would be cool to be driving around in an '05 with the stability control and all that jazz...

[AKLGT]

ya if you have a base already and only looking for power, then the s/c isn't a bad way to go but it's still a lot of money for a little more hp and low end torque. besides, mav will have access to a GT soon enough. plus, after reading some of the info from the MO.com guys, my mods should still beat a s/c base vibe. would be close off the line, but on the 1/4 mile it'd end up w/ the win unless i'd really biff the start! i still stand by my suggestion of adding an a/m sunroof and if you really like the neptune color, have it painted. not worth going that upside down on a car loan! you'll never get out from under it! trust me, i can speak from experience. 6 vehicles in 5 years will put anyone into a crapload of debt. add spending $14K in mods and a/m parts? well, you get the picture! keep what you have and just add to it!

[jake75]

Don't mean to scold but - do not understand how one can owe $16,700 on an '03 Vibe when I bought my '03 new for $14,718.

[AKLGT]

hey, not everyone got the best deal ever like you. and if he traded a vehicle in for this one, then most likely he paid more for it. plus, depending on where you are located also depends on prices for cars. i can get a car much cheaper in Seattle or somewhere other than here. but then i'd have to ship it up and it's such a hassle. i'll pay the little bit more, keep my money in state, and have instant gratification. heck i bought my GT new and I still owe $18K on it!

[VibeR8Lava2Tone]

jake75As a reply to your message, and no I dont feel scolded....My car was 16.800 to start, when you figure the added FEES for a loan payment and TAX and such, I was up to about 20,200 for the loan. I'm in a long term loan (72 Months at 4.95% APR), so I pay just around 320 per month, after 11 months of payments, i'm down to 16,700. Thats how I still owe that much. After the fact, I didnt get the BEST deal on a 2003 Vibe, it was, however, one of the best deals at the time of purchase. It wasnt until after I had owned the car for a bit that the prices of the Vibes went into clearance.To everyone else that has replied in this thread, thanks for your opinions, I went into this discussion with about a 2 percent chance that i'd actually trade in, but I wanted others to confirm what I already knew.Thanks again.l

[AKLGT]

hey no prob. we're all pretty much in the same boat as you as far as the depreciation goes. not everyone could get the best deal on earth like some. and i spose that after you calculate the taxes, dealer fees, and interest, it's a lot! good thing i pay no taxes here. just the dealer fees and interest. but that's a pretty good payment you have. i pay $331 on 72 mos @ 1.9% no money down and was like $22,500 for my GT back in April 2003. of course i didn't make the first pmt until mid june, so i had 45 days of interest to pay. i can only imagine how much it'd cost me if i had to pay taxes on top of the car price! yikes!!!

[VibeR8Lava2Tone]

Yeah, taxes were tough to take, the county I lived in when i bought the car was Boulder Colorado, where they think they're the best and have HIGH tax rates. So going from 16,800 to 20,200 was very easy.

[AKLGT]

ouch! that's just gotta hurt! ya, very thankful no tax here. saves me alot of money!

[Vibe Rater]

Taxes? Buy a car in Ontario and you pay 15% sales tax.

[AKLGT]

no thanks! and yes, i know.... i may be importing one soon enough! and good thing i don't have to pay any tax or customs on it either! my cousin bought a van in alberta in january. he had to pay the taxes, but got them reimbursed from Canada.