Trade question

C

cptzippy

New member
Back in November I got a new 2010 Lexus IS 350C and it's a great car. However, when I look at how much I spent (and continue to spend) and look at another car that I believe I'd be just about as happy in (Mini Cooper Cabrio), I wonder if I did the right thing. More importantly I wonder if I should go back and trade?



So I want you guys opinions....



Here's what the deal would look like:

Trade-in: $43,000 (paid $53k)

Mini: $28,000

Owe on Lexus: $36000

payments would drop from $777 a month to $400 and total debt on my car would drop from 36k to $22k



One of the driving factors is that I'm a Dave Ramsey fan and want to be out of debt (fell of the wagon big time with the car lol).



The money is the driving factor on even thinking about doing the deals but here's what keeps me from it:



1. Quality of the Mini versus the Lexus (I'm assuming the Lexus will hold up better)

2. Sparcity of mini dealers - I've had to drive up to six hours to find a dealer for my mini depending on where I'm stationed.

3. Realizing the depreciation - it's already depreciated I know and it won't get any better but at least if I keep it longer then it won't seem so big :|





TIA,

Tony
 
Some sorta-random thoughts follow:



- I too am a huge fan of living debt-free, so I'd sure factor in how quickly a given move would get you there.



- A mini cabrio is a *VERY* different car from what you have now; I'd sure ascertain that you'd be happier with it (and I mean the whole ownership experience, yeah, the dealer issue could be a deal-breaker for me).



- I've done the "sell your brand-new car" thing, and it's very cost-inefficient. Buy high/sell low is something I'd only do if you have a very good reason. As you said, you've already taken the big depreciation hit by driving your new car off the lot. Still, zero-sum decision making and all, huh? The unrealized loss has already happened....



I dunno...going from that Lexus to a Mini Cabrio just doesn't strike me as a sensible move. Maybe I'm just being curmudgeonly about it :nixweiss



(Heh heh...some cute little drop-top FWD BMW-in-Brit-drag with the speedo in the middle of the dash?!? Harumph!! :chuckle: It just sounds, well, you know...but seriously, NO, I don't really feel that way about Minis.)



What about selling the Lexus and buying something much less expensive that'll still get the job done? What if you approach it from a purely "gotta get this debt knocked down!" perspective? I'm not saying you really oughta do something necessarily "low-fun" but you might figure something out that you'd otherwise miss if you play around with it that way. It might even just reinforce that you want that Mini!
 
My question would be, just how commited are you to getting/staying out of debt?



Living debt free is a lifestyle choice that requires some hard choices. A) Hot car I can't afford or B) debt free? A) Huge house that I can't afford or B) debt free?



If you REALLY want to get/stay out of debt, I'd say sell the Lexus yourself for as much as you can get, then find a good reliable low mileage used car for a whole lot less than the $28k Mini. You could be out of car debt in no time.
 
eddie926 said:
If you REALLY want to get/stay out of debt, I'd say sell the Lexus yourself for as much as you can get, then find a good reliable low mileage used car for a whole lot less than the $28k Mini. You could be out of car debt in no time.
Click to expand...



^ This. The mini is a total lateral move as far as debt goes in my book and is such a step down in class of car. Your payment goes from $777 to 400 and you only go down 14k in debt? The math seems off on that. On top of that, brand new cars never make financial sense.
 
I'm totally with eddie on this.



How much longer do you have to pay on your current car? Are you willing to get another job too.



It's all about how far you are willing to go to be debt free.



I'm not judging. God knows I have decisions to make that I'd rather not make to be debt free. I like stuff.



Tim
 
I am also a huge Dave Ramsey fan and am going to be teaching Financial Peace at my church soon. Ill just give you Dave's answer. Sell the stupid lexus and buy a beater. (probably in your case something like a ten year old camry that will be reliable for about 5k) and save. Follow the baby steps and when you are out of debt and are contributing to your retirement you can save up and pay cash for a 2 or 3 year old lexus or mini or whatever as long as there is no car payment.



The ultimate goal is to not have any payments. Not just to lower your payment. The hardest part is not going out and buying something fun just because you can.



Im a car guy and sold my BMW and my Yamaha R6 in order to live with no car or school payments. It sucks but it's only temporary. Im planning on an M5 within a few years. I will be paying cash for it though.
 
I watch Dave Ramsey all the time too. I say sell the car and get a beater. If the car is your only debt, i still say downsize to something nice you can pay off very soon. Either way, the car payment amount per month is way too high on that Lexus. I thought IS350's were cheaper than that for a new one, the only IS i knew of that was in the $50' s or higher was the IS-F.
 
It's one of the new convertibles. Trying to get where I can convince myself to sell the car but just not that intense yet.
 
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