BravoZero's 2011 ASM Ralliart

[BravoZero]

Originally Posted by MTZL

Thats a money pit.

GTS is a good idea. How much do you still owe?

About $21k.

[MTZL]

Base lancer can be had for around 10-12k.
I have a sneaking suspicion that they wont take the car back for 21k you owe.
Do you have gap coverage on your insurance?

[Exyia]

Originally Posted by BravoZero

About $21k.

I don't see how you'll turn out ahead in any way from a trade-in with that much owed

I understand your thinking/remorse with your current situation, but please just do NOT do it. You will lose so much money in financing unless you trade to a bottom-of-the-barrel car (in which I think you lose anyway). The US credit system is a total bitch - don't let it control you anymore than it already does right now. Focus on getting it paid off and/or sold to pay off

When I was a full-time salesman, I facepalmed when I saw people do this. Yeah their payment went down, but their term was re-extended, they owed MORE to pay off, money was thrown away from depreciation, and more thrown away as down-payment to cover it

just don't do it. enjoy what you have and I'm sure one day, reality will slap your hopes up and you'll both manage and get to keep/enjoy the car

[BravoZero]

Originally Posted by Exyia

I don't see how you'll turn out ahead in any way from a trade-in with that much owed

I understand your thinking/remorse with your current situation, but please just do NOT do it. You will lose so much money in financing unless you trade to a bottom-of-the-barrel car (in which I think you lose anyway). The US credit system is a total bitch - don't let it control you anymore than it already does right now. Focus on getting it paid off and/or sold to pay off

When I was a full-time salesman, I facepalmed when I saw people do this. Yeah their payment went down, but their term was re-extended, they owed MORE to pay off, money was thrown away from depreciation, and more thrown away as down-payment to cover it

just don't do it. enjoy what you have and I'm sure one day, reality will slap your hopes up and you'll both manage and get to keep/enjoy the car

I was just about to reply in this thread about EXACTLY what you had mentioned.

I spoke to a friend of mine at the local Mitsubishi dealership about trading in my '11 RA for a '11 GTS. After working some numbers, we came to the conclusion that because of how much I owed on my loan, and how long I've owned the vehicle, plus my current credit score which has dropped because of the $27k loan when I bought the car... I won't be able to get anything on the lot under 3.9% APR for 60 months even though I currently finance a vehicle through Mitsubishi. The trade in value is estimated at about $19,500 and with a loan amount still at around $21-22k, plus the fees on the new GTS, I would be anywhere between $3k and 4k UPSIDE DOWN. That's a huge hit to my credit and is something I absolutely can't do.

I've had the car almost a year now, and I'm currently at about 14,200 miles and the car had about a 200 mile head-start, so really I'm just getting to 14k miles on my own. On average, I am driving the car between 12,000 and 15,000 miles per year, and since I'm moving this coming summer, my commute to work will be cut in half at least, so that will really help with keeping miles off. At this rate, as long as I don't take any huge trips, like to Florida and back, I can still stay within my powertrain warranty when my loan is paid off, if I recall. Five years, 60k right? I plan on trying to cut as many costs as possible out of monthly bills, and might use those savings towards making higher car payments per month, so I can try to pay the car off quicker. Once the car is paid off, then it will be easy to get rid of it.

Until then, seems like I'm stuck with her. Guess I'll make the best of it!

[Exyia]

Originally Posted by BravoZero

I was just about to reply in this thread about EXACTLY what you had mentioned.

I spoke to a friend of mine at the local Mitsubishi dealership about trading in my '11 RA for a '11 GTS. After working some numbers, we came to the conclusion that because of how much I owed on my loan, and how long I've owned the vehicle, plus my current credit score which has dropped because of the $27k loan when I bought the car... I won't be able to get anything on the lot under 3.9% APR for 60 months even though I currently finance a vehicle through Mitsubishi. The trade in value is estimated at about $19,500 and with a loan amount still at around $21-22k, plus the fees on the new GTS, I would be anywhere between $3k and 4k UPSIDE DOWN. That's a huge hit to my credit and is something I absolutely can't do.

I've had the car almost a year now, and I'm currently at about 14,200 miles and the car had about a 200 mile head-start, so really I'm just getting to 14k miles on my own. On average, I am driving the car between 12,000 and 15,000 miles per year, and since I'm moving this coming summer, my commute to work will be cut in half at least, so that will really help with keeping miles off. At this rate, as long as I don't take any huge trips, like to Florida and back, I can still stay within my powertrain warranty when my loan is paid off, if I recall. Five years, 60k right? I plan on trying to cut as many costs as possible out of monthly bills, and might use those savings towards making higher car payments per month, so I can try to pay the car off quicker. Once the car is paid off, then it will be easy to get rid of it.

Until then, seems like I'm stuck with her. Guess I'll make the best of it!

even if you could swallow the $3k-$4k downpayment to eat the negative equity, that GTS will depreciate SOOOOOOOOOOO fast you'll end up even worse off. any lancer below an RA depreciated like crazy

there's a reason why they use the term "sign your life away". credit system can really own you sometimes. only thing you can do it make the best of it

[mTEV]

Sorry to hear man.. I haven't been on these forums for awhile.
Hate to see you leave the mitsu fam. I Hope all goes well for you.

[BravoZero]

Originally Posted by Exyia

even if you could swallow the $3k-$4k downpayment to eat the negative equity, that GTS will depreciate SOOOOOOOOOOO fast you'll end up even worse off. any lancer below an RA depreciated like crazy

there's a reason why they use the term "sign your life away". credit system can really own you sometimes. only thing you can do it make the best of it

Very true, and I never looked at things in that way. I made a HUGE mistake when I traded in my '02 Eclipse GT, I still had about $4k left on my loan for it. Traded it in for my '06 Subaru Legacy and flipped upside down a few thousand bucks, but luckily when it was totaled the entire loan was paid off.

So what I'm going to do instead is find a cheap early 90's beater Honda or something as a commuter car for normal days, and drive the RA for my own enjoyment and to work on days with bad weather. Cheap insurance, good gas mileage, can be paid off quickly, saving miles and gas on the RA... win win to me. I'll do a little more research before committing to it though.

Originally Posted by mTEV

Sorry to hear man.. I haven't been on these forums for awhile.
Hate to see you leave the mitsu fam. I Hope all goes well for you.

Looks like I'm staying put, can't trade my car in without taking a huge financial hit.

[WickedWhiteRA]

OK I'll chime in since others have. I don't like telling people what to do or how to spend their money but a few things stand out. First I'm glad to hear about your decision to keep the RA.

I know it's hard not to get "mod fever" and start buying things for your car but if you don't have disposable income then don't do it. You threw a good chunk of money at your car that you didn't need to. A few cosmetic things are fine but the bigger stuff is a mistake. You could have been saving that money for expenses, insurance, gas etc.. Be happy with what you have, the RA is a really nice car as is. Take it as a lesson learned and go from there. Things might be tight but they will work out.

Don't take this as me talking down to you. Just trying to give you some friendly advice. I work in Chantilly, maybe I see you around some time. Just look for a white RA.

[BravoZero]

Originally Posted by WickedWhiteRA

OK I'll chime in since others have. I don't like telling people what to do or how to spend their money but a few things stand out. First I'm glad to hear about your decision to keep the RA.

I know it's hard not to get "mod fever" and start buying things for your car but if you don't have disposable income then don't do it. You threw a good chunk of money at your car that you didn't need to. A few cosmetic things are fine but the bigger stuff is a mistake. You could have been saving that money for expenses, insurance, gas etc.. Be happy with what you have, the RA is a really nice car as is. Take it as a lesson learned and go from there. Things might be tight but they will work out.

Don't take this as me talking down to you. Just trying to give you some friendly advice. I work in Chantilly, maybe I see you around some time. Just look for a white RA.

Thanks man, I appreciate the advice. Unfortunately the most expensive stuff has already been installed on the car, and it would be stupid to revert those back to stock especially since I'd have to buy the OEM parts from someone, so that stuff will stay. Made that mistake, but it's already been done, and honestly I'm happy with how she looks and sounds.

I've started cutting extra stuff out of my monthly expenses, and I just filed my taxes already since I only have a single W2, and I'm getting about $850 back so that'll really help with my finances. I'm still selling my Rally Armor flaps as I need to get a rear camber kit for the car, otherwise I'm going to end up paying for new tires by the end of the year. I already have a full EvoX intercooler setup at home as well, and it won't cost me anything to install it.

In the end, I'm just going to be smarter about what I buy for the car. Like I said, the most expensive stuff is already purchased and installed, the rest I can save up for, little bits at a time. I plan on moving out of my shitty, overpriced apartment in June to a better, cheaper area... back to Loudoun County, fuck Fairfax County. I can find an apartment in Ashburn or Sterling for the same price or less than what I'm paying now, but much bigger and nicer, as well as being closer to my job as well as other places I need to go.

Thanks again to everyone for the advice and concern, I'm confident that things will turn around soon for the better, all while driving my nice RA!

[MTZL]

that kinda of practice will help you with financial management in the future.
Good skill to acquire. Im glad you're working it out.