contemplating a downgrade

Originally Posted by TXSpeedDemon

I say if you're not married and have a good job you've got time to build equity and savings and it's ok to be a little selfish. Once you get married and start a family your priorities change and you don't want/have the opportunity to spend as much on stuff for yourself.

That being said, financing $37K must have a pretty large payment. Maybe stepping down to a base/sport model and saving the 10K difference would help lower your payments to a more reasonable level.

If you're not able to save 25-30% of your income each month then downgrading now would help you out a lot in the long run. That money would grow a lot more if invested in stocks, bonds or gold - especially at your age. 1K a month ($12K a year) invested for a few years in your twenties could translate to $100K+ by the time you retire.

I'm 34 now and wish I had invested more earlier and chosen smarter in my first marriage. After living beyond my means in my 20s and paying almost $25K in debt after the divorce - I'm playing catchup now. Making one of those mistakes probably would have been fine - just don't make both like I did.

Originally Posted by Notsud 13

tough one, the question is...will you be upside down on your trade in? if you buy a low 20s car, lets say 22k...and you owe another 5-6k on your 370z after the trade in...then youll be financing 28k which wouldnt make much difference on your car payment.

Originally Posted by babbagandu

Thanks, you make some good points. My payments are not too bad, they are slightly under $600... but this is because I got a 6 year loan. And the idea of paying for this car for 6 years is starting to bug me. If I really cut down on all other spending I could probably pay 2k-2.4k every month and pay it off in the next couple years, but I would not have any money left over to save after my other expenses



At this point I owe about 34k on the car. I would just do a private sale and hopefully find a buyer for close to that much. I know a trade in would be a ripoff

Originally Posted by Rui Z

You will probably be able to sell a 2009 Nismo for $29K, meaning you'll be upside down $5K. That means you will be paying $22K used car + $2K taxes + $5K upside down in loan = ~$29K. You will probably only save like $5,000. NOT WORTH IT!

Originally Posted by babbagandu

I would not buy from a dealer this time around for precisely that reason. Screw taxes. I will just go to my bank and get pre-approved for a loan and then buy from a private seller. And unless I find a buyer who will pay close to 34k I will just keep the Z.

I just looked at some 08 Evo's on ebay and some are in the low 20's. I think I am starting to convince myself to just make an autotrader ad and see if I get any interest

Originally Posted by Rui Z

You do realize you still have to pay taxes when you buy from a private seller. When you register your used car with the DMV, they will ask how much you paid for the car and then send you a tax bill. Death and taxes!