Overhaulin'

Upside down car loan, grabbing it by the balls and running with it?

I own (well, borrow from a bank) .. a 06 malibu that I currently owe 15k on. It has around 60k miles and is off its warranty. And is depreciating hardcore due to the fact its a malibu. It has high interest/etc. I can't seem to get it refinanced and dont have the money to do anything that would enable me to get out of it. I've talked to the financer and they won't help - even said come get it (they still said ok but we have no options). At the moment my options are a voluntary surrender - get rid of the car, take the hit on credit/whatever random number they throw at me to pay off for the car. Or possibly try to trade it in... There is a third more subtle and wise recourse which involves keeping the car and not screwing myself by paying the payments/building credit... But basically I dont really want to be driving a car that is worth less than dirt and be paying off 10k in a year, lol. So my question is, everyones been bothering me to go by the ford/chevy or another dealer, hand them the keys to my car and ask them to put me in a truck - which I actually need. Unsure if that would actually work (I'd really like a f-150) .. But what should I do, any suggestions? I wouldn't mind a higher payment, its just at the moment I'm being royally screwed.

Public Comments

1. You need a truck? Get a truck. That was easy. What to do with the car? Trade it in on the truck... usually trading in an upside down car is not a good thing, but the dealers are as desperate as you are right now. Get the car detailed and head over to the Ford dealership (if you want an F-150). Don't settle for less than 15K trade in value and negotiate the right price for the F-150. Enjoy your new truck. [edit] The link below is for Edmunds True Market Value calculator. It will help you figure out what the F-150 is worth, and it can calculate what the Malibu is worth.
2. You think you're getting screwed now...wait until you trade in a vehicle with thousands of dollars in negative equity. It's never a good idea to finance negative equity. My advice is to bit the bullet and keep making the payments on the Malibu. You will be even more upside down on your next vehicle if you trade it in.