Obviously I'm a newbie, so go easy on me... I have a 2014 Three, with REALLY low mileage ... like 5k (I pretty much just drive back and forth from work). It's in pretty good condition, usual scratches and scrapes. Car payments are killing me, dealer sends out the usual email looking for used. Go into dealership, they offered $13.5k towards my buying a 2018 Three, this will lower my payment by about $50/month. They claim APR's are currently really low, of course. What do you all think? I would actually go for a Four, if I could afford it... if for no other reason than the outside condensation issue that I posted about here about four years ago when I first bought it. I can't believe they haven't fixed that issue by now.
if it lowers your payment for the same amount of remaining months, and there is nothing down, go for it. otherwise, it is a scam. how long is your commute? might make sense to sell it and pick up a used pip.
Your monthly payment may be lower for the new car, but you will be paying longer. With 2014 car, if you took 5 year loan, you have only 1 or 2 more year(s) to pay it off, but if purchase a new car you will be paying for it 5 more years. If you are having hard time keeping up payment now, I don't think it is a good financial move to purchase a new car. Instead, refinance your current auto loan to see if you can get lower rate and lower monthly payment. Good luck.
All of this is true, but... I'd also be getting a new car with a new warranty... Edit: oh, and used Prius of any kind down here are pretty rare. No wonder they want mine...
everyone gets those mailings, they just want people to come in so they can try to sell them a new car. the way they've structured your payments, you have no way of knowing what kind of deal you're getting.
Geez, it's a 2014 with 5k miles(?) = you already have a new car. If payments are hard on you, immediately go to the nearest credit union you are eligible to join and......join it!!! Refi the car and cut your payment in half. A good CU won't even blink to refi that vehicle
I would never go to a bank, I love my credit union. Anytime you buy something on credit always look at the total cost including interest. You would be better to sell your car outright and then buy the new car. Trading in a good car is a loosing proposition, people do it because it's easy and anything easy in life isn't cheap.
bisco is correct. Having worked in the business myself for many many years I can tell you that if you trade in that Prius with only 5k miles, they will re-sell it for significantly more. Because of it's very low mileage it's trade-in / re-sell value isn't comparable to what you would find elsewhere. And that is the same pitch they will use to sell it to someone else should you trade it in. If I were you, I'd keep the one you have now.
