firefly_ris
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2015
We looked up the Kelley Blue Book on the van. It's a 2017 with 107k miles on it. It's saying we'd get about 6k for it, which sucks because we bought it in 2022 for $30k. It is what it is.
Since we bought it in November of 2022, we have taken it in twice in the first 60 days of owning it for not starting (all power comes on, no crank), first time they said it was an aftermarket key issue and couldn't get it to replicate, then they said it was an issue with some kind of sensor and fixed it. We had the transmission replaced last summer when it went out. Then the starter in November while we were in Florida that went out. Now AGAIN the car wouldn't turn over and had full power so off it went to the dealer again. I planned to just drive it til it fell apart, but it seems like we've hit that point. Thank everything above that we actually bought their extended warranty and this will only cost me $200 to get fixed. But it's no longer safe for me and the kiddos to be driving around in.
We're looking into a mid-size suv. I've found several I like in the $25-30k range. I'm hoping to stay closer to $25k, trade in with 6k, and add an additional $3k to get us down to only needing to finance 15k. Or see if my mom will let me borrow the money from her and I just pay her back instead of a car loan (no interest). I do all her financial stuff for her anyway, so I could easily just use my account to pay her electric as my "car payment".
Bummer. That's not old at all! It's not everyone's cup of tea but I don't trade in, I sell privately for more. The dealer was going to give us $200 to "take the van off our hands" and I sold it privately the very next day instead for $1000. And that was a rusted old 2005 Town and Country with corroded wires so it had no functioning radiator fans and just under 200k miles on it. Is that 6k the private party value or trade in value? I also look up similar vehicles on craigslist and marketplace to see what others are asking. Obviously some people don't want to deal with it, but I also really, really, really hate dealerships and dealing with them in any capacity so I'll go out of my way to make some extra buck and not go near them.
I think renting a vehicle for your trip is still a great idea because it gives you some extra time to look around and not have to make an emergency choice. Good luck and I hope everything works out smoothly with that.
[eta] Also you probably already know this but just another idea for anyone -- look into local credit union for car loan rates. The 2 times I ever purchased from a dealer I did not finance with them. However it's been a while so perhaps they are nearly the same right now, I wouldn't know, but just a thought. Again I personally hate dealers so I go out of my way to associate my money with them as little as possible.
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