If you are in an underwater or upside-down car loan situation, you owe more money on your loan than your car is worth. This negative equity situation will require more money in addition to what you have already paid just to close the loan. Underwater loans can result from a combination of factors, including paying too much for your car, financing under a long-term loan, offering little to no down payment or when a previous vehicle was rolled over into the current loan. So, how do you come up for air with an underwater loan? Consider the following tips.
Keep Paying
One of the best ways to deal with an underwater car loan is to simply keep the car until you make enough payments that the resale or trade value exceeds the loan amount. If possible, keep the car as long as possible, even after it has been paid off to save more money for your next car.
Trading Places
Some people elect to trade in their car for a new one, assuming the negative equity goes away. Not true. Negative balances are added to the cost of the new car. For example, a dealership offers $5000 for your old trade-in, but you still owe $9,000 on the loan. The dealership will then tack on that remaining $4,000 to your new car loan which will likely place the new car in an underwater situation in the future.
Lease
If you are shopping for a new car in an underwater loan situation, you may want to opt for a lease instead of traditional purchase. Lease payments are lower than a loan, even after adding the negative equity. Conditions apply and you must complete the lease as required, since penalties may put you further in the red.
Pay Attention
Loan companies don’t like negative equity situations. So if you are looking for a new car, they may not offer financing without a hefty down payment. Creative dealers have found a way to offset this problem, offering a higher price trade-in towards the price of the new car. This approach appears to the loan company that there is less negative equity. But for you, the consumer, that higher trade-in price is just added to the new vehicle loan.
This was a guest post by GoBankingRates.com, a site that provides daily updates on the latest CD rates, finance information and more.