Time to get rid of my Prius

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cmwade77 @ Jan 2 2007, 04:03 PM) [snapback]369649[/snapback]</div>

Well, I hate to say it, but I don't really see a good way out of this. There are some options, but it's like varying grades of poor. If you really don't give a crap about your credit, just let them repo the thing. Of course, they'll try and come back to "juice" you for the difference between what they get at auction for it, and what you owe, plus probably an array of fees. Maybe they'll sue, maybe that won't, it's a chance you'll have to take, but no one is going to buy it for that price. Even though you don't need another car, if you don't want to go the repo route, try trading it in for something really cheap (like a 7 or 10k Civic), you should, at least, be able to lower your payment to some degree.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cmwade77 @ Dec 31 2006, 12:37 PM) [snapback]368975[/snapback]</div>

Did you buy it from a dealer or a private party? Are you sure you still owe $28,000?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(malorn @ Jan 3 2007, 11:20 AM) [snapback]370099[/snapback]</div>

That's a good point. If the OP is just multiplying the number of payments left by the amount of the payment, that's not the "payoff" on the loan. They may actually be able to sell it and pay off the loan, and they'd have to get that number from their loan company.

 

Another bearer of bad news:

What your car will sell for is more a function of what the market will bear than it is what you need to "get" out of it. It's no different in my business, real estate - I have had listings with people who intellectually understood that their house would most likely sell within a range dictated by recent sales of similar properties (and other factors, I don't mean to suggest it's formulaic), but would not accept offers they considered "lowball". They were actually reasonable offers, and were only "lowball" with respect to an asking price that was WAY above what I recommended. The result? The offers were turned down, the buyers bought other properties more reasonably priced, and the sellers house never sold.

It's simple. Who decides what something is worth - the buyer or the seller?

The seller decides what the asking price is.
The market decides what it's likely to sell for.
The buyer decides what the selling price is.

I'm sorry you're in over your head, and I'm not saying you'll NEVER get your asking price, but it's highly improbable that you will.

 

As someone else asked -- is there any reason why you can't sell the other car? If you get some cash out of that, you could pay down your loan. Are you certain you've looked at all other options (such as refinancing, etc.)?

 

the reason i ask if selling the other car is an option is because we were also very near selling ours recently to free up some car payment money to pay off other things. we weighed our options very thoroughly and decided if it comes to that, we'd sell the other car first because it was paid off and we'd gotten our money out of it. in the long run selling our prius was a financially bad decision over what we had planned for when we bought it. and what helps in the short run doesn't always do the same in the long run.

and we aren't even upside down on the loan anymore.

with owing so much more on the prius than you can expect to sell it for, you'd be paying thousands to pay off a car you no longer owned. so even though you no longer had the car, you would still essentially be making car payments. that's pretty crappy, and i have a hard time seeing where you're saving money in that deal.

if you sell the other car, you could use that to pay off the prius to a more reasonable principal. you could also refinance the prius at a lower rate (but not a longer term! that's a money waster) and save money that way. it's amazing what percentage of your car payment ends up being interest.

whatever you choose to do, good luck to ya.

 

Your best bet is to somehow just make the payments. Kelly Blue book places the value at $20,205 assuming it is in excellent condition which it is not since it needs tires, so the real value would be in the $16,000 to $17,000 range. You might look at refinancing it. If you have good credit now the that could significantly reduce your payments and you might be able to lengthen the term. You did not mention what your payments were or the total term of your laon or how many months are left so I have many assumptions here, but some may work for you. Your only other option would be to let the loan company reposess the car, however you will still be responsible for paying the difference in what they sell the car for and what you owe, which could be around $10,000.

I hope this helps.....

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cmwade77 @ Jan 2 2007, 02:03 PM) [snapback]369649[/snapback]</div>

There has been a lot of good advice here. I do not need to repeat that the dealer took you to the cleaners. As others have pointed out, you will have to accept that you will lose some money by selling it, money that you don't have.

Your statement which I quoted above really has me concerned. Have you tried contacting your state's Attorney General/Consumer Protection office? Although I don't know the details, it is possible that what they did to you crossed the line from unethical to illegal. It's worth checking out. After two years of paying the loan, and you still owe more than it's worth ... something's not kosher about this.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Jan 3 2007, 10:13 AM) [snapback]370061[/snapback]</div>

I recommend selling the car to carmax as a last resort. They look at the wholesale price.