Tips on Buying Cars: Getting out of Neg Equity, 2005 nissan altima, nissan altima

Question
I recently purchased a 2005 Nissan Altima 3.5 SE in Atlanta back in July. Now I consider myself to be pretty smart when it comes to purchasing vehicles with good resale value and that have a good reliability. But about a week or so I was having buyers remorse and was wondering had I made a good decision. The car had 53k+ miles on it. Since I drive a lot for work I put on an average 80+ miles a day to and from work and every where else. Now the mileage is climbing past 68k and I'm concerned about what my next move should be. I've been seeing all these car deals with the rebates and things of that nature that could help eat up some of the negative equity. I'm wondering how much time I have left before I will be S.O.L. What do you suggest?

Answer
I take it you financed the Altima... in that sense, you are ALWAYS going to lose money on a car... whether it is the Altima or another car... either way, you are going to end up in debt on a car that is worth less than you owe (usually). I would keep the Altima... make larger payments.. pay it off early. They are nice cars and decently reliable.. if you trade it in or finance on a new car - you are going to end up even more in debt and the newer vehicle will depreciate even more. That altima should last over 100,000 miles... do the proper maintenance every few thousand miles, and pay it off... once paid off- put that payment into a savings account.. and either pay cash once the altima dies, or a massive down payment.. on a nice new or slightly used cars a few years from now. It all comes down to making sure you owe nothing on that Altima.. that way even if things go wrong atleast you can sell it for something... and you won't end up even more in debt.... Thats just what I would do in your situation. It is up to you to decide what is most important to you. Good luck- feel free to reply...