Tips on Buying Cars: Trading in Truck, chevy colorado, silverado

Question
Hey Aaron, thanks for taking my question. I am currently 2 years into a 5 year loan for my 2004 Chevy Colorado. I got this truck when I got out of the Navy. I had always wanted a truck, especially a Chevy. I originally went to the dealer wanting a Silverado, but the dealer told me I'd be better off with the smaller truck for now. My truck is just 2WD and this past winter, it was horrible in the snow. I couldn't help but think how much I would love to have a full size 4X4 truck! My truck is in great condition, it has 48k miles on it. I owe about 17k on the loan. I would love to trade it in for a 05 or 06 Silverado and the price of the ones I'm looking at is in the 23-25k range. My payments right now are 390/month. I would like to keep my payments about the same, but no more than 450 a month. Of course when I called the dealer, they told me to come on in and they see what they could do. Is it even possible for me to get into the truck of my dreams, or am I better off simply paying off the truck I have now? I've heard that trading in something you still owe isn't the best thing to do. My credit is pretty good, not great, but not bad. Any advice you could give me I'd really appreciate, thanks.

Answer
Hi Ben,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, I've been busier than usual. I can certainly appreciate your dilemma. If you traded, and maybe got $8,000, and bought something for $25,000, including paying off the trade, your payment would be around $625 per month. Every $1,000 you might put down would lower your payment about $18-20 per month. I hope this info. helps. If you're in Massachusetts, I could help you much more. Good luck!

Aaron