Tips on Buying Cars: upside down truck loan, loan question, negative equity

Question
QUESTION: hey brad....my name is shaun about a year and a half ago i bought a reg cab truck at a price  in which i owed almost 16,000 i then found out my wife was pregnant and only a few months after i bought the truck i had to trade it in for a four door for car seat purposes...my truck is financed for 84 months due to she was in school and i needed low payments to save some money...i now owe 24000 dollars and have had the truck for a little over a year....it seems like i will never get out of being upside down credit....it is a 2005 with 50,000 miles on it and have the lone for another 6- 7 years.. with driving 25000 miles a year  i will not have it payed off by the time i would need a new one....would it be best to try and lease a truck when im looking for a new one eventhough i'll be still upside down...right now I probably owe 10,000 dollars more than my truck is worth.....what can i do

ANSWER: Well as far as leasing your next vehicle that will be a hard task being as far upside down as you are. It is hard to roll negative equity into a lease. Your best bet would be to find a car with a big rebate that will help eat the negative equity. Negotiate a great deal on the sale price of the new car as well as what they give you for trade on your truck. All of which will help lower the negative equity amount. Unfortunately your still going to have to pay the piper a bit. There are big rebates on trucks currently so maybe it is a good time to look around. I do not think given the situation that a lease would be right for you though.

Brad
http://www.buyingacar101.com

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QUESTION: hey brad thanks for replying....so do you think now would be a good time to look for a new truck since my truck has more value now then it will in a few years or should i keep it and try and get some of what i owe lower by paying over the next 2 or three years....it has 50,000 miles on it now and i put almost 25,000 miles on it within the last 13 months so i would be looking for a new truck with in the next two years anyway...or do you think trying to find a new truck with good rebates now would help my situation over the long run.....thanks brad......shaun

Answer
Shawn,

Sorry about the delay. I think now would be a great time as there are some hefty rebates and great financing rates offered currently! Take advantage of them plus you truck is worth more now than it will be a few years down the road!

Brad
http://www.buyingacar101.com