It was a good run

[ruskymx]

There is some good advice here provided by other members. I don't know of any bank that will give you (or anyone) a loan for any dollar amount without a means (income/job) to pay it back.

One option to keep the car would be available only if you have some type of income. If you refinance the car for 72 months again, the payment would be lowered by about $80. This all depends on what rate you started with and what rate you can get now. If you can get a better rate through a credit union or something, you may be able to save more money. Without know the amount you originally financed, rate etc, it is harder to gauge this. Use the loan calculator posted earlier to mess around with payments etc.

Keep in mind, if you buy and finance an older car with more miles, the term of the loan will be shorter and the interest rate is usually higher. $9k financed for 4 yrs at 9.99% = $229 and 3 years = $290.

If you financed roughly $26,500-$27,000 new and had a tier 1 rate, your payments were around $450 or so. Refinancing the remaining balance after paying off $4500 ($22,250 -avg) for 72 would be about $358 @ 5%.

If you do get rid of the car, return it to stock and sell the parts here or craigslist etc. (If you do this, can I claim dibs on your ECUTek cable? Dongle & flash file no good because it's tied to your vin) I would sell the car privately, but if you get less than what the payoff is, you need to pay the rest off out of pocket. If you bought an extended warranty, that can be cancelled and you will get a pro-rated refund which would be applied to your payoff balance. You can do this if you pursue the refinance option as well. You can also see what your local dealer(s) would buy it off you for as well, although, this will be the lowest amount, but could also be the quickest way to unload the car.

The best alternative car would one that you can pay cash for and not finance. Then you wouldn't have to carry full coverage insurance either or if you do, it would be substantially less than an FRS.

Judging by the miles that you have on the FRS now, you drive about 15k per year. Another option would be to lease a Corolla (I know not a dream car) and you can get around a $220 pmt or so for 3 years. During this time you can get into a better financial situation, be covered under warranty and have reliable transportation. Plus it would still be cheaper on insurance than the FRS. During this lease you can save money for a DP when you can and /or build an emergency fund (very important!)

Just throwing ideas out there and not saying all are good or bad, but a few options to consider.

Ruskymx

[fistpoint]

Originally Posted by ayau

You'd walk away from the house like every other American in 07-08.

When I'm shopping for a $150k loan, I do not take the $300k loan just because the bank said I could...

[dsgerbc]

Originally Posted by ayau

You'd walk away from the house like every other American in 07-08.

Too few people did that. Somehow it's still considered a shameful experience.

And OP too can just as well stop paying for the car and enjoy a few months until it's reposessed
Not that I'd recommend that. He'll need his credit score to get that 'real job' in few years; a lot of employers weed-out applicants based on that these days.

Anyway, while all the "save-save-save" advice that is in the last few posts sounds all good, but when you're 60 y/o you might realize that you can't really spend all that saved cache (because of health for example), and even if you could, it doesn't bring much joy.

So, while saving is important, accumulation of a stock of consumption memories while young is also important (and an investment if you will). You'll appreciate all those memories when you get old. And that's not some old fart talking his own experience, it's economic research, and I'm not that old.

In that sense OP (hopefully) got some decent memories off FR-S already, but no reason to bury oneself at home/work until one has too much savings.

Buffer of saving for 1 full year of all bills might be defensible for some construction worker after such a long slump. Normally 4-5 months is enough.

to OP: if you're really underwater on your car loan (judging by ebay completed listings, $22k might be a reasonable guess for a value), then selling it is gonna be really tough. Private buyers will be very weary, and dealers will try to rape you. At least get a quote from places like carmax etc.

Refinancing w/o sufficient income that will lower monthly payment is unlikely.
Be extremely weary of all financing that dealers might try to push on you "to fix all your problems". Right now there are a lot of places that do "sub-prime" car loans. It's a trap, don't go there.

[exmayol]

Living pay-check to pay-check and going for a new car is not a good idea. Seems like you learned it the hard way. Sell mods first, it will give you couple months buffer. If you have to get rid of the car - don't sweat it. It's just an inanimate object. Study hard, be patient and it will work out in the long run!

[beesmiff07]

Get a contract marriage and join the military...you will afford it then

[Turbowned]

I can't tell you exactly what to do, but here's some advice based on personal experience:

#1: NO CAR is worth working 80hrs/wk for. I can think of only 2 things worth working 80hrs/wk for: if it's your own business and you're working to establish it, or if you have a child to support. I work 65hrs a week and that's brutal enough.

#2: Finish school. Make no excuse why you should take time off, just get it done. I took 2yrs off from school and it was the biggest mistake of my career.

#3: Get out of debt. Salvage your credit and your finances and don't get into another loan. You don't want to pile negative equity onto a cheap car; you're already going to be paying more for it than it's worth if you pay retail at a dealership. Like everyone said, an inexpensive Miata or a Civic (or an MR2!) is a fun alternative and won't hurt your wallet nearly as much.

#4: Check out your other monthly expenses and see if you can save something there. What's your cell phone costing you? Rent/utilities? Food? Credit cards? I saved myself $50/mo by going on a family cell phone plan, and once I pay off a couple credit cards I'll save myself another $250/mo expense. I'm pretty close to paying off a student loan which will be another $100/mo I can redirect to other expenses.

#5: Always have a back-up plan.

[marky]

Originally Posted by beesmiff07

Get a contract marriage and join the military...you will afford it then

Planing on joining but not the marriage part yet.hopefully its enough to pay my monthly and I will be putting my insurance on hold so I can save some money when Im not driving it and refinance....cant let my car go its part of me..


@Turbowned thats a great advise.. I dont have credit cards anymore all paid off only paying my car/insurance/phone/gas and still live with parents helping them out...I can save about 500+$ a month while paying my bills.. plus ill just add a bit more to the car so I can pay it off sooner.. my first new car feels good but now I have to mange $..its all good life is hitting me now..but worth it..

[Gixxersixxerman]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

#3: Get out of debt. Salvage your credit and your finances and don't get into another loan. One bad loan on the Xterra lead you to a bad loan on the FR-S and will surely lead you into a bad loan on the next car.

Ummmmm I had the xterra.. And while it was a bad loan because of the interest.. It repaired my credit.. I was able to go from a 510 credit score to a 780+.. That and my bike loan at 1.9% and not missing a payment on my tools and credit card loans.. All was high interest.. Now the highest interest loan I have is the car at 5.9... But when I was his age I didn't care about credit and in turn had to pay for it later on in life.. Everything is fixed now

[dem00n]

Get a Miata, Honda civics are fun but thats a different world in my eyes.

Sorry about your financial status, hope you get to keep the car.

Its only a car, you'll only many of them in your life time if you really love cars.

[Turbowned]

Originally Posted by Gixxersixxerman

Ummmmm I had the xterra.. And while it was a bad loan because of the interest.. It repaired my credit.. I was able to go from a 510 credit score to a 780+.. That and my bike loan at 1.9% and not missing a payment on my tools and credit card loans.. All was high interest.. Now the highest interest loan I have is the car at 5.9... But when I was his age I didn't care about credit and in turn had to pay for it later on in life.. Everything is fixed now

Oops, I got that mixed up. My coffee hadn't kicked in yet, apparently! This is basically what I was trying to say. Be very conscious of your credit situation because it will be with you for the rest of your life. Missing payments, defaulting on loans, negative equity are all things that will screw you over for a long time.

[Gixxersixxerman]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

Oops, I got that mixed up. My coffee hadn't kicked in yet, apparently! This is basically what I was trying to say. Be very conscious of your credit situation because it will be with you for the rest of your life. Missing payments, defaulting on loans, negative equity are all things that will screw you over for a long time.

I couldn't agree more.. Taken me 12+ years to get it where it is now.. One good thing now is a lot of companies let you defer for a month..mwhich if you know you can't make the payment, is a little buffer to get the next or start coming up with selling it and getting anything else together to get it paid off..

[BioRage]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

Cheap Miata or S2000 would be my choice in that price range.

Doubt insurance be friendly at his age.

[Dezoris]

Used MX5, Used S2000 is too much drama.

Also expect to lose about 4k. Should sell for around 21k.
Remove all aftermarket parts, will sell for more/easier.

[beesmiff07]

Originally Posted by marky

Planing on joining but not the marriage part yet.hopefully its enough to pay my monthly and I will be putting my insurance on hold so I can save some money when Im not driving it and refinance....cant let my car go its part of me..


@Turbowned thats a great advise.. I dont have credit cards anymore all paid off only paying my car/insurance/phone/gas and still live with parents helping them out...I can save about 500+$ a month while paying my bills.. plus ill just add a bit more to the car so I can pay it off sooner.. my first new car feels good but now I have to mange $..its all good life is hitting me now..but worth it..

You wont right out the gate but you'll get pay raises and promotions quick and you can easily afford it with 2 years in....or get a cheap cash car and wait for a deployment and put a nice huffy down payment on it like I'm gonna do