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Go pay off the cc in 6 months. Go buy a car cash now and get liability only insurance. If the car is paid for you don't need full coverage. I rarely suggest not getting full coverage on insurance. Just start driving normally. 6 points tell me you either drive like a jerk or you need to go through a refresher course on driving. What were the 6 points for? Accidents or tickets?
Pretty much nobody needs AWD/4WD unless you're in a 200"+ snow belt microclimate in mountain country or live down a long dirt road. You need snow tires.
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Couldn't agree more. Snow tires make a huge difference. Night and day. You absolutely don't need 4wd unless you live on a mountain pass. 4wd is just a marketing ploy. Ever see those suv's going offroad in the ads? How many people who buy a ford explorer actually do that? None. It's a jacked up minivan.
Nevermind they're going 50mph on an offroad trail in those stupid ads when in reality you'd destroy that vehicle in 2 seconds going that speed. Ads are clearly aimed at people that have never been offroading in their life and simply trying to make a soccer mom's car into something "cool".
I got an unexpected surprise when a neighbor's tree fell on to my 05 Acura TL while it was parked in my yard. I wasn't terribly upset when i found out they totaled it. This was my first car, I bought it in 2012 and probably overpaid for it because I was car crazy. The $250 car payment wasn't so bad but the insurance was another $250 a month. It required premium gas and not great fuel economy with a V6 engine. I had no idea what that was at the time but when they told me it was a powerful engine, I was impressed. As the car required more maintenance and upkeep I just couldn't keep up with it. It was a great car, but not for me. so I'm happy to be rid of it.
I still owed around $5000 on the car (crazy seeing as the car is over 10 years old) but I had decided to move the balance to a credit card that offered me a promo rate for 18 months. So as far as the insurance is concerned, I owe no money on the car and got a $6700 check after $1000 deductible.
Never accept the first offer from your insurance company, always appeal for more. Also, you should not have a $1,000 deductible for comprehensive ... And if you really do, your neighbor's insurance should pay you any out-of-pocket ... His tree smashed your car.
I'd pay $3000 towards the cc and then use the rest to pay cash for a solid used car. If you can't find a decent car in that range then finance a 5-6k car with a decent down payment if you can get a good interest rate, and then chip away at the cc debt ASAP.
I got my white car off eBay for $3,500.
One little old lady owner with 52,000 original no accident miles.
Got all of the service records since new.
No rust looks almost new.
Is it a fancy car? No, but it good reliable car. Nice riding comfortable car. Even has power windows, power mirrors, and power drivers seat. Has a real radio too !
So let's see. Poster is in debt for at least $5,000. Poster made a mistake with last purchase of car.
And asking if he/she should make another mistake.
Get a new Nissan Versa base model. The payments will be cheaper then that fancy used car that you are seeking.
Versas are crap.
I tend to buy vehicles about two years old and still under bumper to bumper factory warranty.
Just look at interest rate. I suspect the promo interest rate is somewhere between 0-3% which you're unlikely to be able to get interest rate. Since you'll be borrowing money to replace the car either way just go with what has the lowest interest rate. Just be earnest about paying that credit card off. Set it aside for now and make those $300 payments every month just like you would your car payment before. If you don't have the discipline to do that, then you should take the insurance money and pay it off and take out a new loan that requires you do. You don't want to be stuck with $4,000 on a credit card with 18% interest rate because this month and that month were bad, you made purchases on the card during along the way and all of a sudden you've got two months left to pay off $4,000. Promo cards are great if you use them responsibly.
As far as replacement cars, $7,000 isn't a lot of money. I'd stay away from Civics as honestly there's no price difference between them and Accords. They hold their value too well until they're just straight jalopy and it's hit or miss with a 15-year-old car with ~200,000 miles you can pick up for $2,000. Something like a 10-year-old (2006ish) Accord with reasonable miles would be where I would look if you went used. I'd give dropping full coverage a consideration but it depends on your finances. While you could save a lot buy not having it, obviously if a tree falls on your car or you space out and rear-end someone obviously you won't get anything for it. A very general rule of them is when you're paying somewhere between 10-20% of the cars value to have comprehensive/collision over what liability alone costs to start considering dropping it. That does depend on your financial situation, however, and whether you can afford to self-insure the risk.
The other option is replacing it with something newer, potentially even new. Used cars, especially the basic transportation variant, just aren't great buys in the used market. When my 1999 Accord was totaled in 2008 I got $6,000 from insurance and initially wanted to stay within that. And while it was a fair amount and I could get into another 10-year-old Accord, that is also potentially buying someone else's problems. While my car was maintained and dead reliable you're buying a lot of uncertainty and don't necessarily have the time to find that car that comes with maintenance records. Getting something less interesting new would likely cost less in terms of monthly outlay but extend out your loan obligation and mean more total debt. If you go that option, I would take the insurance money and pay off the credit card for simplicity. The Hyundai Sonata and Nissan Altima are, imo, the best value. You can get both new in the $18-19k range if you avoid options. It's about what you'd pay for a Corolla or Civic but you get more car for the money and about what you'd pay for a 2-3 year-old Camry or Accord with typical mileage. They're discounted enough be where I would go. They're closer to what you have no versus stepping down to a Civic or Corolla type of vehicle and thousands less than the big three volume sellers (Camry, Accord, Fusion). Longevity I would go with the Camry, Accord, Fusion but I don't think they're worth the premium they go for. The 2-3 year-old Hondas and Toyotas just hold their value too well to be this great buy, never buy new you're throwing your money away. Look elsewhere if you go that direction. Ford Fusion used is a much better proposition than a Camry or Accord.
Just look at interest rate. I suspect the promo interest rate is somewhere between 0-3% which you're unlikely to be able to get interest rate.
Look, these guys arent like you and me. We can juggle things and make things work out in our favor by leveraging debt. But he's already made one stupid decision after another. His best bet is to go ahead and pay off his debt and try to start making some good decisions about how he uses his money and how he drives.
If I was the OP I'd not charge on a credit card. His fico score is impacted by the amount of credit he is using, e.g. if the limit on the card is $10K he would would be using half. That would lower his score and negatively impact rates on a car loan.
If he has a reliable income it might make sense to buy a new car with a warranty, e.g. a 2017 Hyundai Elantra can be bought for about $15K through Costco. That one comes with a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty and a 10 year engine/transmission warranty. With that kind of warranty, a longer term loan might make sense.
Pay off your credit card. Pay cash for a decent used car and forget about financing anything. A car is a depreciating asset that is meant to get you from point A to point B, then back. The only difference between a Mercedes S class and Toyota Corolla after 10 years is that you lose a whole bunch more money on the Mercedes. Otherwise, they both did the same thing for you, they provided you transportation.
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