You can't do anything about the 5k, but you could consider the difference in fuel cost, insurance & all to kind of whittle it down a bit. You will miss your truck - I've regrtted every one I ever sold but it's the percentage move.

 

I'm going to go against the grain here and say keep the truck. If you can, pay more than the regular payment and try to get it paid off early. Like you said, you are getting ready to get married and possibly start having other responsibilities like a house payment, and or kids. If you don't keep this nice new truck now and gut it out, it will most likely be a very loooooong time before you will be able to afford another one. In my experience the house payment, wife, and kids take up a good chunk of the money, and the wife always gets to get a new car before the husband does.

 

Just don't and I mean don't buy a Ridgeline !!! We all know were that will go.

 

Hi Countermaker.... I have to agree with Beerstalker on this one.
If you dump the truck now....whether you sell it yourself or trade it in at a dealership,,, you're going to lose a lot of money. You said yourself that you were already upside down in it.. correct? And I believe you said you could make double payments.. right?
If I were in this situation; I would (#1 ) Keep the truck and make double payments for a year or however long it takes to have some equity in it.... Then make a move.

And; either (#2 ) buy a cheap....maybe a $3.000 to $4,000 economical 4-banger car like a Civic or similar to save on fuel costs.
or (#3 ) Don't buy a cheap econo-car and just drive and enjoy the new truck... with the thought that the $3k or $4k that you would spend on the initial cost of the 4-banger would just be the difference in fuel for a couple of years.

Good luck my friend....and remember.. most of us have made purchases at one time or another that we learned from. I know I did.


OH Yeah,,, and what rugermack said.
!

 

Countermaker,
I agree with beerstalker and Blue SD on this one. Your situation doesn't warrant you taking a big $$$ hit, even though it means you will save money on gas or insurance in the long run. Once you get married and have kids you will realize that getting another truck won't be easy!

Learn from me, I got rid of my last truck (Dodge, yup, I know) because it had a lot of problems (frame tweaked) and did the practical thing. I swapped it for an 04 Camry. My wife was actually against it but I thought it was the right thing to do. For a couple of months I didn't mind the camry because it was cheap to drive, etc. Then I really started missing my truck. I was tired of my friends and famiily busting my chops about driving a camry, etc. Even my old man said 'the only difference between your p*ssy camry and your mother's is the color! (I still laugh at that).

Anyway, I got back in to a truck about 8 months ago and have no regrets.

 

At least you'll probably never do this again...some of us keep doing dumb stuff...I'm 43 and still buying crap I don't need...just ask my wife!

 

i agree once again on saying keep the truck. im young too, thankfully i had some help on mine. it still costs me a fortune to keep it runnin but I LOVE MY TRUCK and couldnt do without it. besides im a country boy and what would i be drivin around a four banger. if u buy a car, just make sure u buy a mustang.

 

Well do what you need to do man but i would of bought something older so no payment all you have is insurance and gas

 

I would keep the truck, and here's why.

Trading with 5k upside down will put you in an even deeper hole on the vehicle you buy next. That car that you settle for wont be what you want. In 1 or 2 years you'll be trying to trade out of it even further upside down.

When you're married and you have your house, you'll need a truck to do all the things a home owner needs to do. Hauling tree limbs, mulch, dirt, furniture etc.

You already have a crew cab for when you have kids.

In a few years, when it's paid for, you'll be able to get a travel trailer or boat for the family. Then you'll already have a tow vehicle.

Start doing what you can to pay an extra $200 or so a month on it in order to get yourself out of the hole. I finance for 5 years max but always pay extra. That way when I have a lean month I can make the minimum payment. I usually get them paid for in 3 1/2 years.

If you just have to get out of it, winter is coming and 4x4s bring top dollar. Try selling it yourself for at least what you owe.

Make sure that the next car/truck you buy is either a smoking deal with big rebates, or you put at least 20% down.

Bottom line, it doesn't make sense to pay a dealer $5k to take your truck off of your hands.

 

One thing to do that would help lower the total interest you pay and pay it off sooner is to pay weekly. I do all my financial stuff through Merrill Lynch and they will write and mail the checks for me. I just bumped my truck payment up from $150 to $250 a week(it's $530 a month) and should pay it off in about another two years or so. I bought it last fall so I haven't even had it a year yet.

 

my son done the same a few years back
bought a 2 yr old F150 1- I think he paid too much 2- almost no down payment 3-financed too long

he started thinking he wantd a 4x4 and we were roughly figuring out hid predicument
owing less than 2 years still owes twice what truck is worth

I never fiananced over 4 yrs with a decent down stroke even on $100k trucks
5 yrs the bank starts eating your lunch

 

After I sell my 1968 Buick GS400 and 1995 Jeep Wrangler I am going to buy a VW Jetta TDI with a manual. You can get 50+ MPG even while beating on it, and it's a diesel, so it has a lot of torque. You can burn the tires off!! Just my .02

 

I have to admit, I cannot be without a truck.

 

Once you drive a truck fulltime you just feel so small and voulnerable in a car. Not to mention you can't see anything in front of you. I will never be without a truck unless it would cost me my life.

 

well i get my truck back form the collision center friday, so maybe ill change my mind and wana keep it...although my uncle works at the honda dealership, so maybe he can give me top dollar for my trade and low on a new civic...i dunno, i would rather just keep it and hit the lottery but we all know that aint happening