Want to trade in my van SOOOO bad....

[irish_molly]

My van has almost 100K miles. It would be nice to not have a payment BUT it would be nicer to not have maintenance issues and lower gas mileage. Right now, it has a blown fuse so the stereo doesn't work, and the power locks only work intermittently. In the last few months, we have replaced two tires, and had to get a new radiator and complete brake job (pads, rotors, front and back) all done...the latter two in a 2 week span. In the next few months, the van will need new rear tie rods, a water pump, and a new coolant tank. I know the car won't be worth much on trade in (maybe $2000-3000), and I'm wondering how best to approach getting a new car. We will have enough income to throw an extra $100 a month or more at the payment.

Now...we don't have enough to pay cash, so we'll have to finance. It's important to us to have something under warranty, so should we look at something "Certified Pre-Owned," or something new? We plan to keep the car for a while, and it will probably end up being passed down to our now DS12 when he starts driving in a few years, so we're not as concerned about initial depreciation. TIA for your advice!!!

[434Teresa]

I would wait until income tax time if I was you and use that and your now van as trade in plus whatever you can save between not & then and try to pay off the one you get. I hate payments and interest charges are not worth it to me. I need a new van also but that ant going to happen unless we can pay off the one we buy.

If you chose to trade now I would try to pay it off with the income tax, but thats just me.

Also dont forget about insurance it will most likely go up...

[rbunnymom]

If you do buy new, doublecheck to see if the tax incentive still applies this year. It may be worth it for to buy new if you must buy now.

[irish_molly]

If I knew the van would make it until February (when my refund comes), I would plan for that, but I don't know if it will happen. I was thinking about checking around for dealer incentives, to see if a "cash back" deal will help to get rid of some of the balance, but I'm not sure what's out there on the 2011 models, or on what's left of the 2010's. Also, I got stuck with a lousy interest rate the last time I financed, because I didn't take the time to read ALL of the fine print as carefully as I should have - live and learn!

I've considered shopping out my loan first (carefully, so I don't rack up a bunch of inquiries on my credit report), so that I know exactly what I can spend, and exactly what I will be paying per month. That way, I would essentially be walking into a dealership as a "cash" customer, and would have a little more negotiating power. DH will be my secret weapon...he works in sales, and knows how the game is played.