[milehi]

Hello all! This is my first post in this great forum. I have owned 4 Camaros in the past, including a 2001 Red SS 6-speed! Loved that car. Traded it in on a 2002 Honda Accord due to gas prices and being upside down on the SS. I am now looking for either a 06 GTO or an Infiniti G35. With the GTO deals getting better and better all the time, I may end up with the GTO. Not a bad thing in my opinion. It will be a 6-spped with 18 inch rims. I forget the exact name of the color I want, but it is like a metallic grey. That or a silver would be just fine!

Here is my situation. I have a 2002 Honda Accord EX with 45,000 miles in pretty good condition. It has a few little scuffs, but nothing major, and the interior is fine. It has the 4 cyl. engine. I owe 19,000 on it. Still a little upside down, I know. I have $2,200 in cash right now, and will probably be able to get another $2,000 to $2,500 by March. I really need my payments to be under $500 a month to do the deal. I am not to picky on if it is a lease or purchase that gets me the $500 per month. Any advice on jumping on it now, or holding off for a little more cash in hand in March? Can I even do the deal for a little under $500 per month?

Thanks for any advice, and looking forward to getting back in a 6 sp 400 hp RWD car!



Mike

 

[ShAkz05GTO]

I don't know how to solve your situation, but my advice is to go for an '05 GTO instead of an '06 because they are almost EXACTLY the same.
Are you looking to get rid of the Accord, or want to keep it?
Do you mean $500/month for insurance, and payments?
BTW: Welcome to the site. Lotsa folks here quick to tell their oppinions.

 

[the3car]

I Traded An '03 G35 For My '06 Gto. If You Want Xm, Sunroof, Heated Seats, Etc. Get The G35. If You Want Unbelievable Torque, Fantastic Fit And Finish, Bigger Back Seat, And Exclusivity(?) Get The Gto. To Make The G35 Fast You Really Have To Drive It Hard (high Rpm's) The Gto Just Goes. I Am So Happy With My New Gto, I'd Never Go Back. Hope This Helps.

 

[milehi]

Thanks guys! I realize that I cannot get the car and ins. for 500 a month, that was just the payment hopefully. I am trading in the Accord, and am upside down on it. The looks of the G35 are far superior to me, but pretty much everything else, I favor the GTO. The G35 is a little bit more than the GTO as well. In my book the GTO leads in most categories head to head!

 

[dealernut]

Thanks guys! I realize that I cannot get the car and ins. for 500 a month, that was just the payment hopefully. I am trading in the Accord, and am upside down on it. The looks of the G35 are far superior to me, but pretty much everything else, I favor the GTO. The G35 is a little bit more than the GTO as well. In my book the GTO leads in most categories head to head!

Couple of questions
Have you had a dealer put a value on your car yet?
Where are you geographically?
What type of credit do you have? (Primary or secondary).
How long do you want to finance lease?


Outside of that it should be possible with your down payment and the right payment term.

 

[StangStalker]

When I got my GTO, I put $1000 down, no trade, and my payments are at $577.35/month, and I got my 05 back in June. If you go for an 05 now while there are still some on lots, you could probably get into one a little closer to the $500 mark.

 

[nineball481]

personal:
I put $1000 down, no trade, 6.9% fixed, no ex. warranty, 60 mo loan.
payment is 545 a month on an 05 GTO

 

[milehi]

Well, my credit score is somewhere between 730-760. I am in the Military (Naval Reserves), so I could use USAA. The dealers have not said exactly wha tthe car is worth. I live in the Denver metro area. I would finance for as long as needed to get the right price!

 

[MeanGoat]

I was in same place with the Acura TL. DVD quality surround sound, slick sunroof, navigation, etc...

Buying the goat was the best decision I ever made. Do you know how many of those damn Acura TL's I see on the road now with soccer mom's and ****-weenies driving them? Exclusivity like this is more than worth the money for the goat.

BUY THE GTO!!

 

[b_a_betterperson]

While the GTO's a great car -- think of your long-term financial needs.

1. Do you own a house yet?
2. Are you maxing out your annual IRA contributions?
3. Do you have a 401K?
4. Is 20% of your PRE-TAX income being set aside for retirement?
5. Are your credit card balances zero?
6. If you have kids -- are you able to put a little something toward their college funds so they don't get clobbered with student loans?
7. Do you have enough money saved up to cover a year's worth of expenses in case of a major medical issue or other unforseen problem?

If the answers to the above questions are no, then just keep your Accord in top working condition -- and hang onto it for a few more years.

 

[dealernut]

While the GTO's a great car -- think of your long-term financial needs.

1. Do you own a house yet?
2. Are you maxing out your annual IRA contributions?
3. Do you have a 401K?
4. Is 20% of your PRE-TAX income being set aside for retirement?
5. Are your credit card balances zero?
6. If you have kids -- are you able to put a little something toward their college funds so they don't get clobbered with student loans?
7. Do you have enough money saved up to cover a year's worth of expenses in case of a major medical issue or other unforseen problem?

If the answers to the above questions are no, then just keep your Accord in top working condition -- and hang onto it for a few more years.

oooh a test!!!!!
1. No. Mortgage is very healthy
2. NO!!!! Plenty of bonds though and money market accounts
3. 5 of em (long story)
4. No. College for the kids
5. Yes. Unless my wife went shopping
6. See answer 4
7. NO. Dissabilty and life insurance is grrrreeeeaaaattttt!!!!!!

Damn BA...if everyone went by your scale the auto industry would fold in a week. HAHAHA!!!!!

 

[dealernut]

I was in same place with the Acura TL. DVD quality surround sound, slick sunroof, navigation, etc...

Buying the goat was the best decision I ever made. Do you know how many of those damn Acura TL's I see on the road now with soccer mom's and ****-weenies driving them? Exclusivity like this is more than worth the money for the goat.

BUY THE GTO!!

**** weenies!!!!! HAHAHA!!!! Not sure why but that cracks me up.

 

[baron_iv]

I hate to be the bringer of bad news here, but if you're THAT much out of equity on the Accord, you're probably stuck in it for a while, I'd say another year or so...unless you can start making double-payments on it or something. It really depends on the dealer and the car you would like to trade for. I'm not sure there will be enough markup on the GTO for them to get you anywhere near an equitable situation. In fact, I'm fairly sure there's not. You're out of equity by about 6,000-10,000 dollars. So that's about the amount of cash that you need to come up with to get yourself back close to where you need to be. You may be able to make up a couple thousand of that in the markup of the GTO you're looking at, but nowhere near $6-10k.
I'm figuring that most dealers will offer you somewhere between $9,000-$13,000 for your car. That's being pretty generous (no offense intended).
It's kinda crappy that some dealers are willing to stick people with a car for the next 3-4 years and be in such an unequitable position that they can't trade it even if they wanted to. That's what's happened to you. The dealer you bought the accord from should have told you that you'd be stuck with that car for quite a while, or just outright refused to sell you the car (which would have been the "RIGHT" thing to do in my opinion.
If you WERE able to find someone who would finance nearly $40k on a GTO (highly unlikely), your payments would be considerably over $800/month. To get down into the $500 range, you need $6000+ cash down.
You could try to sell the Accord outright to another person, but nobody will give you $19000 for it. You're going to be "upside-down" on it for another year at least, depending on your payments, interest, term of loan, etc.
I wish you good luck in trying to rectify this situation, but trading the accord on a gto will get you into a horrible situation (or rather MORE horrible). I'd suggest saving up so you can put a substantial amount down, or selling the car outright (and then paying off the rest yourself). Those are about your only semi-fiscally-responsible things you can do now.

 

[larry0233]

i put down $13k and with a 60 month loan at 7.5% i'm paying $382 a month

 

[baron_iv]

Yes, Larry, but you aren't $10k out of equity on your trade in. That's where he's gonna get burned.

 

[larry0233]

so does that mean they add that to the loan, and it's like you paying $40k for the car?

 

[baron_iv]

Well, if you can get anyone to finance that much (which is rare), yes. He'd be paying $40k+ for the car. For example, if he owed $19000 on his car, the GTO was $30000. The dealership gave him $9000 for his car, he would now owe $40000 for the GTO. Not many banks are going to finance $40000 on a $30000 car. It's a bad business risk for them. However, it happens...and it puts people in some really crappy financial positions. That's what happened to him when he traded in his last car on the Accord. So he's got negative equity...he owes more than the car is worth.

 

[fergyflyer]

BA and Baron are giving youtop notch financial advice.

What I would do if you really want the GTO would be a couple of things. You say you will have by March 4000 to 4500 to put down. Save that. You want payments around 500 per month, so pay that plus any extra penny you can scrape up on the Accord. In September or October, any dealer with a left over 06 GTO is really going to want to move it. You will be sure you can afford it. Your financial situation will be stronger, you'll owe about 15,500 on the Accord and it will be worth 8-10 on a trade. You'll be upside down 6,000 instead of 10. The Dealer sells the GTO with incentives for 29,000 you put your 4500 down and add in tax and tags. Now you are financing 32,000. Your payments come in around 530-540 per month for 72 months.

Right now to get a left over 05 at 29,000 you will be financing 34-35,000 and your payments will be in the ballpark of 580-590 for 72 months. A new 06 would put the payments well over 600 per month.

 

[baron_iv]

Either way, the longer you can wait, the better. The more money you can save up to put down, the better. Only patience, or winning the lottery will get you out of the mess that the Honda dealer put you into. Fergy has figured out about the fastest way out. The longer you wait (and the more money you save before trading), the less likely you are to be in this type of situation again.
Good Luck.