I’m currently facing a bit of a situation with my 2017 Audi Q7. I still owe about $24,000 on the loan (which includes warranty), but its current value online is only around $19,000, leaving me with a $5,000 deficit. I’m hoping to trade it in or find a new vehicle deal that could help me overcome this gap. Had to buy this car during covid. Loan payment is 790 a month.
Has anyone here been in a similar situation or have any advice on how to navigate this? Are there financing options that would help roll over this negative equity, or maybe certain dealers offering promotions that could ease the cost of a new purchase?
Any tips or insights would be greatly appreciated!
Not every thread in that search link will be relevant due to the nature of search itself, but you can easily ID the ones that align with your question.
Bottom line (and broadly speaking) leasing doesn’t make your negative equity go away, but rather the NE chews up a chunk of the savings from incentives on the next car, and adds (often dramatrically) to the finance charges you’ll pay on your new lease.
Aside from that, make sure you’ve gotten several offers for your car if you haven’t already.
The cash is gone regardless; “there is no overcoming the gap”. It may sound harsh but it is the truth. Whether you write the check or attempt to convince yourself otherwise by burying the negative equity somewhere, you will still be burning money.
As others have said, you’re paying for the $5k negative equity in one way or another. You might be able to roll it into another loan or lease, or you can pay it off out of pocket. Another option to cover the $5k is a 0% credit card balance transfer, assuming you’re disciplined enough to pay it off within the 0% period. Some options are out there with 21 months with 3-5% BT fee. At the end of the day, you’re just slicing and dicing how you pay it off.
Do you need a new car for a specific reason, or do you just want something new? The cheapest option will probably be to keep the Q7 until you pay it off, assuming your warranty lasts as long as your loan. You probably have a lower rate than what you can get now (unless you buy a car with a special finance rate).
Or at least try to project when the vehicle value is back in the money. Looks like probably at least another 32-months left on the loan, so a year to year and a half max and the loan probably won’t be negative anymore.
