So I am currently financing a '23 Bolt EUV Premier for $500/mo at 8% apr and 60 months. I owe about $30k on it and checked with various companies like CarMax and KBB to see what it was worth. CarMax offered $22k, but KBB and Carvana offered about $18k. So I am roughly down $8-$12k on the Bolt.
I cancelled the extended warranty and some add on from my dealer which added up to $5300 that could be added to my Bolt or I can pocket it if I sell/trade it. I’d prefer to pocket the money for a house project so I was looking into leasing a Blazer EV with the current special going on as I can get a out $12k of rebates. My dealer offered me a straight trade with nothing out of pocket for $650/mo and a final price of $33k for the Blazer. At the time I didn’t take it because it seemed like too much, but maybe it was a good deal to walk away from all that negative equity? I’d pay like $9k in interest alone after I pay the Bolt off too.
I’ve tried talking to another Chevy dealership about getting some numbers on a different lease special which would get me an RS Blazer EV for $299/mo for 36 months and 10k miles. Although I don’t know if they’d let me roll everything into one monthly payment and do a straight trade too. How much would that much negative equity add to a normal monthly payment?
I’m currently at a 620 credit score due to a lot of dealers hard inquiries and from recently buying a home. I could wait for more lease specials later this year after my score recover next month, but what do you guys think?
Are you a member of a CU who can refi this at a lower rate?
I think I would never attempt what you’re asking without a credit score starting with a 7, and likely a broker.
I understand cancelling warranty to save some money, but if you’re doing that does a (in this scenario) +$150/mo payment hurt your cashflow and put you in a worse position.
It’s not unusual (in normal times) for one to buy a car and be upside-down, what problem are you actually trying to solve here?
You are not in a financial position to shop for luxuries. Why do you want a Blazer? Do you need one, especially an RS trim?
Check out @ChevyGuy and see what he can do for you - but really your goal should be to just finish paying off that loan and drive that car to the ground. It is a horrible horrible idea to go from a pathway to ownership (financed Bolt) to non ownership (leased Blazer). What would you do after the lease is up?
Idk what the build quality on what bolts are, but you’ve got a 1 year old car that’s gonna last a while, do not do not do not swap from ownership to leasing. One allows you to not make payments forever; the other does not. If you were underwater on a mortgage, would you switch to a cheaper rental property?
My advice is to take your lost equity like a man drive that thing until it bursts, and then buy a used EV later on. You can’t really buy any decent cars for $20k nowadays. Wait until you’re in a better financial situation, then buy a used Ariya, Polestar, model Y, something at that $25k mark and will give you a $4k rebate from the govt.
Yeah, I currently am a part of Altura and have checked their rates every so often. I’d have to wait until the hard inquiries fall off after this month so I can refinance at a better rate. Financially I can handle it, I just didn’t imagine how much of a hit EVs would take in deprecating after a few months. I remember when I bought my Bolt in January that the resale value was still pretty strong. The money from the cancellations will bring down my owed amount under $25k, so it wouldn’t be horrible. If CarMax continues to offer a strong offer in the future, I’ll change into a better EV.
I can see your sentiment about not being able to afford a luxury like this, but I don’t have an issue with that. I’d want the Blazer because of all the rebates that could help out with the negative equity. At least that was from I understood about rolling negative equity into a lease with rebates or discounts.
Having some guidance from you guys really helps a lot in knowing what to do and understanding everything.
There are some issues I’ve found with the door panels and driver side window moving a bit, making a sticky noise, but it’s solid and I preferred over the Model Y I was looking at before the purchase.
I think I will take the hit and keep the Bolt. The total owed would be below $25k and if I’m able to refinance at a better rate I’ll pay it off sooner and just try leasing at a later time.
A big part of EV depreciation is the first 3 years. There’s going to be a price floor for them, many are close to hitting it. I suspect the floor to be $25k because there’s a $4k rebate for 2nd owners of EVs if purchased via dealership. When you look at the market, what kind of 1-2 year old used car can you buy for $25k ($21k after rebate), besides good EVs? Nissan Ariya, Polestar 2, Hertz Model 3 are already hitting those numbers.
But yeah most importantly you are financing to own. I think negative equity is a bit of a misnomer - while yes, it’s true, if the asset itself is fine and in use and you don’t NEED to sell, who cares about the equity. If the market value to your bolt ends up being $0, you can still drive the car…
The quest is therefore to prevent the feeling of needing to swap to something better. Your bad loan/payment will set you up to use the car for the next 10-12 years, even longer maybe. A “good” blazer EV lease will last 3 years max, then you gotta start over again, who knows what the market will be like then.
Anyway, looks like you’ve chosen to make a financially responsible decision and I applaud you!
Overall quality is not really an issue on these, plus you’ve got an 8 year/100k warranty on the motor and battery. I financed one of these and I’m just running it into the ground for commuting. I actually almost went and got a Blazer EV to serve as a quasi-extended warranty for the Bolt since I drive a lot but certain people I have to live with had other ideas about having a third car. Definitely a deal I’ll remember for getting away from me.
Your credit score should not have dropped by much, even with multiple hard inquiries. What was your score when you bought the Bolt?
If I were in your shoes, I will keep paying down the loan. I wouldn’t look into leasing anything for at least a year or whenever your score reaches at least 700.
Gettting a paid off auto and a paid off lease in 2/3 years can go a long way to getting a 700 fico…
If you purely want to retire negative equity and reset the equity position in the shortest amount of time possible- a lease is a good fit- or a total loss…
I feel like you keep getting played by the dealers. Why are you planning on going back to them when they can rip you off again? Refinance after a few months would be a good idea.
Why not put it in the calculator?
That would mean a high MF (APR). Maybe even worse than the 8% you currently have. Plus you would pay taxes on your negative equity. This would result in a bad deal.
