I’m new to this and in FL. I have a 22 Tahoe LT that i owe about 54k on with a 3.99% interest rate. Brought it brand new in 2022, at which time I also purchased extended warranties from the dealer for an extra 7k ish. I ended up leaving my great paying job at that time for personal reasons, and I canceled the warranties and basically pocketed the checks as a cushion because I was unsure how long my job search would be.
Flash forward to now, I’m needing to get my payments lower as I’m going through a separation and financially will no konger by able to afford on just my salary plus all other expenses. I’ve been looking into leasing, and it seems every dealer is offering me 46-47k on my Tahoe. Carvana and Carmax are the same
I’m just looking for advice on how to handle this negative equity plus also lower the payments of $983 a month. Im open to hearing any suggestions. I don’t have that much extra cash(2k max) to throw out to eat up the negative equity either so feeling stuck.
Ideally I’d like to keep in the SUV range, doesnt need to be full size but im also exploring EV because of the rebates im seeing.
Maybe a base Grand Cherokee 4xe OR A mazda CX90 PHEV could take on the negative equitywith @AutoNinjas or @AutoCompanion with the ev credit and a bunch of rebates… though that may be less in FL. An EV like the BZ4X has the highest rebates now to soak up that negative equity but is a huge step down from a Tahoe.
OP, if you want bz4x, make sure you check its limitation and see if it can fit your driving needs. Lexus RZ is another option as well. Other ev are Ariya n Ioniq5 with better range n charging needs. Nevertheless, all those ev are also smaller than your Tahoe.
Rebates only help with credit approval here. They’re not doing much for you beyond that. Don’t believe any salespeople who tell you that the rebates will “wash” or “bury” or negate any of your NE.
MF or APR is at least as important. You need to minimize your borrowing costs as much as possible.
The $7K negative equity is going to boost your monthly payment by about $200 a month no matter how much of a rebate you get to lease an overpriced EV. A Jeep GC4xe that would normally cost you $500 a month is now $700. On the plus side, at the end of 3 years you are done with it and can move on to another vehicle. Just don’t expect to get out of the lease before the end or you will be in a worse position than you are now.
Also, do you have the charging infrastructure at home for a full EV? If not, go with a hybrid instead of something like the Hyundai Ioniq. Depending where you are in FL, finding a public charger could be an issue. You don’t need to charge a Jeep 4xe.
I figured the negative equity would increase the payments by that amount give or take. I’m thinking the lower payment, plus savings on gas monthly would be beneficial. Definitely plan on riding the lease through til the end.
I can get it installed no problem at my home and just pay for materials thankfully. Until then theres a charging station in the plaza I frequent.
Keep in mind the best lease deals for an Ariya are for the 18 months term. Eating that much negative on an 18 month lease vs 36 month lease is obviously going to be more impactful. The Toyota lease terms for the large rebate are 36 months, if I remember correctly.
This might be a case where working with a broker here with multiple brands and that can work the trade could help vs going dealer to dealer in a state with a lot of unsavory dealers.
Broker is probably a good way to go here…especially in FL. There are a lot of moving parts in this equation and a shady dealer can muddy the waters real quick on something like this.
The Grand Cherokee 4xe would probably be the easiest to transition to from a Tahoe vs some of the smaller options.
Keep in mind that by rolling negative equity, youre instantly bumping up the equity amount by ~7% because its now taxed and then paying interest on it. Youre going to take that $8k in negative equity and turn it in to about $10k in cost by the time youre done with a 3 year lease.
