In a pickle

[Taylormclean]

So some of you know that I got orders to Germany (yay!) but that leaves me with the outback xt. We are taking my wife's impreza over there because its the better of the two. So my question is, I would like to get rid of the outback. I owe $11,300 on it, it has 137,000 miles. So should I even try selling it? Or just let it sit for 3-4 years while I am overseas. I would like the extra $200 a month for my family and not pay insurance on a vehicle I am not driving. I guess what I am asking is should I even try selling it? Or should I just keep it?

[sunny5280]

So some of you know that I got orders to Germany (yay!) but that leaves me with the outback xt. We are taking my wife's impreza over there because its the better of the two. So my question is, I would like to get rid of the outback. I owe $11,300 on it, it has 137,000 miles. So should I even try selling it? Or just let it sit for 3-4 years while I am overseas. I would like the extra $200 a month for my family and not pay insurance on a vehicle I am not driving. I guess what I am asking is should I even try selling it? Or should I just keep it?

 

What is your concern with selling it? Do you feel you would be unable to sell it for what you owe?

[Taylormclean]

Yes. That is mangy main concern with the mileage and the amount I owe.

[Redryan98]

unless you are really in love with the car I'd probably sell it. Need to factor the cost of "carrying cost" over the next 3-4 years vs how much you'll lose out between sales price and what you owe.

 

Factor in your monthly payment, taxes, insurance, storage, depreciation, and what sort of maintenance a car that sits for so long may need. Lets say you sell it for 9k and you owe 11. That's $2k loss. Sucks, but I'm sure you'll spend much more to hold on to the car for 3-4 years. I bet it will be around $2k per year actually. Whether its worth the added expense to have the car when you get home is up to you.

[Dispatch20]

I completely agree with Redryan. And 3-4 years is a long time. You'll likely have different interests and priorities then.

[Taylormclean]

I love the car but financially it doesn't make sense. do you think I could get someone to pay as much as I owe?

[Merc6]

Have you parked it on a "Lemon Lot" on base yet to see if anyone will snag it?

[Taylormclean]

I would do that but it's my daily.

[MrTris]

Call your insurance company (or Agent -- You should have one!) and tell them the situation. You can put it in "suspend" status until the end of the contract term, which should be lower than your current monthly premiums. Then non-renew. It helps if you have both vehicles on the same policy, otherwise, your insurance score will take a slight hit. Find someplace safe to store it, put some fuel stabilizer in the tank. Pull the fuel pump fuse, crank until it dies, and walk away. Make your monthly payments until it's paid off. When you come back, it'll still be there, and may only need new tires, depending on where you left it.

 

You won't fetch what you owe on it, unfortunately. Even in top shape, NADA puts these at ~$8900 for anything over 100k -- you're upside down by quite a bit, I'm afraid.

 

Barring that, I'd just like to remind you that even though your credit will take a hit, American finance companies won't even attempt repo a car in Germany. Not for 12k, anyhow.

[Merc6]

I think the issue is they are only transporting one car oconus. If the company is Capital One, they aren't coming for the car stateside.

[Taylormclean]

Well I have until January to sell it. Maybe someone will take it by then

[Merc6]

So, what BMW will you be shipping back?

[sunny5280]

Yes. That is mangy main concern with the mileage and the amount I owe.

My recommendation is to sell it. It makes little sense to hold on to a common vehicle for three to four years when you're not even going to occasionally drive it. The question becomes: Can you afford to make up the difference between what you owe and what you could possibly sell it for?

[scontivt]

Sell it at the $2000 loss. Then you can take the hit in one year and pay off a signature loan for $200/month, or spread it out longer and lower the payment. $2000 is a small bogey compared to what could happen if you let it sit, not to mention the cost of insurance on something that isn't moving. Another alternative would be to trade both of your cars in, take the loss, but roll it into the price of a new car and ship that over...

 

Good luck,

 

Steve

[MrTris]

Sell it at the $2000 loss. Then you can take the hit in one year and pay off a signature loan for $200/month, or spread it out longer and lower the payment. $2000 is a small bogey compared to what could happen if you let it sit, not to mention the cost of insurance on something that isn't moving. Another alternative would be to trade both of your cars in, take the loss, but roll it into the price of a new car and ship that over...

 

Good luck,

 

Steve

 

Little Known Fact #452, from your friendly Insurance Agent:

 

If your car is going to be in storage for an extended period of time, you can call your insurance agent/hotline and suspend roadgoing and liability coverage, which can significantly lower your monthly premium. If the car will not be driven at all for a period of time longer than 6mos-1 year + (Longer than the length of standard insurance contracts), you can choose to non-renew, and not pay anything at all. You should also notify your local DOL that the vehicle is in storage, so that when you choose to renew the vehicle, you won't be faced with back fees for title and registration.

 

Rolling a loss of two cars into the loan for a new car is probably one of the worst financial decisions you can make, short of gambling away your entire paycheck.

[covertrussian]

Since your on the west coast I would suggest selling it, Subaru's go for more $$ there then on east coast. These cars values are finally starting to drop, and fairly rapidly (Got my LGT with under 100k miles for ~$8k last year on the east coast).

 

A usual car will drop $1k per year in value, so take away $4k, then add insurance and registration and property taxes, that's around $500 per year for me, so another $2k. Plus a car that sits for 4k will have rust in the engine, and plenty of other issues (you need to drive cars often!), who knows how much money will be needed it for that. But you are already loosing around $6k by not selling it.

 

Lucky for you fall & winter is coming, so you should have plenty of folks interested in AWD.

[sunny5280]

If he is able to sell the car for a loss of $2,000 that equates to ~ $56/month over 36 months or ~$42/month over 48 months. The question becomes can the OP reduce his monthly cost below either of these two numbers? Depreciation is also a factor unless it is his desire to keep the car upon his return.

 

IMO it he should sell the car at a loss (assuming it would be at a loss and the loss wouldn't exceed his comfort level). It's not ideal however unless he can sell it for what he owes (unlikely but possible) this appears to be the lesser of multiple evils.

[scontivt]

Little Known Fact #452, from your friendly Insurance Agent:

 

If your car is going to be in storage for an extended period of time, you can call your insurance agent/hotline and suspend roadgoing and liability coverage, which can significantly lower your monthly premium. If the car will not be driven at all for a period of time longer than 6mos-1 year + (Longer than the length of standard insurance contracts), you can choose to non-renew, and not pay anything at all. You should also notify your local DOL that the vehicle is in storage, so that when you choose to renew the vehicle, you won't be faced with back fees for title and registration.

 

Rolling a loss of two cars into the loan for a new car is probably one of the worst financial decisions you can make, short of gambling away your entire paycheck.

 

I agree rolling two losses over to a new vehicle loan is a bad thing, I was assuming he owned the other vehicle outright. But if you have to take a loss, it is easier to spread out the $2000 loss over say 5 years at 3%, than 1-4 year at 10+%. He's in a tight spot, and leaving a car parked for years is an even worse decision when you factor depreciation in, as he could return and buy the same car for thousands less. The opportunity cost of leaving that vehicle parked is higher than selling it at a loss.

 

Also, most Car Loan companies/banks require that you keep collision and comprehensive coverage on your vehicle at a minimum while you are paying it off. Last time I checked, those two coverage's cost more than liability. The only way around would be to request an exception from the loaning bank and hope nothing happens to it.

[Taylormclean]

I am just afraid I leave sitting for awhile I will come back to a car that doesn't start. So if I put $1500 on it now that I can get the car down to around $9500 would I have a better chance at selling it?

[sunny5280]

I am just afraid I leave sitting for awhile I will come back to a car that doesn't start. So if I put $1500 on it now that I can get the car down to around $9500 would I have a better chance at selling it?

The lower your asking price the better your chances of selling it. You could put in the ad you're selling price is firm as it is what you owe. Another alternative might be to explain the situation to the bank and see if they'll accept a lower amount (assuming you don't have the money to pay the difference).

 

It's not an ideal situation but life is full of them so the best you can do is minimize the impact and put it behind you.

[Taylormclean]

It is what it is. I'll just keep making payments and hopefully it sells in the winter months. It sucks, I finally got it to the point of no problems. Fixed the cel, new radiator, stopped the oil leak, new front rotors. Oh whale. Lesson learned.

[scontivt]

Don't lose hope, I am currently selling my car for what I owe because I have a kid on the way and want to drop the payment. I owe as much as high book, but I have 5 people interested in it for that price. Advertise your XT and play to its strengths. List the transmission type, put all work that was done to it in your ad, condition of the paint, etc. There must have been a reason you paid so much for it, try to convince someone else of the same reason. Try making a classified posting in the LegacyGT.com forum.

 

Good luck with the sale.

 

Steve

[Nightmaresmk]

if you want to sell it you may find some one to take over your loan instead if they have issues getting one. I would love another outback but banks frown on second auto loans at my credit score. lol

[sunny5280]

It is what it is. I'll just keep making payments and hopefully it sells in the winter months. It sucks, I finally got it to the point of no problems. Fixed the cel, new radiator, stopped the oil leak, new front rotors. Oh whale. Lesson learned.

This. You're in a situation which is unfavorable but there's nothing you can do but try to make the best of it. No use getting worked up over something outside of your control. Good luck.

[Max Capacity]

In your area it should sell quickly, if that's what you decide to do.