Get away from a car that you're upside down on?

[ram_man]

My focus has been nothing short of a nightmare.
How do you get out from under a car you owe money on? Is there even a way to do it? I wouldn't mind just having a cheap 3,000 car or so i can fix it myself and avoid the nonsense of dealerships and all the misery entailed. Any recommendations or advice?

 

[sciphi]

Look up the "lemon law" in your state. They either buy it back or give you an equivalent car after the terms of the law have been fulfilled. Attorney fees too, depending on the state. If you go that route, I hope you saved all the paperwork or the car acts up some more.

There's also selling it to CarMax or private party, but you'll likely take a haircut on the value.

Lastly, if the problem isn't too expensive, just shell out to have it fixed right if you otherwise like the car. Been there, done that. It was cheaper than selling the car at a loss.

 

[Mr Nice]

How much do you owe?

Sell car for a loss?

 

[ram_man]

How do you sell a car that has a lein on it? Ive never done that. I wouldnt mind fixing this issue if i thought this would be it. But its had several different issues. Thats my worry.

 

[eljefino]

You meet the buyer at your bank, you let the bank know ahead of time so they'll have the title at your branch. If your state does electronic titles this could be easier.

 

[dishdude]

What is a caradixe?

 

[CT8]

Try to get the car fixed look into a lemon law. Call the Ford 1 800 number and be polite and explain the problems. I know it is a pain in the you know where but jump through the hoops it will be worth the effort.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
What is a caradixe?


i was wondering that myself... even google has no idea other than this thread..

 

[yeti]

here we go.




good luck,ram.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Ford may have a voluntary buyback program that could buy the car back from you or possibly do a trade repurchase where they take your car back and put you into a similar model that is new from the dealer's stock or possibly shipped to your dealer for the trade. You need to ask the Service Manager for info on what Ford can do, possibly also ask to meet with their Area Service Manager and review your options. In the long run it could cost Ford and your dealer a lot less to buy your car back than to let you go Lemon Law on it. You need more info and if the dealer will not help you, call Ford Customer Service and ask if they have a buyback or repurchase program. It will take a lot of legwork and research from you and the dealer but it could be one way out of the problem car, if Ford has a buyback program in place.

Just keep in mind, if you had any negative equity rolled into your original purchase deal or overallowance for any trade, Ford likely will not pay you back for that. If they buy the car back, they may agree to some assistance with the full amount of the loan, but it would be very rare for an Area Service Manager to buy back negative equity, overallowance and any aftermarket items on the deal. You have to meet with the ASM and negotiate, and also keep in mind they will also look at your purchase and service history, both at the dealer and Ford in general. They may be much more willing to help a loyal Ford guy.

 

[ram_man]

I requested the title be fixed. I guess auto correct did its thing at the last minute.

 

[Nick1994]

That car sounds like a nightmare.

What you need to do is just make a phone call to a lemon law attorney and just talk to them about your situation. They charge the manufacturer, not you. You have nothing to lose.

 

[raytseng]

a friend of mine was able to work a deal with the dealer he bought at and had so many problems with to trade in his new car for another new car that was 1 class lower but at least didn't have issues.

From a bluebook perspective, it's a "loss" but he was so frustrated he just wanted to get out of the car deal that didn't work and into a car that did.

The dealer may be up for such a deal for you too.

 

[cashmoney]

The car being a dog and having problems is completely irrelevant to what it is worth and what you owe on it. It does not matter if you paid in full with cash or have a 7 year sucker loan on it. If the car has enough mechanical issues to qualify under lemon law in your state you can make them buy it back form you. Contact an attorney and research your state's lemon law.


If you are upside down meaning you owe more money than the car is worth there is nothing that can be done about that situation...no magic bullet no free lunch. To avoid ever being upside down on a car, next time be smart and put up a bigger down payment or buy a cheaper car for pay cash.

 

[MONKEYMAN]

All cars or trucks I purchased had problems, some more than others.

My concern is if or when you do get this car sold and get the next vehicle it will have problems that are hard to live with.

My experience is it sucks to have debt more than a car with imperfections. So my suggestion would be to do what is best financially.

 

[crazyoildude]

what year and how many miles and what state do you live in.. I may be able to point you in the right direction at no cost to you.

 

[OneEyeJack]

The system is setup so that you just trade this car in on a new set of problems and just carry the balance forward. You're supposed to follow this system. That's why they have such long loan programs, so you can at least make the payments. After a couple of cycles like this you'll be buried so deep you'll have no idea how much you spend on transportation.

As posted above, contact a lemon law legal office. Get out of the car and consider driving something you can afford, even if it's an older car. What you might save can be put toward a new car when you can better afford it. I've never financed a car in my life. I drove junkers lots of times and some of them I really liked. I purchased the Honda in my sig brand new and it's been a daily driver for 31 years and I have no plans to ever sell it. I've owned a lot of cars in my life, bought, fixed up and sold many of them. Look around. There are lots of very good older cars in the hands of private owners that you might just enjoy owning and driving.

 

[ram_man]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
what year and how many miles and what state do you live in.. I may be able to point you in the right direction at no cost to you.


Missouri the cars a 2014 and has 15500 on it.
I currently owe 15,987 thats including all the interest and the 2,200 extended warranty. I probably should have never bought a new car but i thought hey this will give me reliable safe hassle free transportation.

 

[maximus]

$2200 for an extended warranty?? On a Focus?!?!

 

[zach1900]

How long have you been having problems and how many times have you brought it to Ford and they failed to fix it? Seriously no car built in the last half decade should be considered a nightmare. Makes me question Ford's overall reliability. Why haven't you answered anybody if your car qualifies for lemon laws?