am3gross

Usually dont put personal stuff out there like this, BUT I am interested. I have gotten into a loan with a caddy and well i am just not happy. I have had it 2 years and i am planning on trading around my 3 year mark. The problem is the amount of depreciation this particular car has suffered. I am sure there will be some negative when its time to trade, just wandering what the limit would be.

thanks in advance

thill444

Depends on your credit.

You won't like this answer, but don't do it. Either keep the car or sell it and buy something cheap until you can save up money to buy a Corvette. Corvette's depreciate quite a bit the first couple years too, so you will be just digging a deeper hole.

Example let's say you have $10K negative equity on the Caddy. You buy a $50K base Corvette and roll that $10K into the car. You now are making payments on a $60K car that will be worth maybe $42-43K tops the minute you drive it off the lot..

23/C8Z

agree.

disaster to buy hi dollar car and dump in 3 years. unless you put at least 20% down. even then maybe you break even. no way around it. put the negative equity in the vette and you pay msrp will be one way to male yourself whole. but no matter how you do it you're out a ton.

throw the make model and mileage out there what are we looking at?

am3gross

Thanks for the reply! Your right i dont like your answer! Lol!

i get the negative stuff but here is the main reason i want to do it.. i am in the miliary, i have 5 years and 4 months till retirement, i would like to buy around the 5 year mark so that my dream/retirement present will be paid off. If i wait till the caddy is paid off i will be into my retirement fund. I could sell it but again i am not sure i would be able to do it before my 5 year mark

2014 caddilac ats sticker was 47k kbb right now 20-25k trade in, had it for 2 years going on 3. It was a bad decision buying this car, nice beautiful car just not for me.

Mileage is 18500

patentcad

If your credix be good, I don't think there's much limit.

This can't end well.

mksz51

You're digging a deep hole deeper. That's not a good idea. Shelve your ideas and ego and ride this out until you are "even". Then - start over and make a good decision. If you're retiring from the military I assume you are fairly young. You have plenty of time - do the responsible thing.

curve65

I hear ya. Been there a time or two. Either way you're going to be out some dough, the question is at the end of it - do you want to be sitting in the Caddy or the Vett? Me, I think I'd rather be sitting in the vette. Yeah, if I was working my tail off and had to suck up some loss, I'd rather walk out at the end of the day to AB C7. But, that's just me and I've never been that smart anyway IMHO. In any which case, good luck and happy motoring to ya!

NSC5

Depreciation for the Cadillac ATS is very bad. I have a 2014 ATS as a daily driver and it is the first car I have bought in years that I didn't order. My 2008 CTS was in for a recall and I had been thinking about trading it in and was looking at a new 2014 ATS while I was waiting. A salesperson came over and I took it for a short test drive and liked it, went home and did some research and had in mind what I thought was a reasonable deal. When I went back the salesperson's opening offer was $3k less than my hoped for negotiated deal so I did far better than I expected and also took advantage of a loyalty rebate, $1,000 GM certificate, and $2,000 in GM card points so I didn't get hurt. My ATS had been sitting on the lot for 3 months and had 33 miles on it when I bought it and I expect the reason it sat and they were willing to deal was because it is a RWD premium trim with summer tires and I bought it near the end of winter

If you buy a new ATS or CTS (now CT6 I guess) at anything close to MSRP the depreciation will kill you. When I bought my 2008 CTS even at MSRP it would have been a good deal referenced to a comparable BMW or MB but one of Cadillac's many current problems is trying to price many of their new vehicles beyond its true market standing. The division is hoping to achieve true luxury car prices with a very inconsistent dealer service network and resulting service level. It is an almost but not quite great product.

At the price I paid with all of the discounts I am happy with the ATS. With its light weight, 3.6L DI engine, and summer performance tires it is fun to drive. And unlike my Z06 I can put the accelerator to the floor without worrying about the rear end stepping out or getting to felony level speed too quickly

I retired at age 55 in December 2015 and ordered my 2016 Z06 as a retirement gift to myself so I understand fully the idea of a nice retirement "bonus". But make sure the financial side works out where you are comfortable instead of looking at a car that is absorbing too much of your discretionary spending. I love my Z06 but if it were a financial dark cloud hanging over me I would feel very differently about it.

Higgs Boson

There is always a limit and it depends on the bank or credit union (and of course the borrower/buyer). Great credit and an aggressive lender can be 125% loan to value and on the other end of the spectrum the buyer might have to put money down for an LTV below 100%.

lakemg

A good compromise would be to sell the caddy and then go buy a gently used (depreciated) C7. There are tons of them out there so I'm sure that you could find a good one.

NinjamanZ51

If you want a C7 bad enough, you'll make it happen no matter what! Just make sure it doesn't put you in a worse situation.

patentcad

125% LTV doesn't strike me as very limiting. Imagine those killjoy bankers actually INSISTING YOU HAVE A LITTLE SKIN IN THE CAR with this unAmerican LTV below 100% crap. What's UP with that?

I think once you go over 100% LTV you really start to edge over into the my credix be good zone and said credix don't stay so good for so long.

But yes by all means, buy a rapidly depreciating 'asset' (I use that term euphemistically here, cars are assets like donuts are real food) with no money down, or better finance more than the retail value of the car.

Let us know how that works our for you. Only kidding, you don't have to, some of us already know. Maybe that makes us clairvoyant.

Supersonic 427

It is true if you are "upside down" in your trade and trade for another car, you are digging the hole deeper. Sometimes though, with a large enough discount and incentives you may not be as bad as you think. Keep in mind you really have to shop your trade value and find the dealer that will discount generously. Too bad, most do not do both!
Another way to look at it...would you rather be upside down in the Vette or the Caddy?

Hopper12

I applaud you for asking this type of question on the forum. The fact that you're asking tells me that 'the little voice is telling you it's a bad idea'. Listen to the little voice.

As you prepare for retirement, you will sleep better knowing that you're knocking all your debt down and owing little or nothing as you retire.

We all suffer from the same disease - we love cars, and cars in general - and sports cars specifically - are a very emotional purchase.

I would follow the suggestions that other have made - work to pay your Caddy down so you're not upside down. Sell it and take some equity and find a gently used C7 - - there are lots of them out there. This way you only eat the larger first 2-3 year depreciation on the car you already have. Then you can let some other sucker take the depreciation hit on the C7 (like me, selling our '15 to get the new GS ). Then you can pay off the C7 before you retire and enjoy!!


PS: heard a report on the radio last week that currently 60% of cars traded in the US have negative equity. This can't be good for the medium-long term health of the auto industry. After the housing bust and major recession, Americans got a bit smarter with credit for a period. Not any longer.

R8Z51

I don't know how people flock to dealerships to get a new car on a 96 month loan and on top of that, $15,000 cash back which they pay tons of interest on but they don't care at the time of signing because they're getting money in their pockets. Absolutely mind boggling.

joemessman

Good point. Remember when the maximum length of auto loan was 36 months? There was a good reason for that.

am3gross

Everyone here is making very good points, all of them i am taking in. In my 5 year plan that i have i will have all my bills paid off except the house. Even if i buy the vette it to would be paid off in this plan. Yes i would have to change my plans for the last 3 years as i would take an assignment that offers a bonus to make sure my plan works out vs an asssignment that would make me lazy.

I have thought about waiting till my true retirement to buy, keeping the caddy, and using it as my daily instead of my truck. But then i have a carpayment during my retirement and dont know how that will be.

thankyou everyone for the honest comments. It is much appreciated.

mike

Sailfun

A car payment should not exceed 10% of your gross pay. If you can do it within that number then go for it.

patentcad

Sigh. The problem with Corvettes is unlike other pricey vehicles, there are no factory subsidized leasing programs to bring the cost down to a reasonable monthly payment that allows you to reach for a car that you really can't afford. I'm guilty of it, I've done that a couple of times over the past 20 years, but with sedans from BMW and Lexus. I knew I couldn't really comfortably afford the car at the time but the $599 payment or whatever was easy to handle.

So if there's any one reason Corvettes skew to an AARP demographic it's that Americans mostly have common sense and buy cars they can afford, and the vast majority of men (with all due respect to the Corvette ladies out there my guess is that this car sells to an audience that's 95%+ male) who have the financial wherewithal to comfortably handle a $50-$80K sports car are older dudes with kids who are out of college, paid for homes and money in the bank after a lifetime of work.

Let me rephrase that. LUCKY older dudes who meet the above criteria who haven't had the friggin rug pulled out from them like so many 50+ friends, acquaintances and relatives I know. If you're 20-50 years old and you can pay cash for a C7, God Bless You, God Bless America, and thank you for not buying a friggin Porsche.

joeking

I would trade in the Caddy and buy a used Corvette. There are plenty of nice ones out there. You could also go with the base 2017 1LT and have a low payment and use the incentives. I have always thought the Cadillacs to be one of the fastest depreciating cars on the road. Corvettes hold their value very well. If you check out the prices of used 2014 Corvettes many of them are not that far off from the price of a brand new 2017.