The big question

R1FIGHTER

Member
Do i trade my 06 jetta in with 107K for an 08 Mazda 5?
The problem is that I'd have to roll over 3k. That means I'd be paying almost 18k for 14k car. My jetta is due for some major repairs and is a costly car to maintain. My pregnant wife would start driving this car due to mpg and auto.

What would you do?
 
18K for a 08 seems like a steep price. We got our 08 for 14k and it turns out If I would have done some research I could of prolly got it for at least 2k cheaper.
 
He said the car is 18k because he'd have to roll over 3k from his Jetta's car loan to the new car loan.

I'd negotiate up the trade in value of the Jetta and negotiate down the purchase price of the 5 if I were you. Or try to pay off as much of that $3k difference as possible.
 
He said the car is 18k because he'd have to roll over 3k from his Jetta's car loan to the new car loan.

I'd negotiate up the trade in value of the Jetta and negotiate down the purchase price of the 5 if I were you. Or try to pay off as much of that $3k difference as possible.

Yeah this sounds like your best bet...if you are dead set on the first one you saw ...or look around like you did. Good Luck
 
WELL... The few that I looked at on my way home were nice but the dealer, a larger "buying group" offered me $3500 for the jetta. (omg)
I think I'm going to bite the bullet. this car will be driven by my wife most of the time and at the rate of 12K miles a year.
 
Is that 3500 net allowance for the Jetta? Even with 107K, Edmonds says trade is at least 8000.00. What is pulling the value down 4500 bucks?
 
I have no clue how they came up with the number. 8000 vs 3500 is drastic. I walked out of there saying "have fun trying to feed your family"
 
Ouch that Jetta is killing you! You have 2 choices: dump it for a loss or hold onto it pretty much forever. Holding means that when you are no longer upside down, you have a stronger bargain, as you do not need the dealer to rescue you and you can sell privately for more cash. Can your wife learn to drive manual?

If you trade, DO NOT let them discuss monthly payments, or they will talk you into a bigger hole than you already are in! Settle on a total price, have a backup financer already approved from outside the dealer, and then look for their financing options to be better than what you have in hand. When you are done, you pretty much need to hold onto the Mazda5 for almost the entire loan period to prevent this from happening again (or pray for $6/gallon gas and a population explosion to make the 5 worth more than you paid for it)
 
In October 2009 I had a similar problem...

I owned a 2007 Hyundai Accent that I bought before the 3500$ price cut (in Quebec Canada). I must have gotten the end of the week crappy copy... I was stuck with it and a price difference of about 4000$ (loan versus exchange price at Hyundai dealer).

Then came the 2009 Mazda liquidation - went in to negotiate the price, not the payments. When they said they could not do better, I answered it's not enough, got up and started leaving. Then they asked the question of all questions "Can you afford to pass up this deal?" I said "Yup!"

They came to get me outside, brought me back in and I negotiated another 1000 bucks in the price. I did not have a problem leaving the "deal" behind me. I had another car waiting outside - in "good condition". As I said to them, it's not because I have to change car, it's because I want to. I managed to get the price of the exchange up by 1500$ + taxes. I also got free accessories (tinted windows, rubber bumper cover, small antenna...). At this point I could not pass up the deal.

Using this type of negotiation tactic, you should work out great for you. All that being said, I do believe there is hope for your situation.
 
Last edited:
Yah... walking away will either get you the best deal possible or worse case scenario empty handed without a purchase you'd suffer from buyers remorse from right away. There is one dealer out there who has THE Mazda 5 for you who absolutely wants your business, it'll take a few tries to find that guy but until then do not settle until you find the best deal that is also financially responsible.

I still think you should meet halfway and pay off at least half the deficit in form of a downpayment possibly in the same amount the major repairs were going to equal, after you made a deal.
 
Last edited:
Yah... walking away will either get you the best deal possible or worse case scenario empty handed without a purchase you'd suffer from buyers remorse from right away.

No remorse... IF I was really ready to let it all go !
In this case, I was !


There is one dealer out there who has THE Mazda 5 for you who absolutely wants your business, it'll take a few tries to find that guy but until then do not settle until you find the best deal that is also financially responsible.

I do agree with what you are telling R1FIGHTER. The "financially responsible" part should be in bold bright red! Been there-done that "financially unresponsible" guy. I learned my lesson.


I still think you should meet halfway and pay off at least half the deficit in form of a downpayment possibly in the same amount the major repairs were going to equal, after you made a deal.

Dealers commonly play with the buyback amount of the trade in vehicle. If I see R1FIGHTER's car for sale on a lot, I automatically take off 2000$ off the price and that should be the price R1FIGHTER has gotten. Profit, brakes, tires and such... is usually worth 2000 bucks.

R1FIGHTER - how much is you car sold on the market right now?

Just a thought :
If you sell it, you can manage a deal with the Mazda dealer to do the transaction for you, credit taxes and such + finance the difference on the new car. This way, you might have less than half the amount to pay out of your pocket. If you do the math, it might cost less per month !
(boom04)​
 
As a former car salesman, I have experienced many deals where the customer was 'upside down' (owed lots more than the car is worth).

Taxes, extended warranty, undercoat, and many other business office add-ons at the dealership will seriously overload the loan value of that car purchase.

It is no big deal to roll all that outstanding debt into the new car loan, but it really makes the problem worse-your $16 500 Mazda 5 could easily have more than $20 000 borrowed against it. Subtract the 30% depreciation that new cars experience when registered by the new owner, and one week into ownership, you are upside down by $10 000.

In you case, R1FIGHTER, if I understand your situation correctly, you owe $6500 on your Jetta and are offered a $3500 trade allowance by the dealer. Is that right?

If you accept the deal as offered, this will require you to finance an extra $3000+.
I assume that the dealer has deducted from the Jetta's value the cost of those 'major repairs'? If this is correct, consider finding a loan for the longest term possible (60-72 months) and include an extended warranty with a massive mileage allowance.

Sounds like your best option is to forget to remove the keys while parked in a dark side street.
 
Last edited:
I'm going through with the deal. The dealer offered 7k for my car, and I owe 10 on it. The mazda is 14k and I'm rolling over the 3. Sucks, but at least I'm getting a cool, versitle car.
 
The Jetta is only four years old, it's still a very nice car.

I'd keep the Jetta for at least another couple of years, see what the redesigned '11 Mazda 5 offers. Do not get an '06 or '07 Mazda5, too many issues with tire wear. Specifically, out of alignment from the factory (toe).
 
I'm not sure you made a wise decision but that's your call really. I hope you're making aggressive payments for the 5 so at least you get the principal owing down to below the value of the car.

If the deal's not done yet, why don't you look at a brand new 5 at 0% financing?? Unless you have some really good interest rate with the used 08, the payments might work out to be the same if the 0% is combined with some incentive.

If the deal is done and you're happy, congrats. :)
 
7K trade on a Jetta that has major repairs due, is worth considering. As for new vs used, the dealer has a much higher profit margin on the used 5 than on a new one. That profit is being put into the trade allowance on the Jetta. R1FIGHTER may not get as high an offer on a new 5, IMO.
 
wow 14K for a used 08? Its amazing how good the resale is on these cars. I think the leftover 09 I just got is worth more than I paid for it! I would only be worried that the 08 is a rental car, there are so many out there its ridiculous.
 

New Threads and Articles

Back