NightRider

I must sell my TL. It is a 5AT with NAVI and all season mats and tinted windows. Because of being upside down on my previous vehicle, my total loan on the TL was almost $41K. Because insurance costs will be so high, I cannot afford to pay $1000 or more a month for this car. So sadly, I must downgrade. First, how much could I expect to get for the TL with (by the time I sell it) 10-11K miles and what would be the best strategy for getting rid of it for the most money? Second, what would be a decently performing(enough performance at least to keep me out of another accident if worst came to worse) sedan or coupe in the $10K area that is reliable? I am wagering I will not get more than $31K for the TL, which means I will be around $9K in the hole plus whatever the new car is. I was thinking about something like a 97 Prelude SH or 98 Integra sedan or similar. And no, I will not turn it into a burner. I DO NOT like the interiors of Nissans and therefore have ruled most of those cars out. Suggestions and advice? Thanks

direk_04TL

wow, that IS a crisis man. and losing the TL is the worst crisis of all -- sorry to rub it in, but I do feel your pain. IMHO, your best bet is to check with nadaguides.com or kbb.com to find out how much value your car has and go from there. ive had very good experience with carmax.com.

as with the replacement car, insurance wise, youre not going to get a great deal with a Prelude SH or an Integra -- these cars are stolen all the time for parts, thus, you would pay premium for insurance. on that note, a car that has been on the top 10 most stolen car list is the Honda Civic Si.

i guess youre in a dilemma that requires a lot of thinking and planning. anyway, good luck with whatever you decide. and MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!

PopTarts

I would say if you're planning to keep it for a while, you can get an 2004 Hyundai Elantra GT for about $11.5k (right now there is a $1500 cash incentive, which takes it below the $13k invoice).

While I am currently considering a '05 6MT/Navi TL, after driving my friend's brand new Elantra GT I came away very impressed. It handled very well and has decent power for something so cheap (136hp, I think).

It comes with perforated vinyl leather, and an MP3 player is standard (can't get that in a 04 TL! :P). Combine that with Hyundai's increasing reliability (this year tied for 2nd best reliability for new cars with Honda) and the nice warranty, and you'll have a car that's cheap but still has some style and zip.

I know if I couldn't afford the TL for some reason, I would get that in a heartbeat. Even if you weren't thinking of getting a new car, you might want to at least test drive one to see how you like it over a 6-7 year old car.

sbuswell

That really sucks man. You honestly would be lucky to get 30k in a private sale, if you take it to a dealership you'll between 26-28k really! Sell it private sale! But what sucks is you don;t own the title and you won't until you pay off loan. Which means you may go a little while without a car unless person that's going to buy it is willing to work with you and wait a little bit. So that leaves you 11k upside down and with what seems to be a 20k limit on your next vehicle purchase that leaves you 9k to buy a car that is reliable and has good power. Question: Did you know what you were getting into when you decided on the 04 TL? Did you believe over 40k to finance would be affordable or was it an impulse buy? Never the less, lets say origanally you owed 45k all together on your TL thats about 750/m on average for a car payment, if you go to 30k your at about 600/m. Check out a 99 TL-S with navi 50k or less mileage should be between 16-19k that brings you to 27-30k if you private sell. Insurance for 99 TL is cheap no tranny problems for 99 TL's and you get what I think is a better looking TL(don't like new styling as much as old) only 10 less HP from 270 to 260. Go for that or if 20-22k is all you can afford then I suggest 98-99 Subaru Impreza RS 5spd, w/60-80k miles you should be able to find one around 9-12k range. 165hp 4cyl, AWD most have spoilers and sunroofs, cd players, nice interior and fun to drive, also very reliable. Check out sites like vehix.com and autoweb.com when you are looking for next vehicle. Good luck.

1SICKLEX

Most Acuras are cheap so you shouldn't have a problem buying an Acura one way or the other.
TSX
RSX
TL
discontinued CL are still on dealer lots

William_B

Take the bus.

Aegir

Bus it until your out of the hole...Sorry. That's what I would do.