How do I turn 2 cars into 1 new car?

[Alan T]

I have an annoying issue that I'm trying to figure out how to deal with. Because of various reasons I ended up with two cars from my divorce a few years ago, both having car payments that end in the middle of 2008. Both cars are now about 6-7 years old with roughly 1 year or $3500 - $4000 left owed on either of them. The big problem is both are starting to enter the point where they have annoying repair costs that I would have to deal with. I likely would have $1000 - $1200 worth of repairs on both of them in the next 4-5 months. Since neither car are worth the amount left owed on them (as usually seems the case), I would have to figure both cars are somewhere around $3000 - $3400 in value if I was to try to sell them.

I don't really have the time or knowledge or desire to try to sell either one via paper or car magazine myself, so I am trying to figure out what the best way to turn both of these cars into a new car is. Do car dealerships accept two tradeins on new car purchases? Should I look at somewhere like a CarMax that specializes in used car sells as well?

I figure if I pay $1000 - $1500 extra to pay off the amount owed and trade in both cars, for a new car my monthly payment actually drops, plus instead of paying $2000 worth of repairs, I only pay $1000 - $1500 that would be owed to the bank anyhows.. Any thoughts or help?

[flere-imsaho]

CarMax is the least amount of hassle, and while you'll probably get more than just selling them to a dealership, you wouldn't be getting a lot.

So, another thing you could try is Craigslist, where you might be able to get closer to Blue Book value. Just make sure the payment itself is cash/cashier's cheque.

[Bee]

I'd at least take them to CarMax and see what they'd give you for them. That is probably the least amount of hassle.

[Alan T]

I'll look into Craigslist also, but never used it before so not sure how much I would like it.

Along the Carmax theme, the closest one to me is in a different state and a bit of a drive. Are there other places like carmax that I could check to see if there are any in my area? I doubt a regular dealership would accept two cars as a trade in right?

[chesapeake]

I just sold my 2000 Ford Explorer Sport to CarMax about 2 months ago. I got about $100 more than blue book value, which was about $1,200 more than the dealer offered me. They were very professional and had me in and out in about 3 hours, including all the appraisal and processing.

Looking in the Washington Post, I might have been able to get up to $1k more had I tried to sell it myself. But that certainly would have taken more effort on my part with no guarantee that I would have done any better. And with a private sale, I would have run the risk of an irate buyer coming back at me if the wheel dropped off two weeks later.

One thing about CarMax, they won't take a car that has has been in an accident. So if you've had some body work done, they may not be an option.

[Swaggs]

Alan, a regular dealership will be able to take two trade-ins for one car.

Where you may run into trouble is with the negative equity you have. If, for example, you owe $4500 on a car that is only worth $3500, they have to find a way to finance that extra $1000 into your new car loan. If you have pretty good credit, lenders will usually allow you between 110%-130% of the new car's value. You can also make up the difference with a down payment (cash!) or manufacturer rebates.

Unless you buy a very inexpensive car, you should probably be alright, since it doesn't sound like you have a ton of negative equity, you have some cash for a downpayment, you will likely have some rebates available (depending on the vehicle), and you can always negotiate down the MSRP.

If you have any specific questions, send me a PM and I can get back to you later tonight.