Is this a bad idea ?

"TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/07/2017 at 12:41 • Filed to: None

I’ve been considering trading in the Passat even though I’ve only had it for 6 months. I keep looking at the Golf Sportwagon with 4motion. Now that I own a house the hatch would be super nice. I used to borrow my parents 4Runner or Tacoma for these types of things but the passat and the grand marquis don’t move things as well. Probably a bad idea because my car is worth about exactly what I owe on it if not a little less.

Has anyone else traded in a car within the first year of owning it ?

DISCUSSION (25)

HammerheadFistpunch > TDIGuy
04/07/2017 at 12:49

Lots of people do that. You loose a little money but thats true all around.

Textured Soy Protein > TDIGuy
04/07/2017 at 12:55

Not sure how much you’re paying for your Passat but I’ve seen Acura TSX wagons go in the $16-19k range. Might be worth it. But you’d get a bit of a mileage hit and they run on premium.

Nothing > TDIGuy
04/07/2017 at 13:07

I traded in my FoST within a year (about 11 months, actually). Factoring in what I made in monthly payments, and what they gave me for the car, I drove the FoST for a year, and it cost me about $200. Not a bad cost for driving a vehicle for a year.

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > TDIGuy
04/07/2017 at 13:10

My warning in advance: the trade in value on your Passat will be ridiculously low. These things drop in value like crazy. My 2015 with 32k miles is like $12k trade in. Maybe even less.

Dave the car guy , still here > TDIGuy
04/07/2017 at 13:12

Taking that hit from trade in first 1-3 yrs might not be worth it. If you have a Home Depot or Lowes nearby they have truck rental for pretty good prices. I’ve used them twice when stuff wouldn’t fit in out Edge or A3 sportback. More reasonable than most and if real close to your home under $20 for a quick run. Planning out even a full day of large hauling could be more money wise with any rental than taking the loss on the Passat.

Stapleface > HammerheadFistpunch
04/07/2017 at 13:25

Well, I guess the question is are you happy with your Passat?

I played the trade in game for a while because I couldn’t find what I wanted. Granted, I still don’t have it, but I’ve gotten to the point that I know I’ll never find “it” so one just sticking with what I’ve got.

If you see yourself sticking with the Sportwagon long term then it would probably be okay, provided this doesn’t put you upside down.

HammerheadFistpunch > Stapleface
04/07/2017 at 13:26

opps, I think you replied to the wrong person.

wafflesnfalafel > TDIGuy
04/07/2017 at 13:28

A simple problem that more money can solve. (My G’pa did it a number of years ago - bought a base Corolla because it was the “right” thing to buy when he really wanted a Chevy. He traded the Toyota in on a Chev after about 6 months.)

TDIGuy > BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo
04/07/2017 at 13:37

Yeah thats one of my biggest concerns. I am realizing that it is going to put me way upside down if I keep it. I’m putting almost 30K a year on it at this rate. I have 15K on it now and I’ve had it 6 months. I’m wondering if trading out for something that won’t loose value as bad is a good move, or if I should just try to put extra money into it and get it paid down before I’m too far upside down and just drive the wheels off of it

TDIGuy > Textured Soy Protein
04/07/2017 at 13:38

I like that idea but whatever I get needs to be pretty low miles or I need to be able to pay it off quickly since I’m doing almost 30K miles a year

TDIGuy > wafflesnfalafel
04/07/2017 at 13:39

Yeah I know whatever I do will cost more money. Its a dumb problem to have. I like the passat but I have worries even more so with ending up really far upside down on it if I keep driving as much as I do

Stapleface > HammerheadFistpunch
04/07/2017 at 13:39

Yeah, I sure did. Lol. I’m on my phone and far to lazy to type that again.

TDIGuy > Nothing
04/07/2017 at 13:39

Yeah I know I will not ever be that lucky. Not with a VW

TDIGuy > Dave the car guy , still here
04/07/2017 at 13:40

Yeah I mean I think I will be taking a loss on the passat no matter when I trade it in because its depreciating faster than I am paying for it with as much as I drive

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > TDIGuy
04/07/2017 at 13:41

Mine is at 32.5k and it’s in the lemon law process, so mine won’t be a problem for much longer. I’m personally moving to BMW because I’m a BMW aficionado.

If I were you, I’d trade it in before it’s too late.

I’ve treated mine extremely well, yet it managed to disappoint me in the end.

I would never touch another VW product ever again until they can improve reliablity and quality.

I took delivery of it in November 2015 with 20 miles. It should have 40k+ right now, but I’ve had so many loaners I’ve lost count. It’s been at the dealership 13 times for problems (8 for the same verified problem) since I got it.

TDIGuy > Stapleface
04/07/2017 at 13:43

I am mostly happy with the passat. I have no problem keeping it because its been a great car. My worry is a little bit that it is depreciating much faster than I am paying for it, and I am pretty sure I don’t want to still be paying it off when it has 180k miles on it. BEcause I’m doing almost 30K miles a year at the moment. My other option is to put extra money into paying it off sooner

TDIGuy > BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo
04/07/2017 at 13:46

Oh wow. Yeah so far I’ve been lucky but I might try to get out before I loose too much money on it. My other thought is not very practical in the sense that the wagon is but is practical in the sense that it has a good warranty. The new Hyundai Elantra Sport. They are cheap and fun to drive and cheap to own

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > TDIGuy
04/07/2017 at 14:03

Prius V.

It’s the better move for this, IF you were going to go down this path.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > TDIGuy
04/07/2017 at 14:05

Prius V, IF you were going to go down this path. And yes, you can trade it in just fine. The other option is try to sell it on your own for 2-3 months before trading it in.

shop-teacher > TDIGuy
04/07/2017 at 14:11

If you just really want the Sportwagon, and you’re comfortable eating a bit of a loss, then sure go ahead. Financially though the smart move would be to put the extra money to paying it off sooner. The Golf Sportwagon will also depreciate quickly, and you’ll be right back where you started. I totally get needing to haul some bigger things now that you have a house. Your can buy a utility trailer for a few hundred bucks and tow it with the Passat for those runs.

Textured Soy Protein > TDIGuy
04/07/2017 at 14:20

Well I don’t know your budget so what do you mean by “able to pay off quickly”? A Golf Sportwagen S 4Motion, including destination charge, is $24,650 for manual or $25,750 for automatic.

I saw your MD plates in your Passat post so I did a quick search based on my parents’ zip code in MD and there aren’t any TSX wagons nearby. Expanding the radius to 100 miles there are some in the $22-24k range. So practically speaking, it’s not an option.

It’s weird because when I search around me in WI there are fewer of them, but they’re also not as expensive. Like this one has 41k miles on it but I’m assuming with your super high miles it’s mostly highway anyway so who cares? With an asking price a hair under $20k and some haggling, that would definitely be cheaper than the Golf.

But then again, such a car does not exist near you so this is all hypothetical. ;)

TDIGuy > Textured Soy Protein
04/07/2017 at 15:30

Well it is true that really speaking the new golf would not change my payments / payoff time at all so really the option is out. But I want to find something in that 15K range with sub 50k miles on it hopefully. And yeah there are no TSX wagons around here so hard to find

TDIGuy > shop-teacher
04/07/2017 at 15:31

I thought about that but the problem with the utility trailer is that I bought a town house with no parking for a trailer

shop-teacher > TDIGuy
04/07/2017 at 16:28

Gotcha. Not even one of the folding Harbor Freight jobs? That’s what I’ve got, it does the job around town, and folds up and tucks into the front of my garage when I’m not using it.

TDIGuy > shop-teacher
04/07/2017 at 19:23

That might work if I could get that around to my back yard where I’d have to keep it. Unfortunately my townhouse doesn’t have a garage but I do have one of those big rubbermaid storage things that I could probably use to keep it in