Hello all!
This is my first post on the forums, but I have been devouring all of MMM's posts since I learned about the blog last week. Virtually all of the advice and ideals resonate with me and I am on-board with the lifestyle and ready to start cutting expenses like there's no tomorrow (all though cutting expenses and saving is done to have[ a better tomorrow, but you get the point).
There's just one small (read: huge) problem that I am facing; my 2014 Nissan Versa Note that I *shudders* fully financed *cough cough cough*. Yes, I know, what was I thinking? Well, I was working as a car salesman at the time and my current hand-me-down '93 Cadillac Deville decided it was done with me. Naturally, I did what a good consumer should do and I bought a brand new car with no downpayment and an obscene interest rate! I was 19 years old at the time (now 20) and I had no credit history, I have no idea how I was able to receive financing in the first place.
In my defense, it's the most Mustachian new car I could possibly buy, right? RIGHT? I mean, it's a base 5-speed hatchback with manual windows and I average 38mpg in it! No, I know; I am a moron.
Now for the painful part. I work 24 miles away from my apartment in the gridlocked Mustache-Dystopia of Dallas, Texas. I bought this car in September of 2013 and I am already about to cross the 20,000 Mile mark. According to KBB, that means my car is worth about 10k and that is without factoring in the depreciation from the dents/scratches in my bumper from the 91 year old lady who backed in to me in a parking lot (her license was literally expiring the next day, why was she on the road?!?). The insurance companies are jerking me around and she is blaming it on my brother who was driving (parked) at the time, but I digress.
So, my car is worth roughly 10k and depreciating rapidly, and I owe 15k! on it. My interest rate is 11.93% and it is on a 72 month note... God, that hurts to type.
I really do not know how to handle this. I will be moving to within 5 miles of my workplace within the next 4 months and I plan on biking as much as possible. I want to buy a used xA, Versa Hatch, or Yaris for ~6k and pay it off as soon as possible to eliminate my car payment and only be required to maintain liability insurance. Though, before I do that I must deal with the current situation. I am going to try to refinance to a lower rate and pay it down to the point that I am no longer upside-down on the note and then sell it. Is that really my only intelligent option? Perhaps I should just pay the entire note off as soon as possible and keep the car until it falls apart? Any and all advice (proceeding the face-punches) is appreciated.
Thanks ahead of time!