Suggestions on new car

We were discharged on 10/08, and we are currently doing a ride-through on a 2008 Nissan Versa through Chase. We purchased the car last March, with a 72 month loan at 10.95% (was our only option at the time).

I commute with the Versa and put on about 25k miles a year. I already have 31K miles on the car. I would love to get out of the 72 month loan and find a way to both lower my rate and lower the term to say 60 months max (preferably 48). I know most people recommend buying a late model\used vehicle, which I am all for, but my concern is with the amount of miles I put on. We certainly don't have the cash to buy anything right now either.

I know I can walk away from my current vehicle at any time since we didn't reaffirm. My scores right now range from 618 to 698. I haven't applied for an auto-loan, although Cap-One sends me offers from time-to-time.

Thoughts?

The biggest problem I would see is how much are you going to have to roll from the Versa into a "new" vehicle? Most banks now are loaning around 120% of NADA Trade value for a used vehicle. So if a car has a $10000 wholesale value the bank will loan around $12500 or so. Now, if that car has a $10000 wholesale value that means the dealer is going to ask around $12000 for the car, add tax and title in, you are pretty much at the max the bank will loan. If you are carrying $2000 or so of your old car into the new one, you may have a hard time getting approved. This is called Loan to value (for those who dont know that). Intrest rates on new cars now (bank rates) for A+ credit run anywhere from 5.00% to 6.50% up to 72 months...for used cars with A+ credit depending on year they are running from 6% - 10%....so your rate may NOT be lower from what you are paying now.....good luck!!


I just saw that you didn't reaffirm...MY BAD!.......try to get approved first before walking away obviously to see what rates you can get........we are seeing mid 600 scores on 2005/2006 models right now at 10%-12% through Chase,Cap One, etc.....