Hot dang! Problem solved! Even more debt here I come! Lol!

 

First things first, I'm not trying to burst your bubble, but it is unrealistic and economically unsound to "trade in" any vehicle 6 months into the purchase.
I know that you put some money down, but unless that took care of all of the taxes and registration fees PLUS the dealership's profit margin, you owe more than what its worth.
Yes, as you stated, you have made 5-6 payments of which on a 72 month loan, is almost all interest. So not much if any principal is paid down.
Another aspect to look at is the fact your car has depreciated. I know its a GT500, but the fact of the matter is that there is a new Sheriff in town, its the 2010 GT500 with 540 horsepower, better interior, and subjectively better appearance. Dealer addendums are a thing of the past, unless dealing with slimy dirtbag dealers who are looking for that sucker born every minute. So the fact you can buy a 2010 or 2011 GT500 for less than MSRP brings down the value of your used and modified GT500.
So let's be positive now. Let's say you owe exactly what its worth and can walk away from it without oweing a penny more. Now you are looking at a new Mustang. Simple math says that a 72 month loan on $25,000 total out the door, not $25,000 plus taxes, equals roughly $400 a month. That doesn't give much room for anymore car does it? Here in Michigan, sales tax is 6%. So that would put the purchase price at just over $23,500.
We can always throw all of that out the door IF you sell it yourself!
By the way, I though Five Oh Brian said he had a 2008 GT500 with low miles on his lot for under $35,000?
I hope this gives you some perspective without dashing your hopes. Besides, you can do whatever you want and as long is it makes you happy, its ok.

 

Ford dealer where I am is selling a used GT500 for just shy of 40k. Though I don't know what options it had, and it may have been an 09 rather than an 08. Not sure.

 

If you do sell or trade in the GT500, one thing I'd definitely do is take all of the parts off you've added and return the car to stock. The parts you added will add little to nothing to the value of the car, and you can sell them for (hopefully) 50-75% of what you paid for them to get some of your money back, which could go towards some principal on your loan to help you be not so much upside down.

If you're really serious at that point about saving money while still having an S197 Mustang, you could then go out and buy a nice used 2005-06 GT for half of what a new one would cost.

 

Agree - I would think about removing the modifications and selling them separately.

 

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/Cars-Tru...c0.m282&_rdc=1

some completed auctions

http://motors.completed.shop.ebay.co...c0.m283&_rdc=1

kelly blue book states 36 to 40k a dealership will offer 3 to 4k under that.

 

I appreciate everyone with their feedback, both good and bad. Of course, nothing is set in stone. I have a pretty solid foundation with a local dealership over the years, so I am hoping I can work with them in order to get as close to what I owe as I can. I have pretty nice interest rate on the car as well as paying for well over the tax, title, license, and profit from the dealer put into the car. I don't know what is going to happen, one way or the other, but I know for sure a couple of things need to happen:

1) The GT500 needs to be sold
2) The add-on parts minus the navigation system need to be removed and sold outright regardless of trading in or selling outright

I am going to continue to do some research and soul searching to determine what I can do. Either way this turns out, I know I will be better off than I am right now.

Again, thank you to everyone. Please keep your suggestions coming.

 

It sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders. I'm sure everything will work out for you. Good luck!

 

Either way, I would wait until you drive the cars. The V6 might surprise (or it might disappoint). Also, the more you wait, the cheaper the '10 models will be, if you decide to go that route.

In either case, don't drive yourself mad thinking about it until they actually get here for you to test drive.

Now, if i can only follow my own advice......

 

72 month loans are brutal...and when you've already rolled a negative loan into this loan (which is probably why they suckered you into a 6 year loan to get the payments down where they are now, but I bet you're paying some hefty interest) the Last thing you want to do is roll more depreciation into another new car. Its hard to really give advice without all the info, like monthly payments, current interest rate and payoff. I think your best bet is to enjoy the car you've purchased for the next 67 months...and then take a break from payments for awhile. Its a great feeling not to have car payments.

 

The smartest Financial decision that involves still having at least a 300 hp mustang would be to buy my vert.

Think of it.... ~$300 per month?

Ladies love Verts!......

5 speed? awesome red leather? Huge aftermarket?

I just don't see how buying a brand new car is smart with your money... especially when you are thinking about your future. Take it from a guy who has been crunching a LOT of numbers recently...

buy a well cared for used mustang. get married. live in financial prosperity with all of the money you saved and the top down.

ok...ok... I'll try to stop selling you my car now....but thanks for listening to one last sales pitch!

 

I just bought a 2010 GT this weekend so I thought I'd throw my .02 cents in. I was planning on waiting for the 2011, but some of the deals you can get on the 2010's can't be passed up in my opinion. I was in a 2004 GT, so a 2010 GT for me was an upgrade as opposed to your downgrade in performance, but I can't stop raving about the quality. After the 'brute', unrefined ride of the '04 GT (Bone stock, and never drove the 05-09) the 2010 almost feels like it shouldn't be a Mustang. But I'll get off that subject because I'm sure you've read all the reviews and opinions.
What I will say is that I thought I wouldn't be happy with a 4.6 and really wanted to wait for the 5.0, but its going to be a daily driver for me in the city, so I'm rarely able to really open it up and those extra 100 horses will rarely be properly used. Not to mention I got it for 2k under invoice before the 2k in rebates, and 3.9%APR from Ford Motor Credit. Don't want to get personal, but it sounds like your in a good financial situation to really afford either option so its hard for me to give proper advice. If you want a good deal and can settle for the 100 HP difference and lack of the '5.0' badge on the side, get the '10. If you know in your gut that you'll regret it everytime you see a 5.0, wait for it. Either way, I could use some of these 'tough' decisions in my life! Your getting an awesome American made beast either way my friend!

 

Honestly, I don't have a HUGE interest on the current car, that is not the problem. I do appreciate everyone's advice and the best thing to do is go with my guy like you are saying. 2K under invoice + 2K in rebates and a 3.9% APR would actually be perfect to get the payment exactly where I want. At least, most likely. Where did you get that deal? What state and city? And what was the dealer's name? That may be some helpful info to pull up to the table when going to look. I think I am in the same boat at you. Most of the time, my car is in day to day driving with bumper to bumper traffic. I don't have enough highway to use half of the horsepower that I have current. If I were to get a car with 300+ horsepower, I think that would definitely be more than enough. Because I am in bumper to bumper traffic most of the time, it is almost making me consider an automatic. Maybe even a convertible, but not likely because I like the lines of the coupe too much, heh. Plus, it would be cheaper. I can always hop up a 4.6L with more horsepower and goodies down the road, but again, why would I need to if I can't use the horsepower? I would just like to have a nice, mean looking ride that sounds good and is great for commuting as well as the occasional road trip. And obviously, the payments have to be right.

Again, please continue to keep the advice coming.

Thank you!

 

Dealer is in the Denver, CO area. I'm at work right now so don't have the salesmans email on me. I'll PM you with the contact details when I get home tonight. I know you said your in San Antonio, and not sure if you would want to take a trip up here to buy a car or not, but on top of trying to move the '10's for the incoming '11's Winter is a great time to buy a Mustang around here in terms of getting a good deal. At the very least, you could get a quote from the sales guy up here to take to your local dealer for a bargaining tool. Don't have to tell him where the dealer is located

 

Yep, but it's an 07 GT500. 14K miles and sale priced at $34,950. We don't negotiate, so that's the bottom line. Click here for pics/details. An 08 GT500 with 13K miles like the OP's will likely trade in for about $33K-$34K. Would likely sell privately for about $36K. So, 08Shelby, if you owe significantly more than $34K that will just compound into the payments of the new Mustang you buy. Every $1K you're upside down will add almost $15/month to the new loan (depending on tax credits).

We have several brand new 2010 Mustang GT TrackPacks on sale. Click here to see them all. They are priced around $28K after our discounts (below the invoice total) and rebates in our region. With no trade-in and no cash down, these are about $540/month for 72 months with all tax & license included for a local resident. If you're upside down in trade by just $5K, that's gonna bump your payments on one of these to $570/month. If you're $10K upside down, you'd be looking at roughly $650/month. Probably not in line with your goals?

As several have said, trading in the GT500 so soon just doesn't make sense financially. You'll likely end up with a higher payment in the process.

 

Can you PM me the info too? I'm in the market for a 2010 and if I could get 2k under invoice + 2k in rebate I would probably pull the trigger. I live up in Greeley and I'm not sure Spradley Barr is dealing on them like that and just invoice -2k isnt good enough for me

 

This is precisely why I chose a '10 over an '11 because this car was going to be my daily driver. I would LOVE to have more power, but based on my usage pattern, it was hard for me to justify the wait and the expense for an '11. I also like to think I got the "last run" of the 4.6L, which some people might say is "good riddance" but I think for what the engine does and running on 87 octane gas, it's a nice "commuter" (use that term in the relative sense among the Mustang line-up).

Agree - coupe = beautiful lines & less expensive!

And this is the great dilemma and why I now adhere to the "a Mustang for every use" philosophy! However, my wallet is more limited than my "for every use" list.

 

By this statement of purpose, the V6 would be the more obvious answer. The 2011 will have 300+ HP and still have the room of the GT and be thousands of dollars cheaper (a 2010 even cheaper).
But I understand the feeling of going from a high powered car to a less powered car - my first car
was a '65 GTO with 400 cubic inches, a six pack carb setup and a 4.10 rear end. My second car
was a '67 Volkswagen. LOL!
But my vote is for the 2010 GT. You will have depreciation costs whatever you buy but if you
are already convinced on selling the GT500, do it and be done. Walk away and plan on keeping the
new car forever.

 

You get the shaft two times with cars, buying it and then once again selling it. You've only made 5 payments. Whatever you decide to do, you won't be happy with after having a G.T. 500 and you are going to lose a lot of money. I voted for you to buy a 2011 V-6 but the more i think about it, i think you should keep you G.T. 500 and hope your (soon to be) wife gets a good paying job.

 

This is a tough situation. I recently shared a worked up GT500 with my father as my daily driver, the car Put about 560hp to the wheels and 570tq. With that being said, it was a brutally fast car , and the sound it made was intoxicating, i wanted to just live inside the supercharger I loved it so much! However when my dad decided to sell the GT500. It was time for me to get a new car as well. So EVEN after being in a GT500 with all sorts of HP and such. I got a 2010 GT. And you know what. I realize that financially it was more sound then me getting a GT500 . So you know what I pulled the trigger, and i'm very happy with the decision I made. I have the rest of my life in head of me to get that GT500 ,and you know what ill do it when the times right. You have some big plans in head of you and you want to be a smart man, then get the 2010 GT. I LOVE THE FUC^&%^ SHI# out of my car. I cant say it enough. It sounds SICK with a new exhaust system . The quality is MILES above the 2005-2009s, even though i love them. And not to brag but i think my car looks WICKED. And judging by how many compliments i get on a weekly basis i think other people do too Reality of the situation is. Every time a new motor comes out there will always be a stir. If you can get out of your car without oweing all sorts of money, and getting the payment where you want it to be for a 2010 GT, i think you should go for it. If you can work a deal on a 5.0 for about the same number, then more power to you ,do it. But realistically you need to work hard at getting the right number for your GT500 first.