Appreciation post: I stopped rolling negative equity into new loans, saved $6,200 over 4 years

Angela Fisher · 2026-09-25T22:05:06.559356+00:00

Back in 2019 I traded in a car I owed $4,100 more than it was worth on, and the dealer just folded that into a new 72 month loan at 11%. Every two years after that I did the same thing, so the debt kept growing while I kept telling myself I just needed a nicer ride. Last March I finally paid off the loan and kept the car, and instead of trading up, I put the old $390 payment into savings every month. Comes out to $6,200 I did not hand over to a finance company. Couple things I had to do: buy a $200 set of tires from a shop on Grand Ave instead of chasing a new car, and ignore the mailers about "equity in your trade." Anyone else here just decide to drive the thing till the wheels fall off instead of restarting the loan clock?

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Appreciation post: I stopped rolling negative equity into new loans, saved $6,200 over 4 years | Car Payment Regret - Rigidtalk