Ok, first off i wanted to know if anyone could tell me if the 2008 1500 is going to be just improvements on the current model, or a new build like the Dakota. Now my situation is that I have a 2005 Dakota, and will be looking to trade it in on a 2008 1500 when i get back from Iraq. Right now the Blue Book value is nowhere near what I still have left to pay on it. So my question is if I am trading it back in on another Dodge, would I be able to at least break even. I have never done a trade in, so any help or anything that I should probably think about regarding this would be appreciated.

DEATH BEFORE DISMOUNT!

 

Whether or not you will break even depends on how much you owecompared to how much the truck is worth. Some web sites like kbb.com and edmunds.com will give you a rough idea of the trade-in value. If your truck is worth $20K on trade-in and your pay-off is $24K your said to be "upside-down" in the loan. Some finance company's willallow youadd that to your new loan. This is a very bad idea because now you'll be even more upside down then before. Your pay-off is not all the monthly payments you have left added up, you must call your finance company and ask for a current pay-off amount. Obviously you'll make the most out of your truck by selling it yourself since you are now the dealer. If you can, do that, then use the money to put down on the new truck. I like to put down no less then 20 percent on the new truck to keep me from being upside down. Some say that's to difficult, but I say that means they are leaving beyond their means.

As for the new Ram, 08 models will be no different then 07's. 2009 looks to be the rebuild/facelift

 

Pretty much what Duso02 said.....

YouCAN trade your 05 in for the 08, but you may have some residual left over that'll have to go on the new truck, or put up some cash to break even. I've found 95% of finance companies will allow it on a new vehicle.

If you DO put the residual on the new truck, that's fine, but make sure you get Gap Insurance, in case you total the new truck (god forbid) and the insurance will only pay what it's worth, and NOT what you owe. Most people think Gap Insurance is only for Lease vehicles, but that's not true either..

There are basically 2 kinds of Gap Insurance policies. I got mine from my dealer, that cost me $400 for the life of the loan. Erie Insurance Group has Gap Insurance for $35 year extra, but it WILL NOT COVER any residual from another vehicle that's been added to a loan, due to a trade-in. Read the small print, or it could bite you in the *** in the event you actually need to use your insurance.

Good luck on whatever you decide. www.KBB.com is a good place to look for trade-in prices, as well as NADA. My dealership also likes to print out latest prices vehicles go for at the Auto-Auctions.... It gives a realistic idea of what the vehicles auction for, and that's usually about what the dealer will give you for trade, as they can buy them for that amount.

Come home safe and thanks for your service.

 

Trading a car in to the dealer is a very convenient thing to do - but not the best financially. If you're upside down on a loan and you really want a different vehicle - the dealer can screw with the trade in value vs. the new truck price to get to a sales point. You end up paying more for your new vehicle - but the old one is now out of your hands.

I did this once. The down side is that you have to pay a higher monthly payment since the sales price is higher; you have to pay sales tax on that additional amount added to the new vehicle - and registration tags are based on the sale price - so you end up paying higher registration fees for the next ten years. That all weighs against how bad you really want that next vehicle. So - it may not make financial sense - but since when did buying a $30,000 truck that gets 15 MPG just to drive back and forth to work make any sense? If we all lived by the dollar - we'd be hanging out on the dodge neon forum![sm=guilty.gif]

 

That's why I bought mine used, let someone else eat the depreciation!!

When you deal remember the golden rule of3 distinct deals: 1) The price of the new truck, not monthly payments but the totalprice 2) The financing, shop it around to find the best deal, sometimes that wioll be the dealer, sometimes not, but have that figured out before you shop3) Trade-in value, don't even tell them you have a trade-in until you have agreed on a price of the new truck, despite what they'll say, one has nothing to do with the other. A trick I learned from my father: I take my trade-in to the used car side of the dealership thatI want my new car from. I tell them I just want to get rid of it and they'll give me a price, now I know what it's worth when the next day I'm talking to the new car side.

 

BINGO.....!!!

The last 4 vehicles I bought are one year old, lease return vehicles with less then 20K on them. Let someone else take the "New Car Hit".......

If I kept vehicles forever, maybe. I bought a new Chevy pick up once,and got hit by a drunk 1.5 years after I bought it. The insurance left me in the hole for $3000..... never again.

 

when you go to the dealer, work out the price on the new truck first, don't tell them that you owe x amount on your curent truck , you can say your thinking of tradding it in and get the dealer to tell you how much they are willing to pay for it.

If your really up side down, its better to pay off old debit first, You will be able to finance more new truck, othier wise the dealer will try to give you X amount for your Dakota, but build it in to the price of the new truck with a higher MSRP.

One trick is to factery order your new truck after pricing one out threw dodge on the net, than you can go to your dealer and order one.

This way your paying down your old truck and you can take advantage of the better of the finance rates at the time of your factery order and when you pick up the truck.

It P me off that deal's are aways better after you buy, this way your more able to take advantage of the insentives, you will have to wait a mim of three months, but your getting the truck you want.

 

good luck getting book value on a trade in. You'll have to fight like hell to even come close. Thats how they make their money, they will low ball you left and right and you'll have to fight to get them to even budge.

 

when you go to the dealer, work out the price on the new truck first, don't tell them that you owe x amount on your curent truck , you can say your thinking of tradding it in and get the dealer to tell you how much they are willing to pay for it.

If your really up side down, its better to pay off old debit first, You will be able to finance more new truck, othier wise the dealer will try to give you X amount for your Dakota, but build it in to the price of the new truck with a higher MSRP.

One trick is to factery order your new truck after pricing one out threw dodge on the net, than you can go to your dealer and order one.

This way your paying down your old truck and you can take advantage of the better of the finance rates at the time of your factery order and when you pick up the truck.

It P me off that deal's are aways better after you buy, this way your more able to take advantage of the insentives, you will have to wait a mim of three months, but your getting the truck you want.
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The current $6000 rebates on the Rams will help your bottom line on the deal, especaially if you are upside down in your trade. Definately don't keep trading in vehicles you are upside down in. It is a financial nightmare waiting to happen.