[enzia35]

Take that negative equity and roll it into the new one. Go for an 8 year note, if the bank will let you!

[arpad_m]

SoarinSnek, you screwed up, no nicer way of saying it*. Your car already lost a good chunk of its trade-in value when you drove it off the dealership lot.

First you need to decide if you want to keep the V6 or not, your next best play depends on this. Say, you find that keeping the car for 2, 2.5 years is worth it to you, then just do this to minimize the loss, live with the car and enjoy it as an absolutely great Camaro. Then afterwards, if you still want a V8, buy one (used). This is the decision with the fewest financial strings attached, apart from just forgetting the V8 altogether, of course.

If you can't enjoy the car and you realize you can't live without the V8 (and can afford an upgrade), be a man, suck up your loss and trade the car ASAP while it's the current model year with very low mileage, because it is continuously depreciating as I'm typing this. Not a smart move, but then a Camaro wasn't something we needed in the first place, was it

At the end of the day, this is of course your car and your money, I'm just trying to help.


*I speak from experience, bought a new V6 first, traded it for a V8 and lost almost $10k on the trade—however, and I have to be brutally honest, there is no comparison. #liveandlearn #shouldagotav8 #figureyourselfoutfirst

[He11bent]

The guys are right, cars are a terrible investment so you should wait until you get yours paid down to its value. Sounds like you would benefit from a year or two of good credit too which will get you lower interest rates. Then sell outright to someone or Carvana.

So here is the alternate to waiting for the SS to go on sale, take advantage of someone else's bad investment. I bought my 2011 2SS convertible for $31k and it was only 9 months old with 8k miles on it. $15K less than the sticker in the glovebox and still under bumper to bumper for a few years. Great car and I just traded it in for $13k on a new 2019 2SS Convertible in November.

Make sure you position yourself with a great price, at a great interest rate, and decent insurance rate. Trust me, it sucks to be car rich and cash poor for a 5 year loan!!

[caSStro18]

Wouldn’t it be better to sell it rather than trade it in? Still going to lose money, but maybe a little less than doing a trade in. I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong.

[SoarinSnek]

I might as well keep it. I'm still new to the performance world and I'm well aware of depreciation. I hope in the future this forum can lead me to the right direction for performance upgrades in the future. I'll stay in the V6 thread. Thanks for the advice guys.

Was I right at least to go for more safety parts first rather than mods like tires (will buy when I need new ones) brakes, suspension, etc? I got a ZL1 spoiler to help with aerodynamics and a pedal commander to help with lag.

[VegasZ]

Originally Posted by SoarinSnek

I might as well keep it. I'm still new to the performance world and I'm well aware of depreciation. I hope in the future this forum can lead me to the right direction for performance upgrades in the future. I'll stay in the V6 thread. Thanks for the advice guys.

Was I right at least to go for more safety parts first rather than mods like tires (will buy when I need new ones) brakes, suspension, etc? I got a ZL1 spoiler to help with aerodynamics and a pedal commander to help with lag.

Just keep in mind most mods will not only kill your warranty but will also kill your resale value. Modding seems like the cheaper route in the beginning but once you do it and realize all the hidden costs and depreciation you would of been better off saving for a model you are happy with stock. If you plan to keep it forever then it can be worth it to make it how you want it but if you can get what you want in a stock model that’s the better option. If it’s just to hold you over till you can trade it’s all throw away money. Save it for your down payment instead and you will be a lot better off.

There’s not to many bigger kick in the nuts than the one you get when you realize the car you dropped 15-20k on adding a turbo and everything else that needs upgraded along with it is now worth 5k less than it would be stock.

I didn’t even drive an SS when I decided on a Camaro, I know myself well enough at this point to know I would want to add a super charger within a year of buying it. I’ve learned my lesson on heavily modifying cars the hard way already so I went straight to the zl1 and couldn’t be happier!

Gl!

[SoarinSnek]

So from what everyone is saying. If I want the V8, keep it stock for a few years and pay off more and try (if the rumor is true for 2023 camaros dying) I can do that. I'll have better credit then anyway being 24 (almost 25) my insurance will prolly be slightly better.

[VegasZ]

Originally Posted by SoarinSnek

So from what everyone is saying. If I want the V8, keep it stock for a few years and pay off more and try (if the rumor is true for 2023 camaros dying) I can do that. I'll have better credit then anyway being 24 (almost 25) my insurance will prolly be slightly better.

That would be my advice it would certainly be the best option financially other than just keeping the v6 and leaving it stock. Also it might not even take that long to make up for the new car depreciation or enough of it that you say screw it i have waited enough I’ll eat the rest. If you list it for sale privately and are patient or are buying the new one with a huge discount for some reason where they can hide the residual it might not be so bad. Just be very careful if you sell on your own there’s all kinds of scams out there to try and steal your car.

Edit, maybe you can find someone with a v8 that’s looking for a 2020 that wants to down size the engine and you two could do a swap without loosing your shirts by keeping the dealer overhead out of it.

[LT4Greg]

Yes that’s what we are advising you to do!

[Reddy1LE]

Originally Posted by enzia35

If you want that V8, get it! Don't worry about all the guys saying it's a bad financial decision. There's nothing like that V8 rumble!

Originally Posted by enzia35

Take that negative equity and roll it into the new one. Go for an 8 year note, if the bank will let you!

What? You forgot to put /s after what you wrote.

[MrChrisLS3]

First thing to do is your homework.

You can go to KBB.com and do their ICO (instant cash offer) however your car is so new, it may not let you do ICO. If not, you can get an idea buy using the generic my cars value. Your initial trade offer from a dealer is going to be in the lower range of that.

This is a pretty decent payment calculator, https://www.carloancalculator.me/

If you know the auto tax rate, and get an accurate 10 day payoff on your loan.

If your credit is decent, a bank may loan up to 130% of loan value of the new car. Here's the thing, if you do it, plan on keeping that V8 for a long time, because you won't have much choice because you will be way underwater on this car for a very long time.

If you decide to wait, which is the best financial decision, do NOT modify your V6, especially with forced induction. At that point, many dealers would not even want it from trade in, and if they do, they're only going to offer you wholesale for it. They can't certify it, and almost no one wants a Camaro like that from a dealer's pre-owned lot.

The other thought is to go back to the dealer you bought the car from. Pick out a '19 SS if they have one. They are more motivated to move those and tell them what you want to do. If they are a decent dealership, they might work with you to get the deal the done. Just expect that you might have to throw some cash on the deal and that your payment might be around $200/mo more than what you're paying now.

[awrj2000]

I know things change and this is just my opinion on the situation.

I had a 2012 V6 Auto. Camaro... in day to day it actually did really well.
It is a heavy car, but the gear ratio keeps it feeling sporty.
The one change I did was put the vitesse throttle controller on it...really made a difference to throttle response.

4 years later I traded the car for a new 2016 V8 Auto Camaro. (still enjoy it).

What I found is the loud exhaust I can't "goof off" as much because cops can hear you 1/2 mile away.

Also as far as sound goes...
First gear - 0-25, really fast wind up on the motor.
Second gear - 25-50, great sound
Third gear - 50-90, .... your speeding!

What I'm getting at is you really don't get a chance to wind out the car and listen to it without being well into ticket range.
(as a comparison to a truck that makes lots of noise, but doesn't move) This car moves!

Looking between the V6 and V8 both do really well to 100 mph. After that the V8 will sprint into 140's and walk into 160's. Where the V6 walks into 120's and crawls into 130's.

With traction control all performance is limited to the tires, especially the V8 as far as acceleration.

I find running all season tires is much better for me, a few points to think about:
1- Rainy day: Performance tires seems like your on ice, top speed 45 mph
2- Cold weather: Performance tires constantly break loose and traction control kicks in
3- Tire life: Performance expect 10-15k if you want to hear the exhaust, 20k miles if you baby it (why baby it when your wanting more than the V6)

15k miles on a daily driver is generally under a year...$600 a year in tires.

Final note on performance tires...how often will you really try to push 1 G in a turn or take it above 100 mph and maintain that speed? Track days?

Getting back to the point. Both the v6 and v8 will do well up to 100mph.
Traction control is limiting both more than you realize at present.
Enjoy your car a few years and then test drive the v8 a few different weekends before you trade in.

[samurai]

Have you though about just adding a better exhaust to the V6? I'm pretty sure adding e.g. a borla to your car will make you not miss the V8 as much

[JT58]

Originally Posted by samurai

Have you though about just adding a better exhaust to the V6? I'm pretty sure adding e.g. a borla to your car will make you not miss the V8 as much

This- yes- and other small upgrades- wheels, tires, etc. to make you love your V6. I know and understand the want for an SS. If I were very wealthy, I'd have an SS, 1LE, ZL1, etc. depending on how rich I was- or maybe even a C7 Vette. But I am not and I want to enjoy life. Enjoying life is a balance of loving your toys and having enough $$ to go places, buy other things.

That being said I love my V6. I bought mine used so cheap- only 19K with 6K miles on it. It was kind of boring- plain white with the silver 18" wheels and quiet factory exhaust. I transformed it... replaced the exhaust with MBRP axle back- that woke up the car- the sound- crackle and pops make me smile every time I drive it. $450.00 for the exhaust, I installed it myself. Then lightweight forged 20" wheels and tires. Wow, now that completed the transformation $2200 investment in tires and wheels. I went from liking the car to loving it. Total investment 22K, including tires, wheels and exhaust. Paid for and NO loan. It's so nice having no payment. And putting in regular 87 octane gas. And getting 33 MPG. I also love how lightweight the front end is with the lighter V6. People always look at my car, at the gas station and when I start it up, etc. And It's a conversation piece- I get asked about it- and when I say it's not an SS, it's V6 with 334 HP, runs on regular gas and gets 33 MPG they can't believe it.

With my car changed and loving it so much I plan on keeping it, no desire for an SS now.

So think about it and the depreciation and how much you will take a hit and how much $$ the dealer will take from you. You still have an awesome car in the mean time.