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Without even knowing it, you could find yourself in a financial precarious position with your car loan upside down.
Best Way To Get Out Of Negative Car Equity
Maybe you bought a new car with no down payment. Or maybe you’ve opted for low, “easy” monthly payments, extending your loan to 72 or even 84 months.
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However you get there, it’s time to get back on the right side and avoid serious problems in the future.
Being upside down on your car loan simply means you owe more than the car is worth. It is sometimes called an underwater loan or a negative equity car loan.
So if your car is worth $10,000 but your loan balance is $12,000, you’re $2,000 upside down. If you want to get rid of your car, you’ll not only have to sell or trade it in, but you’ll also have to pay the lender $2,000. This is also known as negative equity.
However, if you have positive equity, you owe less than your car is worth, your car becomes an asset, giving you more financial flexibility in life. For example, with $2,000 in equity, you can trade in your current car and have $2,000 as a down payment on another car.
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Remember that determining the value of your car is not an exact science. The cost also depends on whether you are trading or selling to a private party buyer.
Being head over heels isn’t automatically a problem if you can keep up with the payments and keep your car until the loan is paid off. But life is unpredictable and things can change quickly.
Now that you know where you stand, you can take action. While these steps aren’t easy, they’ll give you peace of mind knowing you’re headed in the right direction.
Whatever you do, avoid the temptation to throw yourself at the dealer’s mercy. Chances are they will roll the negative equity into the new loan and you will be worse off than before. Instead, take control of the situation yourself and do what’s right for you now and in the long run.
Jump Start A Car – The Step By Step Guide To Follow!
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A dead battery in your car can mean the difference between getting home safely and being stuck somewhere for hours. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to restore your car and get you back on the move, with advice from an expert mechanic.
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Spoke with McLaren Philadelphia Senior Technician Kevin Hines to learn the proper way to recover a dead battery and get the car running safely. Hines is North America’s only factory-certified McLaren F1 technician, which means his day job revolves around working on the $20 million exotic. If anyone understands how to bring an electric starvation car back from the dead, it’s him.
Before reading any further, we suggest you consult your vehicle’s owner’s manual for exact instructions on how to jumpstart your vehicle. Your manufacturer’s recommendations may differ from the instructions below.
“My first choice would be to use a battery charger if you’re in a battery charging situation,” Hines says.
. Charger boxes and trickle chargers, most commonly found in mechanic shops and warehouses, are used to keep projects or stored vehicles charged for long periods of time. Their use is limited, as Hines points out. Not everyone has the luxury of finding out their battery is dead while their car is safe and away from the elements.
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Charger boxes (left) and jump boxes (above) are the fastest, safest and easiest ways to get your battery back up and running. But not everyone has access to them.
Hynes’s second choice. “I always carry a bounce box,” she tells us. “They’re small, and they’re $100 or less. They work, they are really incredible. It’s like a magic little box.”
A jump pack tucked into your glove box or trunk can save you a world of headaches and may even save someone else some trouble. “I’ve been a hero a few times because I always have,” Hines says. “People always appreciate it when a hero appears.”
If you plan to keep a jump pack on the plane, you obviously need to make sure it’s always charged. A dead jump pack will do you no good in an emergency. Here’s one we love.
How To
So you’re in a situation where the only way to reset your car battery is with a set of jumper cables. Here’s how it’s done.
Before proceeding to connect the two machines, check the batteries to make sure there are no signs of damage. If the terminals look physically damaged, or there is a build-up of battery acid around them, these are good signs that you need a new battery. If possible, replace a dead battery instead of jumping it. If you are in a situation where the battery needs to be jumped, take extra precautions when connecting it to the other vehicle.
If the battery has swollen beyond its normal size, you may have an even bigger problem on your hands, according to Hines. Most car batteries contain a liquid that is part sulfuric acid and part water. Over time, the strength of the acid can weaken to the point where the liquid is mostly water. That means it can freeze and expand if left out in the cold. “If you even suspect a battery is frozen, don’t try to jump it,” he says. “There is a possibility that it may explode. And a battery acid explosion is not a party you want to go to.”
It’s also a good idea to check the cables for signs of damage or exposed wires. You want to make sure they will be able to make a good connection between the two car batteries without grounding to another part of the car.
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The next step. After parking the cars close enough to make contact, make sure both cars are completely, completely turned off. Yes, that means the car is battery operated as well. “If the [dead car’s] ignition is on, you have more of a load than just the battery,” Hines says. “So when you make contact [with a good car], you’re going to have sparks, and sparks are scary.”
Once the machines are in place and fully disconnected, you can start connecting the cables. First, take one lead of the positive cable (usually marked red or orange) and connect it to the positive (+) terminal of the dead battery. Then take the other side of the same positive cable and connect it to the positive (+) terminal of the good battery. Now take one wire of the negative jumper cable (almost always marked in black) and connect it to the negative (-) terminal of the good battery. “The last remaining negative bounce can go, preferably to the ground point on the dead machine,” Hines says. “If it can’t be found, it goes straight to the negative battery terminal. (-)”
Step 2: Take the other end of the positive cable and attach it to the positive terminal of the auxiliary vehicle battery.
Step 3: Take one end of the negative jumper cable and attach it to the negative terminal of the good battery.
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Make sure all four leads have good, solid connections to their jump points. You don’t want any of them coming off if you hit the wires or any of the machines. After doing this, start the car with a good battery. Leave for 15 to 20 minutes. “A good car alternator will charge the battery,” Hines says. After that you can go ahead and try to start the car with the battery. If you did everything right (and the dead machine is in good health), it should start immediately.
With the dead machine running, jump out and disconnect the cables in the reverse order you connected them. There’s no need to rush this part, according to Hynes. Running both machines with the batteries connected will not cause any immediate harm. “People think of a battery as something that only turns off or stores electricity,” he says. “But it can also act as
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