[superubicon]

I'm kinda strapped now with the cost of living so high. None of my bills are late but at the end of the month we have no extra money. I've been kicking around the idea of getting rid of my Jeep. Here's my dilema. I'm able to trade it in and the dealer will give me exactly what I owe on it. That means I can walk away from my $418 payment and I can get a new Toyota for almost a $100 a month cheaper payments not to mention the savings in gas since the Yaris get 35 mpg. The Toyota is also a bit more practical now that I have a small son. The extra monet each month would be a godsend and take some major stress off my shoulders. I have 40 months left on my Jeep and the new loan will be a 48 month loan. The only thing I'm struggling with is the fact that I have between 7-8k worth of upgrades and mods done to my Rubicon. I'd be loosing that (not that I'd ever get that back anyway). I'm taking a bath on most of those mods because I put them on a credit card with the intention of paying them off over a year or two. That aint gonna happen now that my wifes a stay at home mom and we only have my income. I love my jeep but at the end of the day it's only a thing and I don't get attached to things anymore. My family is more important. What would you guys do?
Would you:
1. Continue to strugle with the high payments for 40 more months?

2. Walk away form the Rubicon and get the Toyota and and save between $150-$190 a month and just eat the cost of the mods?

I just want to do whats right for my family. Is this a crazy plan I cooked up in my head? Please give me some insight.

[dawnskaybug]

Buy a used good mileage vehicle..
I bought a Lexus with 8k saved 12k...
My "bluebook" on the Lexus is still more than what I paid for it..
That Yaris will be cheaper used with under 10,000 miles
Or Upgrade to a used 07 Corrolla (I know this isnt a japcar friendly forum.. )
AFTER you privately sell you JEEP..

And how much ya owe on the CC??

[lbsnowryder]

Send the wife to work.


Pay a daycare,


Keep the Jeep, it ain't that bad. Look at it from a big picture. Is your job stable, how will you be in 2 years.

If worse than now you need to change it.

[Btwngreengray]

I say family comes first. Do what you know is right.

[lbsnowryder]

Originally Posted by Btwngreengray

I say family comes first. Do what you know is right.

Exactly, send her to work. Get on it.

[precooked]

Im with dawnskaybug....try to sell the jeep privately rather than taking a beating from the dealer

[Chinarider]

Family first.Everything else is just stuff.You can allways get another jeep down the road.Sell it privatly' save up and enjoy your son.

[Country Boy]

That's assuming that there is a strong market for his Jeep in a reasonable area. I was thinking of selling my Rubicon and getting a CJ, but no one would come anywhere near what it was worth.

[qwik]

take off mods before sell (thats practical) then get part time job GOODTIMES

[Matt Gertsch]

Get a better job so the little lady doesn't have to work. That'll give you more cash for mods too.

[RedJeepXJ]

if you do sell it are there any modifications you can take off and sell locally? could you get a second job?

(not trying to be harsh)
in the future consider building a safety net, you stated you were floating the jeep modifications on a credit card, what happens when a real emergency comes up? credit should never be used for toys IMO, you have a kid you need to be more responsible with money

[AlTheKillerr]

sell the jeep and get something else like that yaris or something used. sounds like its time to move on

[paulthejeeper]

Tought it out!!! Thats your Jeep and you deserve it... Things will get better after the election, they always do...

[FmrVette]

I just traded in my TJ and it had a few mods (winch, jeeperman skids, swingaway bumper, cb radio, etc.) and since it was a leased vehicle I had visions of sitting in the garage for a weekend removing all of the bits and pieces, then trying to sell on EBay to garner part of the $$$ back. It turned out that the lease car manager drives a Rubicon and we reached a deal on the mods - I got $$$ for my downpayment on my new Jeep Commander and didn't have to deconstruct the TJ to return it to stock for the turn in. He pulled 'em off and put on his Jeep.

Would somebody at the dealership be interested in buying some of the mods? (Yes, they would have to remove/replace bits, but they have a shop and trained mechanics handy and, like my lease turn in guy, they can use their own Jeep as a source of stock parts if needed to place on yours). Easier than EBay, no shipping,

Either way, emotions aside (getting rid of a Wrangler isn't always a happy thing to do) - times and conditions dictate doing the smart thing. If you were single, no children...well, what the heck, may as well go down fighting. But with kids in the picture, everything changes. Unload the Jeep. Take a few photos first, ten years from now you'll be glad you did.

[Texan4life]

I'd be inclined to sell the Jeep private party, after I removed and sold as many mods as possible.

I'm almost in the same boat as you. The difference is that my Jeep will be paid for in 11 months and my boss buys my gas. My wife hasn't worked outside the home in 16 years and bills are getting tight with 3 growing boys. I don't have all the mods you have either. I need the Jeep for my boys to drive next year. It will have 150k miles by then. I just hope I have something left when they move out. Maybe they will buy me some mods before I get it back.