C.N.A.C./JD BYRIDER I'V BEEN IN THE WRONG BUSINESS FAIRFIELD Ohio

Amanda,

Here is what happened...you signed a contract to purchase a car that you picked out. You had the opportunity to look over the car and decide if you want to purchase it or not. After you made the decision, CNAC prepared and presented paperwork showing you what the purchase price is and what the interest rate is. There is where they got you. The purchase price was probably around $9000 and the interest rate is anywhere from 19.99 percent to 21.00 percent. Over the course of the loan, approximately 3.5 years, you will pay a total of $13,000. If you make payments bi-weekly, you will see the amount of interest per payment reduce. However, if you are ever late and then get current you will notice that there was more interest applied because there was more time in between payments. The best way to handle this is to make payments a few days early and continue to pay a little extra each payment. The company really isn't bad for those that have credit situations. They do provide a way to establish your credit. Unfortunately, it does come with a cost.

Amanda, some things don't add up. If you're making $138 monthly payments, and the out the door price was 12+k, that means you have 90+ payments? I hope that's not right. Either way, 12k sounds like a lot of money for a 99 sunfire/cavalier.

-Call your lender. Ask what the payoff amount is and what your interest rate is.
-Pay off as much as you can every month
-Go to KBB.com and look at your used car value for a private party sale in "poor" condition (even if it's in better shape.) That price is what you can reasonably expect to sell your car for.

What you're trying to do is get the payoff amount as close to that as possible. Don't trade in your car, you'll dig yourself into a deeper hole.

Once you pay the car down and sell it, look at services like capitalone, where they give you a loan up front, allowing you to shop like you have cash. That gives you a leg up over the dealer when you're negotiating. It also gives the dealer an incentive to match or beat your interest rate.

Good luck