I Regret Financing My New Car – What Are My Options for Managing Payments?

Key Points

A Redditor going to college was convinced to take out a large car loan.
He’s regretting taking the loan, and wants to know what options he has.
Selling the car, refinancing the debt, or finding a job to pay for the loan are going to be his best and only choices.
Millions of Americans keep making 5 basic mistakes with insurance and keep overpaying every year, sometimes by thousands of dollars. But, it’s easy to avoid if you know how.

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

By Christy Bieber Published Sep 2, 2025 at 9:00 AM EDT

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

I Regret Financing My New Car – What Are My Options for Managing Payments? — © Monthira / Shutterstock.com

Many people who buy cars finance their new vehicles. In fact, Experian reports that the average monthly payment on a used car is $521 while the average monthly payment on a new car is a shocking $745. Borrowers are also financing their cars for a long time, with Experian indicating that the average loan term for a new car was 68.63 months and the average loan term for a used vehicle was 67.2 months.

That’s a long time to commit to paying a lot of money, and those who finance could be left with regrets.

In fact, this happened recently to one Reddit user. The poster explained he followed some advice that he now regrets, and he’s wondering if he has options to deal with the situation he’s found himself in.

Here’s how a Redditor got stuck with a car he can’t afford

The original poster (OP) explained that he lives in rural Alberta and will soon be starting college. His mother and others convinced him to finance a 2024 Kia Forte, despite the fact that he wanted to buy something cheaper that he could afford to pay cash for. The car had a price tag of $25,000, but the dealer convinced him to add another $10,000 to cover a “protective coating” on both the interior and exterior of the vehicle.

With a $10,000 down payment, the OP is now looking at making biweekly payments of $231 for the next five years. Since he recently moved out to live on his own and he’s going to school full-time, he is very worried he’ll be unable to keep up with the payments.

He explained that he “feels stupid,” and said that he is just 18 years old and worried about the impact this car will have on his financial future.

What can the OP do to deal with the difficult situation?

Women managing debt and expenses. People holding wallet but no money to pay credit card. broke, mortgage, loan, bankruptcy, bankrupt, can't to pay

Unfortunately, the poster is in a really tough spot here, and he followed really terrible advice. He was spot-on when he thought he should buy an affordable car with cash, and he should never have listened to his mother about getting the loan.

Sadly, now he has very few good options.

The OP should first look at his paperwork to see exactly what he paid for regarding the protective coating. If any part of that money went to cover a warranty that he can cancel, he should do so immediately to try to recover at least some of the wasted funds. He should also talk to the dealer and ask for a partial refund on the coating, which he says is now peeling.

Unfortunately, that’s not going to solve the bigger problem, which is that he’s committed to monthly payments he can’t afford.

Since it was his mother’s idea to buy the car, he can see if she’ll help — but unless she’s making a reliable commitment to cover the payment and he trusts her to follow through, he’ll have to find a way to afford to pay the bills himself so he doesn’t ruin his credit and end up with the car getting repossessed.

This may mean getting a part-time job, living on a very strict budget, and perhaps even continuing to live at home a little longer so he can afford the payments with the income he earns. If his interest rate is high, refinancing the car loan to a lower one could help him as well, especially if his mom is willing to cosign to help him get a better rate, since the car loan was her idea in the first place.

Alternatively, the OP could potentially try to sell the car to get out from under the payments. He will almost assuredly lose money on this deal, but since he put $10,000 down on the car, he may have enough equity in it that he could sell it for enough to repay the loan. If he can do that, this may be the best solution, so he’s not stuck with five years of interest charges and payments that are going to cause a constant struggle. He probably won’t have anything left over for another car, though, so will have to save up to buy one or take public transportation.

Going forward, the OP also needs to make absolutely sure he is not listening to his mother, who appears to be giving very bad financial advice. He needs to commit to living within his means and, if necessary, get advice from an experienced financial advisor who will not tell a broke college kid with no job prospects to commit to a huge debt.