Price Is Right Car Winner Says, “I Didn’t Want the Nissan Versa, So I Traded It For A Toyota RAV4, But Now My 'Free' Car Comes With A $400 a Month Payment”

Really quit complaining about a car payment.
it's not the price is rights fault she is to good for a versa.

If possible, take cash value of Nissan and buy a used RAV4. They are great cars and hold their value. Avoid the depreciation trap of new cars!

I am paying way more than 400.00 monthly payments for my 2024 Toyota Rav4 XLE AWD!!!!! My payments are like 670.00 per month and I am making double payments. It's definitely worth it to me. The bank will make refinancing much easier for me when doing so. I have already refinanced after the first 6 months of purchase. Plus now I have a lower interest rate 🙃 Also I paid a bit more than you did to. How about 51,000. My color of choice, Ruby red pearl cost an additional 5,000, and a 7 year warranty was another 5,000. Digishield was another 2,200. Yes,with the base price starting @ 39,000,after all additional costs later it was then a whoppin 51,000,but well worth it to me,enjoy. P.S.,only gas,no hybrid.

I don't need a car payment especially with costs of living increasing on everything. The Versa would have been fine. Maybe gotten one of the Versa upgrades from the basic for a couple thousand dollar bump.

She got a free $20k car, she would have to pay the tax, tag, etc. She wanted a $35k car. By not taking the car and going to another dealership completely she probably got pennies on the dollar. It's still a free $15-20k! And you can't fix stupid as if she left with $400 a month payments that's on her.

Sure, effectively she got a free down payment even after all the fees and taxes.

I went through this years ago when a family member “won” a Jeep Wrangler. By the time she paid the State Sales Tax, Registration, Tag’s & Documentary Fees… Then had to pay State & Federal Income tax on the Prize amount… It amounted to HALF the original prize value!!! Free is NOT free.

Was it worth it? Absolutely! A $400 car payment is nothing these days, and likely either a 3 year loan, not a 6 year loan which is more common. Had she bought the car without the trade credit, it likely would have been closer to $700/month for 6 years. So yeah, it was 100% worth it. A Nissan Versa is a tiny car. A Rav4 is a decently sized SUV and a good vehicle too. Makes sense for anyone taking trips anywhere out someone with kids or grandkids. Sure, you can make the Versa work, but you want to like the car your are in. I like Nissans, but if I won a Versa, I would 100% take the credit for something else and get a car payment in that case.

Buying new cars seems confounding for today's younger generations. Everyone knows that dealerships are going to get the best outcome for them.
Being brainwashed that only Toyota branded cars will suffice causes buyers to pay premium pricing and or making poor trade in arrangements.
I don't want to appear misogynistic but this column has been posting stories about females getting taken for a ride on repairs and auto purchases. Dealerships love taking advantage of females that are unaccompanied by more knowledgeable male persons.
Enough said.

I would ve kept the Nissan once I realized how expensive it would ve been to trade up.
Ca. as a communist state makes everything so expensive,I am sure there would ve fees and taxes on the loan too,a 13,000 @ 7% a.p.r. about $950 a yr and then down from there,the state income tax,I figure at least anywhere from $2k to $4k.
I live in Tx,I can buy a very decent car for $15,000.00,so,no,I wouldn t participate in the Price is right,they should move to Texas.

I would switch to a new Subaru outback.

Take the money, pay the taxes, buy a used car.

If it is counted as taxable income, I would rather take the cash and pay the tax out of the prize money. I'd rather not ger the value of an immediately depreciating liability ("Your new car! In game show host voice") and then have to pay tax out of my earned income that year. If I have a business 1099 or otherwise that might upset the balance of my tax liability planning, if I have W2 income that cuts into my after tax money. I'd rather not finance something and pay taxes plus fees, plus financing interest unless I had a high enough income to not feel it. In that case I'd be able to afford to pay cash outright or had already planned and saved enough to pay for something comparable. So cash, pay the tax use it to pay off debt if any, or invest a portion if I didn't have debt then allocate the rest for a small treat like scoop of ice cream.

Nope, I wouldn't want a monthly payment unless I know I can commit to it!

If she was always planning on getting the rav 4 at some point, and is financially comfortable to do so, then it's worth it to have a portion of the value paid for. If the details are accurate, $13k for a new rav 4 is a great deal

Ugh, I'd keep the need pn3 and forego the Rav4

I would have kept the Nissan Versa it was free car,it seems Kate did not do her research before deciding to purchase an upgraded SUV.

Seems to me the best would have been to take the cash value. And then take her time shopping around for cars, and negotiate a better deal with the dealer. Showing up with a voucher the dealer will only think of ways to pile on with costs, and most definitely will not be cutting her a good deal. We humans tend to treat "easy come" money as even "easier to go" money and dealers are well aware of that.

Congrats to Kate for the win. Trading up may or may not be a good idea depending on her current financial situation which we don’t know about. Or the finance rate.
I would have probably taken the cash equivalent and put it in some financial vehicle. Assuming I didn’t need a car at the time.

Wait till you see what happens at tax time as a result of your "free car".

Not a right or wrong decision. Decision was a personal finance choice. Only she knows her personal finances and will know if it was a good or bad decision.

Sooo... Kate, and her boyfriend, are absolute morons. Got it.

She could have taken cash.

I would have kept the Versa.

Absolutely, she did the right thing! Versa is a primitive car, compared to RAV4, and Nissan CVT transmissions have a very high failure rate. Everyone I know with a Nissan has has transmission problems; one friend had multiple replacements in her Pathfinder, within warranty and outside of warranty. After last failure she junked the car.

All that matters is she got the car she wanted

I personally believe it was a good deal. She got the vehicle size she needed, at a discount thanks to the equity of the Versa. In essence, she got roughly a 50% off deal.

I would have opted for the cash or sold the Nissan as a private party. I would also consider opening a CD with the best interest rate and add maximum allowed money, keep the versa and then sell and have about 4000 saved to offset cost of a higher grade vehicle.
Thanks