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”

Keep the new car, invest the $400/month, retire with enough money to live your best life. These are the choices that matter. -or- Don't complain that houses are too expensive and retirement is for the boomers only. That my opinion, as an old boomer. Either way, Be happy. Live. Love. Laugh.

Beggers can be choosers. You take what you get and if you have an issue with it than reap the $400 car payment

Better than paying 7or 8 hundred a month.

Sounds about right. Besides the Rav4 will last longer than any Nissan.

Always pick out the car you want online first. Get your loan in place first. Know how much cash and or trade in value you have first. Know what your payments will be first. THEN, go to the dealer. Never, EVER negotiate payments with the dealer.

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She really should have been grateful. It's a great vehicle.There are people that need a car because of many appointments due to disability or can't find a job nearby so works in another district but now she's complaining about her choice of trading. She chose to pay a monthly fee 🤦‍♀️ Dealership 1- Lady 0

I would have probably sold the Versa , then done one of two things with the $17k. 1. Invest the dollars into something you believe in, has good ROI ,.good margin when you do sell.
2. Take the $17k, and put it towards s certified pre-owned car that's 1-4 years old , that was originally $23-40k new . A vehicle you can see yourself driving for a while 5-10 years , so you enjoy it, and is reliable transportation, and hopefully fairly efficient.

I hate these dam articles. Who cares? A free dam car is still a free dam car!

Because a few of you are saying that she made a "stupid" decision or an impulsive, "emotional" decision because she's a woman, I'm getting the impression that you either don't know who Kate Steinberg is, or you don't understand how much money content creators on social media make. She isn't irrational or stupid just because you are sexist and close-minded. Before starting her youtube channel 4 years ago, Kate worked at Ulta on the corporate level in marketing, as a leader writer. Based on that and how quickly she's been able to grow a massive following online, she actually seems pretty bright. Not to mention, her financial situation is probably quite different than yours. I won't even pretend to know how much she makes annually with all the social media platforms she is on, but with 2.7 million tiktok followers and 1.5 youtube subscribers, I can guarantee that she is doing really well and that a $300 monthly car payment wasn't a fiscally irresponsible decision. Based solely on the number of views she gets on youtube, she is probably bringing in 80K a month in adsense revenue and that doesn't take into account all the brands that she does sponsorships with or any other social media accounts where she makes money.
Would I have chosen a RAV4? No. I actually really love Nissans and probably would have traded the car in for a Murano or Rogue. Am I a fan of Kate Steinberg? No, actually. Even though we are close in age, I find nostalgia-bait annoying, a little "too easy", and I find that she and similar creators just really double down on the same handful of nostalgic ideas and create really repetitive content that is usually more corny than relatable.
So why am I "defending" her? I wouldn't really say that I am defending her so much as I am pointing out that many of you seem jealous, broke, sexist, and angry at a young woman merely because she was excited to go on a gameshow she probably watched growing up. Not all the comments are like this, so this is really only in response to a few of you. It drives me crazy to see miserable, out-of-touch people who seem to get enjoyment out of being judgemental of others, despite not knowing anything about the total stranger they are making rude assumptions about.
Considering the kind of money she has been making for several years, the fact that she was so thrilled to have won a car, and still traded it in for a reasonable, safe vehicle she can rely on for many years shows that she is probably rather responsible with her finances and that for someone who suddenly came to be making large quantities of money as a young adult, her spending doesn't seem to portray someone who is impulsive or fueled by irrational emotions. In my opinion, her behavior doesn't seem to align at all with the "overly-emotional, stupid woman" narrative you seem so desperate to assign to her.

It's just an asset. There is no "right" general answer here, it's just a question of what the rules allow and what makes sense for your personal needs. If it was me, I would have taken the cash and paid of my current car because I really like it and don't want a Versa. That, or trade the Versa and my wife's car both in to get her a nicer new car. It all depends in your financial needs and how the rules work.

13k / 48 is $270. How the heck do you get over 25% interest to make it over $400 a month???

So when the Price is Right gives away a car it's the least expensive car on the market?

I would have kept the Versa or traded it for something around the same price.

How do these commenters know if she made the “right” decision? She won $17,000. Kudos to her.

I won a Honda HRV on TPIR. I didn't need it but taking the cash value wasn't an option. I offered to sell it back to the dealership before I even took the keys. They offered to buy it but offered me $8k less than the price, because it would be considered "used". I took the car, parked it for 2 months until I got the title and then took it to CarMax and they gave me $3k more than what the price was on the show!

You trade off a vehicle worth half of the difference AND have to pay taxes and fees you have to expect a payment.
I would do it, for the Versa is a low dollar vehicle with a CVT Transmission and poor resale value.
She will make money with Toyota resale and less repairs.
She could also gained 4x4 capabilities with the Rav and not the Versa.

When I won my car. I just sold to dealer and put down on another car. I needed the money and took on payments. I also won it off the radio.

The problem here is that she didn't go to a C.P. A. and map out a proper plan. Listening to the wrong people can put you in serious financial problems. A brand new car 2025. All you had to pay was taxes, get your tags, insurance, and maintain the vehicle. She traded down. Nissan is a more powerful engine and more amenities than Toyota. Also she had great options with her newly won vehicle. Not only did the dealership rip her off. They wrote off the car they sold her and the car she won. Now a salesman has the vehicle riding around laughing and shaking his head as she pays a car note that he also got a hefty commission and her rebate too

Horrible decision. Do the math on this and she took at loan with a 25% interest rate. She either agreed to a criminally high interest rate, or the sharks at the dealership had their way with her and she overpaid. Im gussing a little of both. Probably has bad credit from making horrible financial decisions like this one, and her negotiation skills end at "where do i sign". Maybe if she put some thought into negotiating instead of making her tictok video she wouldnt have been taken advantage of so badly.

So much for the "free" car. She SHOULD NOT have a single payment due on what was won on the show.

She made an excellent choice. Provided she takes care of it, she will have an attractive and reliable car for many years. Toyotas are well made and long lasting. Many years ago I was choosing between a good looking Nissan SUV and a Honda CRV. I chose the Honda. I'm still driving it and it still looks good.

The math doesn't seem right. A $368.47 payment for 48 months equals $17,686.56 but the article is saying she financed $13k. The difference is ~$4,500. The real crime is the 36% interest.

Did she make a good choice getting rid of the car, yes. Only because of the brand Nassian isn't the greatest when it comes to longevity. Now trading, and now paying No. Everything is too high and pricy. So, to be honest I would've rented the car out and made a passive income out of it. It was free, meaning no car note. But hey, it was her car and her decision to do what she wanted, so....

You know how the saying goes beggars cannot be choosers! And also you have to be greatful for what you have. It just sounds like you’re not appreciative for what you have. Why would you incure that type of debt on your self when you could have just kept the brand new car! Some people are just ungrateful!!!!

I definitely would like the Toyota more than the other (driven Toyotas for years…never any troubles!) Haven gotten totally out of debt, I never want to go back to payments again! But those hidden “dealer costs” would put me off taking a car over cash. So if Price is Right gives cash in exchange, I’d skip the car and take the cash 💰
However, for her, the other car made a nice down payment for the Toyota, so if she could afford the payment, she should get what she really wanted.

Rav4??? Horrible truck.....take that back

Definitely Rav4 will be much better in the long run. Too bad game shows can't give out quality vehicles

I agree with using the the prize winnings as a down payment toward the car you will be happy with, even if it meant monthly payments.