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Negative Equity Explained

What it means to be underwater on a car loan, why rolling it forward is risky, and how to dig out.

You have negative equity when the trade-in's payoff exceeds its value. Rolling negative equity into a new loan increases the financed amount, the payment, and the loan-to-value on the new vehicle.

Use our trade-in calculator to see the impact and watch for the LTV warnings.

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