can't afford car anymore

house

Please help.
I bought a new car last November (2005) on a loan from the Dealer, when my self-employed business was doing well. However, business is on a decline for this coming year. I wanted to downgrade so that my payments wouldn't be so high, and so I wouldn't run into debt. However, my dealer is not interested in taking the car back for at least a year, and downgraded cars he is offering makes my payments dearer, although this, he says, will balance out in cheaper running costs, which are expensive.
I don't want to get into debt. Does anyone know how I can tackle this problem?

nomoneytoday

If its on HP you can voluntarily give the car back if you have paid half of the loan..

lisyloo

Depreciation on brand new cars is huge in the first year unless you got a really good deal or bought a demonstrator (after that initial depreciation has gone).

If you didn't get a special deal then I am afraid it's difficult because if you sell you will have to experience some quite big depreciation.

There are 2 options I can think of.

1) Refinance - what rate is the dealer charging you? If it's a high rate you may well be able to improve the finance a great deal.
2) Sell the car privately and take a big hit in depreciation (a few thousand) a buy something a lot more modest.

It would help if you could say what type of car it is, what you paid and what rate the finance is on.
The dealer is probably not your best route for help on this.