<prompt> Human: My car is a diesel VW, affected by the scandal that you may have heard about TLDR: VW cheated on emissions tests and is now liable to fix or buy back the cars. I currently still owe 7000 on my 2011 with 193,000 miles on it. The buyback value if I turn it in on the first possible day is 13,025. I am in a generally bad financial situation, and Ive come to see this deal as a great opportunity. If I take the buyback right away, I pay off the car loan along with about 5000 in credit card debt thats at very high interest rates. All told Ill eliminate roughly 150 per month in interest payments, nearly 700 a month in bills. That should have a lot of positive effects on my finances. First, Ill finally be free of the high-rate debts that Ive been largely unsuccessful in chipping away at. These are credit cards with rates over 20. Eliminating that much interest from my monthly payments gives me a lot more power to reduce debt - and I have a lot of other debts, which at that point will be my student loans and mortgage along with 15,000 in lower rate credit cards. Second, eliminating these debts will lower my debt to income ratio and credit utilization figures, so it should be a huge boost to my credit score. That might enable me to get a home equity loan to refinance the rest of my higher-interest debts and get everything down to mortgage-like rates. Ive already acquired a beater hand-me-down car to replace my VW. Its an SUV, much worse on gas but slightly better for my lifestyle, and may help me to achieve some long-term goals such as getting a trailer and living on the road when my work allows it, which is often. On the other hand, people in rTDI are talking a lot about the benefit of just keeping the cars as long as possible. The buyback values are fixed except for a mileage adjustment, which is cheap; for my year its 180 per 5,000 miles. The price stays the same as long as you turn it in by November 2018. The car is very cheap to drive as it gets 40 mpg even when carrying all my stuff. So in theory if there wasnt opportunity cost it would make a lot of sense to hold on to it as long as possible and save money on miles. I do drive a lot and the truck is going to cost me a lot more to drive. There is another however. The car has nearly 200,000 miles already and there are two common mechanical failures that could occur with very costly repairs. The only condition attached to the buyback is that the car must be driven to the dealership under its own power, but if the fuel pump fails it could cost a few grand to get it driving again. To me this is a big risk not worth taking, along with the cost of continuing to carry all that debt 150 a month in interest, not to mention the payments and insuring the car about 100 a month. So to me the deal seems like a windfall that I should jump on ASAP, but I do have FOMO about driving for an extra two years virtually free. Note that a few years ago I asked this sub for advice on getting my finances back on track after I graduated law school and found myself in a much worse job market and lower salary than I expected, and the first thing you all told me was to sell the car, which wasnt then possible as it was upside down. Now Ive got the opportunity to sell or for twice what I owe. In terms of the rest of my financial picture, I make very little, between 40,000 and 50,000 a year, with about 175,000 in student loan debt , 20,000 in credit cards 5000 of which is above 20, and a 40,000 mortgage with substantial equity available in the house. I work very few hours and while Im trying to grow my business, Im also very happy working only part time as I have bipolar disorder and dont handle the stress of work very well. Im sorry for the wall of text. Im pretty sure I know the answer, Im just hoping that someone with a little more wisdom will confirm that Im making the right choice. Edit: The question isnt whether to sell it to them at all, which is a no-brainer. Its whether to sell it back now or drive it for a few more monthsyears free of charge as the buyback value wont change except a mileage adjustment.  <response>: If you postpone taking the buyback for a few months, its not free driving for you - its costing you the 20 interest youre paying in the meantime on your credit card debt. 