<prompt> Human: I owe about 9,900 on a car and the trade in value is about 5800. Im thinking about doing the trade in for a car that is about 11,000. It puts me in an upside-down car loan situation, but let me explain my rationale. The current car I have has issues. It is a 2014 ford focus and those who are familiar know that the automatic transmission on those have been a nightmare. Unfortunately, repairs happen and the issues always come back. Simply put... I want to get it off my hands ASAP.My hope is to own a car that I can run into the ground. I wanted to do that with this Focus but I cant stand using it 10 more years. At the end of the day, I hope the car that I buy is one that I can get 10-15 years out of. tl;dr I know upside down car loans are bad but does my decision make economic sense in the long run?  <response>: No. Run that 2014 Focus into the ground. Youre just throwing away 4,000 if you try to trade it in. Live with the inconvenience and remember to buy a Toyota next time. 