Negative Equity Car Loans in BC.
What to do when you owe more than your car is worth in BC. Options for upside-down loans.
What negative equity means.
Negative equity — owing more than your vehicle is worth — is common, especially with longer loan terms and higher interest rates. See our BC rate guide for current rate ranges.
How it happens.
If you owe $18,000 on a vehicle worth $12,000, you have $6,000 in negative equity.
Your options in BC.
Your options in BC: keep making payments until the balance falls below the vehicle value (usually 12–24 months), trade in and roll the negative equity into a new loan (increases the new loan amount but gets you into a safer or more reliable vehicle), or refinance at a lower rate to pay down the balance faster. Use our payment calculator to model your specific scenario.
Rolling negative equity carefully.
Rolling negative equity should only be done when the new vehicle genuinely meets a need — not just for a newer car.
Getting help.
Your advisor can model the exact numbers. If your current vehicle is unreliable and costing you in repairs, rolling $3,000–$5,000 of negative equity into a reliable used vehicle can be the financially sound choice. Avoid extending terms beyond 72 months to absorb the negative equity — the math rarely works out. Start your pre-approval — 2 minutes, no hard credit pull, no obligation. See our documents checklist to prepare.
Frequently asked questions.
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