If you’re stuck in a car loan where you owe more than your vehicle is worth, you’ve probably heard the same advice from everyone: “Just keep making your payments, and eventually it’ll sort itself out.”
Here’s what nobody tells you: waiting usually makes things worse, not better.
The Math That Works Against You
Most people assume that making regular payments will eventually close the gap between what they owe and what their car is worth. In reality, your vehicle loses value faster than you’re paying down the loan—especially in those first few years.
While you’re making monthly payments, depreciation is eating away at your car’s value every single day. That gap between what you owe and what it’s worth? It’s not standing still. For many Western Canadian drivers, it’s actually growing.
Why This Matters Right Now
The longer you wait to address negative equity, the fewer options you have available. Lenders look at how deep you are underwater when evaluating what they can do to help. A manageable equity gap today could become an impossible situation to refinance or trade out of six months from now.
Beyond the numbers, there’s the emotional weight. Every payment feels like you’re throwing money into a black hole. You’re tied to a vehicle that doesn’t work for your life anymore—maybe it’s the wrong size for your growing family, or the fuel costs are killing your budget, or the repairs are piling up—but you feel trapped because you’re upside down on the loan.
The Real Cost of Staying Put
Here’s what happens when you decide to just “wait it out”:
The vehicle continues to depreciate, often faster than your payment schedule reduces the principal. If something happens—an accident, a mechanical failure, a life change that requires a different vehicle—you’re stuck dealing with significant negative equity on top of an already stressful situation.
Meanwhile, interest keeps accumulating on a higher balance than necessary. Every month you’re paying interest on money you’re underwater by, which means you’re literally paying to stay stuck.
Over time, your options narrow. Lenders have programs designed to help people with negative equity, but those programs have limits. The deeper you are underwater, the harder it becomes to find a lender willing to work with your situation.
What You Can Do Instead
At Approval Express, we work with Western Canadians facing negative equity situations every single day. We’ve seen firsthand that addressing the problem early opens doors that close the longer you wait.
We work with lenders who have programs specifically designed for negative equity situations—some that can handle significant gaps. We help people in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba understand exactly where they stand, what their vehicle is actually worth in today’s market, and what realistic options exist to get into a vehicle that fits their life and budget.
The key is having an honest conversation about your situation. Not a sales pitch. Not pressure to make a decision today. Just a clear picture of where you are and what paths forward actually exist.
You’re Not Stuck—You Just Need Better Information
Most people avoid calling because they assume they already know what they’ll hear: “You’re too far underwater, there’s nothing we can do.” That’s rarely true. Until you have actual numbers—your real payoff amount, your vehicle’s current trade value, and what programs your situation qualifies for—you’re making decisions based on assumptions instead of facts.
The difference between where you are now and six months from now could be the difference between manageable options and no options at all. Depreciation doesn’t care about your timeline. Interest doesn’t pause while you figure things out. The gap only gets harder to bridge with time.
Let’s Just Talk About Your Situation
No pressure. No judgment. No obligation to move forward if it doesn’t make sense.
We’ll look at your specific situation—your payoff amount, your vehicle’s current value, your budget, and what you actually need from your next vehicle. Then we’ll walk through what options exist, what they look like in real numbers, and whether any of them improve your situation.
Sometimes the best move is to stay put. Sometimes there’s a clear path to getting into something that works better for your life without making your financial situation worse. You won’t know until we look at the actual numbers together.
Getting that clarity costs you nothing. Making a decision without it could cost you thousands.
Ready to find out where you actually stand? Let’s start a conversation. Apply at Approval Express Canada and one of our team members will walk through your situation with you—no sales pressure, just honest answers about what’s possible for your specific circumstances.
The longer you wait, the more limited your options become. Let’s talk today.