Want to buy a car but don’t know how to get the best price for it?

Headstands may very well be a healthy part of your morning yoga routine, but it’s never good to be “upside-down” with respect to a car. That’s when you owe more money on your new-car loan than your vehicle is currently worth. Those looking at a Chevrolet Uplander, Isuzu Ascender, Kia Amanti or Jaguar’s S-Type or XJ are especially likely to find themselves in this awkward position.

The comfortable Kia Amanti, for example, seems like a deal at a bottom-line sticker price of only $26,195. But at three years–when a lot of people want to trade up–the Amanti is projected to be worth only 34% of its original manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP), or less than $8,700, leaving the buyer with a car that’s worth $1,800 less than what would be due to completely pay off the loan.

Another example is Jaguar’s sensational XJ Super V8 sedan, the quintessential British luxury car, and a stylish and opulent alternative to the more frequently seen Lexus LS460 and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. However good Jaguars have become today, they still suffer from especially low residuals, partly due to former reliability woes. And with a sticker price of $94,750, three years into a typical loan, you’d owe $2,200 more in principal than the car would then be worth.

These are among the vehicles that make the most sense to lease rather than buy, in part because of their extremely low resale values. So now we alaready know why we can afford to buy it… “extremely low resale values”. Now who said you can’t drive your own car within that budget?
[estimation: Forbes]