WASHINGTON, DC — A TikTok creator known as Yancy says a decision to trade in a 2017 Ford Explorer after expensive repairs led him into a 2022 Kia K5 loan with a starting principal balance of $37,880 and a 23.5% interest rate. He says his monthly payment came to $1,040 after he put $5,000 down.
After 36 payments, Yancy says he has sent $37,440 toward the Kia, but the principal has only fallen to $28,275. He says Kelley Blue Book valued the car at $13,200, leaving him roughly $15,000 underwater if he sold it for that amount. The story has circulated widely online and he has said he is documenting the process to get out of the loan.
What The Loan Numbers Show
In his videos, Yancy says the Explorer needed about $5,000 in repairs, including air-conditioning work, a coolant leak fix and a new water pump. Rather than repair the SUV, he traded it in, but says the old vehicle was worth less than what he still owed, which left him with negative equity before the Kia deal even started.
He later described the Kia as the worst financial decision he has ever made. The math he shared shows how a large share of his payments has gone to interest rather than reducing the balance. He says that even after paying more than the original principal he borrowed, the loan still has a sizable amount left.
Why He Says He Is Stuck
Yancy addressed common suggestions in a follow-up video labeled “Dumb Kia Q&A.” He said refinancing has been a dead end because lenders do not want to lend against a vehicle that is worth far less than the remaining balance. He said one bank employee laughed after hearing that the car was a Kia and the amount still owed.
He also said repossession would not erase the debt. Under the example he gave, if the lender sold the car at auction for $5,000, he could still owe about $23,000 after the sale. He said rolling the negative equity into a lease would leave him with another large payment, while deliberately wrecking the car was not an option.
What Comes Next
Yancy says his plan is to save cash for a cheap used car, then keep making extra principal payments on the Kia until the balance falls enough to sell it without carrying debt into another vehicle. He says he works delivery jobs to help cover expenses, which makes a lease with mileage limits a poor fit for his income.
For borrowers watching their own loan balances, the practical takeaway is to compare the payoff amount with the car’s current trade-in value, then check whether extra payments are actually being applied to principal. NerdWallet says drivers can also ask about refinancing, gap insurance or simply continuing to pay down the loan. Anyone considering a trade, payoff or surrender can confirm the numbers with the lender and a current valuation tool such as Kelley Blue Book.
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