Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm in the market for a new F150, and the 0% financing for 72 months expires end of September. Do you think these rates will continue, or will these free money be a thing of the past.
Dealer financing interest rate is not connected to reality. Even with interest rates rising, both at and to normal levels we haven't seen for a while, the value from interest on vehicle loans is a small part of the equation.
People (like you?) who think they are getting a killer, fabbo deal because they got 0-2% interest are likely paying through the nose (or a more painful orifice) elsewhere.
Do the homework AND the math on the whole transaction, and you may well find that 3% or so from your credit union is a helluva lot cheaper than "zero percent" financing coupled with gross oversell and other costs from the dealer. Not being subject to the dealer's whims and other leverage to get that "free" financing is worth a lot.
Besides, read the fine print. Only a small fraction of buyers qualify for such financing, and even with excellent credit etc. you're very likely to find yourself being third-degreed to sign a contract with a very different rate. Or it will turn out you can only get the rate on a loaded vehicle. Saving a thousand or so on interest doesn't mean much if it's on a vehicle with $5k in add-ons.
You will still see zero and absurdly low interest rates when vehicle loans jump back up into the 10% range; it's a come-on, not a meaningful offer.
Don't be late on a payment or you will be back to 10% interest.
Why are you buying a new anything if you can't write a check for it?
who said he couldn't write a check for it? I took a 0% loan because I HAD money for it, and I didn't want to part with all of it at once...
and no, buying a cheaper/different car wouldn't have changed it. I would have taken the loan at any amount because the interest rate is so low that it makes sense not to pay it off at once but over time
When market interest rates are higher than the percentage the dealer is charging you, you are paying it somewhere else, most likely in the price of the car. That may be ok with you but at least figure out how much it is.
The best way to do this is to NOT talk about financing when negotiating your car price. Tell them you are paying all cash. Then when you get to the paperwork, tell them you want the 0% deal.
When market interest rates are higher than the percentage the dealer is charging you, you are paying it somewhere else, most likely in the price of the car. That may be ok with you but at least figure out how much it is.
This is absolutely the key idea. Dealers play a shell game with buyers (they can't help it, any more than fire ants can help biting). They have decades of experience and a dozen or more shells to keep hiding the price under. You can't 'win' against them. Can't. So the best you can do is go in informed and with an iron spine (and brass balls) and force them into the smallest corner you can.
(That's if you insist on going to a dealership at all; I maintain it's a losing proposition and serious buyers should only go to auto brokers.)
But know what the costs are, don't let them raise the price while lowering the interest, don't get option A for free because they chivvy you into Option Package B you didn't want... don't let them keep moving the pieces around. Insist on a total breakdown and bottom line price at every step - DON'T let them give you a piece of a price that will cost you in the next step.
And never, ever, ever, ever, ever drive away with "financing to be approved," especially if zero-percent or some other financing option is a big piece of what you see as the deal.
Quote:
The best way to do this is to NOT talk about financing when negotiating your car price. Tell them you are paying all cash. Then when you get to the paperwork, tell them you want the 0% deal.
Until about a year ago, I not only would have agreed but would have been just as adamant; take financing off the table in the discussions. However, the game has changed so that regulations and such at a local and state level can be different for financed and "cash" sales. I got badly bitten by this when a scummy dealer played the deal to mousetrap me, and my having said it was a cash buy when I was going to bring in CU financing cut my legs out from under me. (Was buying a car for someone else and trusted them to do the homework... they missed some important things and I was up to my azz in the beartrap before I knew it.)
So if you're really paying cash, good on you and say so; if you are bringing your own financing, say so and deflect all discussion of dealer financing. If you are going to rely on dealer financing... well, may the odds ever be on your side, and don't conceal that from them. Not these days.
Until about a year ago, I not only would have agreed but would have been just as adamant; take financing off the table in the discussions. However, the game has changed so that regulations and such at a local and state level can be different for financed and "cash" sales. I got badly bitten by this when a scummy dealer played the deal to mousetrap me, and my having said it was a cash buy when I was going to bring in CU financing cut my legs out from under me. (Was buying a car for someone else and trusted them to do the homework... they missed some important things and I was up to my azz in the beartrap before I knew it.)
So if you're really paying cash, good on you and say so; if you are bringing your own financing, say so and deflect all discussion of dealer financing. If you are going to rely on dealer financing... well, may the odds ever be on your side, and don't conceal that from them. Not these days.
This is just overdramatized hogwash. You don’t have to be upfront with them on how you are completing the purchase.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
