Originally Posted by
mattm
Came really close to pulling the trigger on a good deal on the (white) Golf, but at the last second the dealer said I couldn't put more than $1k down on their 4.99% APR 60-month loan so I walked.
The way they are structuring this deal I can't even finance it through my bank or they'll redo the whole offer (for a worse price). The good price on the car is linked to their ****ty loan, it seems.
They kept saying I could pay it off early anyway, so it shouldn't matter to me - but it looks like I would have to pay the full interest on the total no matter when I paid it off, which is not what I'm looking for.. **** is complicated.
Lucky for me they aren't the only game in town, I'm not in a rush, and so far the VW dealerships are willing to match each other's deals.
Must be tough for dealers these days, what with TrueCar and all - people come in with crazy good deals, then want to negotiate for more off, etc. But they've created this monster of negotiating everything and keeping customers blind, so I don't feel too bad.
I think that's unlikely. Most car loans these days have no prepayment penalty, and the interest is only calculated on the outstanding principal balance. Read the loan terms carefully to confirm that is the case, but I'd bet dollars to donuts that's the case.
So if you get the best price on the car you want with that loan, do it. Then you have options; 1) put the extra down payment into the first payment, reducing the outstanding balance and the interest, 2) make larger monthly payments, 3) immediately refinance on better terms.
Originally Posted by
Flatballer
Yikes. Yeah, definitely find a new dealership. That's really not how it's supposed to work, at all.
They should give you their best out the door number and you can pay for it however you want.
There's nothing unreasonable about what the dealer's doing here. They have to make money selling cars to stay in business. One way they make money is on the financing. Thus they can sell you the car at a lower price, knowing that for most customers they'll make the money on the financing.
If you have good credit (and can refi at a lower rate), or cash to pay off early, you get the benefit of a lower price, and are in effect subsidized by other customers who can't or won't refi or pay off early.
I've financed cars before to get a more favorable price, and then immediately paid them off. Recently did it on a Macan Turbo.