In fact, I think there are a lot of people who are happy with dealer financing. Some of this may be from “so I can drive away my new car” aspirations, as there are actually a lot of people who don’t plan ahead for a vehicle purchase. (For Ascension, many of us have had to wait for factory orders to at least help) There are many rides that are bought “impulsively” or at least in a hurry.
I think it’s good practice to “stay aware” of the financial market for things like car loans, credit cards, insurance, etc. Things are constantly changing. This does not mean constant hard research; just see what’s happening every now and then. The car loan business is very competitive and dynamic. It’s profitable for merchants because with a semi-captive audience, they can earn a few extra shekels on a deal by giving credit. But as individuals, we all hopefully have a responsibility to make sure we’re getting the best financial deal available to us.
My approach has always been to try and organize my best available option(s) before speaking to a car dealer. Once the agreement is reached, they then have the option to match or beat. It has gone both ways for me. I’ve mentioned before that for the MY11 Outback Limited, the local dealer matched the 1.49% financing I had available with a bank and I let them do that loan. They made a few bucks and we got the rate. They couldn’t match the MY16 Outback Limited with the Eyesight, so PenFed had that loan. The same is currently true with my Ascent… they currently do not have a better deal or a match for me based on their current financial partners income. So I have 2.49% with PenFed, check in hand, ready for my delivery in the next week or so. I could have lowered it to 1.49% if I wanted to play the “TrueCar” game and waste some time from the dealers, but as I’ve mentioned before on this thread, it wasn’t worth the hassle for a few hundred bucks. with interest on a three-year loan. I am paying off this vehicle quickly because of a new source of income.
