jcastag

I was looking to purchase a 2017 Mustang GT today, and the only sticking point was the ability to combine the Ford $2500 rebate with the Ford 1.9% (60 mos) or 3.9% (72 mos) APR. I was told by the dealer that they CANNOT combine those 2, and it would have to be 1 or the other. I am confused on that because you would think that they would be doing whatever possible to unload cars that have been sitting on dealer lots for over 500 days.

In addition, they told me that if I needed to take the rebate, that I would go through a bank for the loan, and interest would be 5.5% APR. My credit is perfect with a score over 800, so is that rate normal?? Seems high for a new car loan.

Has anyone else had any experience with this, or have any clarifying documentation?

Help is greatly appreciated.

08'MustangDude

That's how they do it. If you can buy the car outright, then you can get the $2500
rebate. Financing at those rates are special rates, which will end up saving you
about $2500 over the loan.

SO yeah, if you go through the bank for a loan, Ford sees it as an outright buy, so
you get the $2500 rebate.

So, you have to do the math; is 5.5% worth the $2500? No way!

NOT including tax, down payment or trade, and all that other stuff:
$37,195 - $2500 is $34,605, at 5.5% for 72 months would be $40,706 total paid.

$37,195 at 1.9% for 60 months would be $39,449, you've saved $1257 bucks without the rebate..

$37,195 at 3.9% for 72 months would be $42,237 paid out, here, you lose all the way around...

The price was based on the 2017 Premium GT
https://www.onlineloancalculator.org/
Use this link to calculate your actual pricing...

The 2018 Ecoboost got a price cut, but the 2008 GT went up $2000.

This is how they get you... The only way you beat them with the rebate and
buying with payments is if your bank can beat their interest rates. 10:1, they
can't.

The rebates are for people who can pay in full, and save a TON -vs- someone who
has to make payments...

JimC

5.5% seems high to me. Check around and you should be able to find anywhere from 2.55% to 3.45% with local banks and credit unions.

Then let the dealer know what you found on your own and they will try to beat it with their sources.

jcastag

Thats what I was thinking too...I will try some online car loan banks and see what they can do.. I don't see why I should be over 3.9 with an 800 credit score

jcastag

Thank you so much for the feedback... Sometimes an outside perspective really helps you think differently

proeagles

Always take the rebate if you have good credit. You can beat that 5.5% easily.

jcastag

Looks I can get the loan for 4.0 from an outside bank... Hope they can fund the loan quickly

This will allow me to keep the rebates on the car and get basically the same rate as Ford

AK_Kayaker

Also make sure the loan has no penalty for early payoff, that way you can pay extra to knock the principal down, that will make more of the next regular payment go towards knocking down the principal, then coupled with more over payments will shorten the loan length and reduce the amount of overall interest paid.
Start over paying from the first payment as the beginning of the loan is when you are paying the most interest per payment.
And 4.0 is still a little high, my credit union offered me 3.49, which would save $400 over a 4YR loan of 37,500.

jcastag

The loan is through LightStream auto loans, not sure if anyone has used them, heard of them, has information about them, etc.

Based on what I have seen, they seem pretty reputable for an online loan company. Here are the terms of what I got:

72 month loan
4.04APR
No prepayment penalty
Payment $385

If I did the 60 month loan, I think it would have been a bit cheaper with a 3.2% APR, but my payment would have been about $450

Not a bad payment, but I have other car payments as well

Thoughts?

08'MustangDude

So you're getting the car for $24,500 total (with tax & fees), somewhere around?

The 60 months @ 450 is only saving you $720.00 -vs- the 72 months plan...