Financing/Loans...first timer

[Emt1581]

I've never bought a car through financing. Always bought WELL used and paid outright. But when I buy my 15 GT it'll definitely need to be financed. Given that, I'd like to throw out some information I've learned and then get some feedback on that, my plans, and the overall experience of financing.

I've been on the phone all morning and I have to say that the banks/credit unions were pretty up front. All the Ford dealerships were significantly more difficult to work with and ranged anywhere from "let me check with someone else about that" all the way to "our finance dept. is busy helping people actually willing to talk in person". The best rate I was able to come up with was through a state credit union. They are offering 1.49% for up to 36 months. Now originally I was planning on doing a 6yr loan just to shrink the payments below $400, but if I do the 1.49% it'll be steep but I'll save a bunch of money on the overall cost of the car and obviously the payments will be done in half the time.

What I'm looking to do is wait until mid to late summer when, hopefully, the price of a 15 GT premium with performance pack drops to around $30k, then hop on the 1.49% loan putting somewhere between $5k and $10k down and financing $20k-$25k. This will put my monthly payments from $568-$711 and make the overall cost of the loan on top of the $30k from $463-$578. Now those numbers do not include taxes or transfer fees (probably do that through AAA since we're members). I could get lucky and the (private) seller will work with me on the transfer numbers which a dealer won't do. And at this point the only reason to buy used from any of the Ford dealers around here would be Certified Used which increased the warranties as well as the price. My insurance guy is going to be getting back to me with GAP terms/pricing.

Given all that info...

Is there anything I'm forgetting in terms of the overall purchase?

Anyone know of better rates anywhere right now?

Any reason shopping on cars.com, autotrader.com, etc. is a bad idea and a local dealer is instead the way to go? While I've never bought a Mustang, my thinking is, look it over with a fine toothed comb and even if something goes wrong...still have 1-2 years of warranty left and then power train after that.

Thanks in advance!! Through reading threads and talking to you all, I am RAPIDLY coming down the home stretch of what I need to know to feel comfortable pulling the trigger on my GT when the time comes!!

-Emt1581

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[Excelerater]

credit unions and local banks IMO do well..1.49% is killer,jump on it
Ford dealer was shady for me,ran like 6 credit reports on me and shopped my loan
all over america. I'll never let them sell me financing again because pulling all those
reports came up as a red flag
Internet places I would avoid like the plague esp Autotrader which is a scamming mess

 

[ForTehNguyen]

i wouldnt put any money down if you can get 1.49%. Milk that practically free money.

 

[BmacIL]

I've never bought a car through financing. Always bought WELL used and paid outright. But when I buy my 15 GT it'll definitely need to be financed. Given that, I'd like to throw out some information I've learned and then get some feedback on that, my plans, and the overall experience of financing.

I've been on the phone all morning and I have to say that the banks/credit unions were pretty up front. All the Ford dealerships were significantly more difficult to work with and ranged anywhere from "let me check with someone else about that" all the way to "our finance dept. is busy helping people actually willing to talk in person". The best rate I was able to come up with was through a state credit union. They are offering 1.49% for up to 36 months. Now originally I was planning on doing a 6yr loan just to shrink the payments below $400, but if I do the 1.49% it'll be steep but I'll save a bunch of money on the overall cost of the car and obviously the payments will be done in half the time.

What I'm looking to do is wait until mid to late summer when, hopefully, the price of a 15 GT premium with performance pack drops to around $30k, then hop on the 1.49% loan putting somewhere between $5k and $10k down and financing $20k-$25k. This will put my monthly payments from $568-$711 and make the overall cost of the loan on top of the $30k from $463-$578. Now those numbers do not include taxes or transfer fees (probably do that through AAA since we're members). I could get lucky and the (private) seller will work with me on the transfer numbers which a dealer won't do. And at this point the only reason to buy used from any of the Ford dealers around here would be Certified Used which increased the warranties as well as the price. My insurance guy is going to be getting back to me with GAP terms/pricing.

Given all that info...

Is there anything I'm forgetting in terms of the overall purchase?

Anyone know of better rates anywhere right now?

Any reason shopping on cars.com, autotrader.com, etc. is a bad idea and a local dealer is instead the way to go? While I've never bought a Mustang, my thinking is, look it over with a fine toothed comb and even if something goes wrong...still have 1-2 years of warranty left and then power train after that.

Thanks in advance!! Through reading threads and talking to you all, I am RAPIDLY coming down the home stretch of what I need to know to feel comfortable pulling the trigger on my GT when the time comes!!

-Emt1581

I'd try and put down about 20-25% of the purchase price. The more the better. By the time you purchase, better than 1.9% will be hard to come by, since the fed will start increasing interest rates overall. I would use autotrader/cars.com, etc. to find dealers within a radius (say 50 miles or so) that have Mustangs and go visit the the ones that have what you're looking for. Some may be offering extended warranties as part of sale (so that you can put 5 yr/60k mi on it with a warranty).

Until then, just research what you're looking for, and allocate your mod budget accordingly

 

[Driversound]

I've never bought a car through financing. Always bought WELL used and paid outright. But when I buy my 15 GT it'll definitely need to be financed. Given that, I'd like to throw out some information I've learned and then get some feedback on that, my plans, and the overall experience of financing.

I've been on the phone all morning and I have to say that the banks/credit unions were pretty up front. All the Ford dealerships were significantly more difficult to work with and ranged anywhere from "let me check with someone else about that" all the way to "our finance dept. is busy helping people actually willing to talk in person". The best rate I was able to come up with was through a state credit union. They are offering 1.49% for up to 36 months. Now originally I was planning on doing a 6yr loan just to shrink the payments below $400, but if I do the 1.49% it'll be steep but I'll save a bunch of money on the overall cost of the car and obviously the payments will be done in half the time.

What I'm looking to do is wait until mid to late summer when, hopefully, the price of a 15 GT premium with performance pack drops to around $30k, then hop on the 1.49% loan putting somewhere between $5k and $10k down and financing $20k-$25k. This will put my monthly payments from $568-$711 and make the overall cost of the loan on top of the $30k from $463-$578. Now those numbers do not include taxes or transfer fees (probably do that through AAA since we're members). I could get lucky and the (private) seller will work with me on the transfer numbers which a dealer won't do. And at this point the only reason to buy used from any of the Ford dealers around here would be Certified Used which increased the warranties as well as the price. My insurance guy is going to be getting back to me with GAP terms/pricing.

Given all that info...

Is there anything I'm forgetting in terms of the overall purchase?

Anyone know of better rates anywhere right now?

Any reason shopping on cars.com, autotrader.com, etc. is a bad idea and a local dealer is instead the way to go? While I've never bought a Mustang, my thinking is, look it over with a fine toothed comb and even if something goes wrong...still have 1-2 years of warranty left and then power train after that.

Thanks in advance!! Through reading threads and talking to you all, I am RAPIDLY coming down the home stretch of what I need to know to feel comfortable pulling the trigger on my GT when the time comes!!

-Emt1581

Being the GT premiums MSRP for just under $40K with the PP, I doubt the price will ever go down to $30K. Not for a years anyway. These cars move themselves. The only incentive I've seen is $500 and something like 4.9% APR while most models are zero percent interest and thousands off MSRP incentives, that should tell you a lot about Mustang sales.

If you are buying new, I'd recommend extended warranty. It doesn't have to be purchased from the selling dealer either.

 

[Emt1581]

i wouldnt put any money down if you can get 1.49%. Milk that practically free money.

Ha! That's okay, that'd put my payments up to $850-$900. After just getting out of having to pay $1000/mo for day care I don't want to get into that mess again!

Thanks though.

-Emt1581

 

[Emt1581]

Being the GT premiums MSRP for just under $40K with the PP, I doubt the price will ever go down to $30K. Not for a years anyway. These cars move themselves. The only incentive I've seen is $500 and something like 4.9% APR while most models are zero percent interest and thousands off MSRP incentives, that should tell you a lot about Mustang sales.

If you are buying new, I'd recommend extended warranty. It doesn't have to be purchased from the selling dealer either.

The exact car I want (except for color) with premium and performance and under 10k miles is already available for under $32k. Or am I misunderstanding you?

Thanks

-Emt1581

 

[jasonstang]

Ha! That's okay, that'd put my payments up to $850-$900. After just getting out of having to pay $1000/mo for day care I don't want to get into that mess again!

Thanks though.

-Emt1581

It really depends. You have to safe up down payments if you want to have a lower monthly payment so it all end up being the same. I think if you have money spare, put down as much as possible. If not, you can always pay more per month.
Also having a down payment will get you a higher chance of getting approved because your debt to income ratio will be lower.

 

[Emt1581]

It really depends. You have to safe up down payments if you want to have a lower monthly payment so it all end up being the same. I think if you have money spare, put down as much as possible. If not, you can always pay more per month.
Also having a down payment will get you a higher chance of getting approved because your debt to income ratio will be lower.

Right, sound like what I was thinking. Plus looking at the bigger picture, borrowing $30k vs. $20k means I'm paying the credit union less money in the end, even if it's minimal due to the already low rate.

Thanks

-Emt1581

 

[Charles147]

Ha! That's okay, that'd put my payments up to $850-$900. After just getting out of having to pay $1000/mo for day care I don't want to get into that mess again!

Thanks though.

-Emt1581

No it wont. How much are you paying for the car? Easily get a loan in low 40k with monthly lower than 650 a month at under 2% rate.

 

[Emt1581]

No it wont. How much are you paying for the car? Easily get a loan in low 40k with monthly lower than 650 a month at under 2% rate.

Paying it off in 3 yrs??

Thanks

-Emt1581

 

[Charles147]

credit unions and local banks IMO do well..1.49% is killer,jump on it
Ford dealer was shady for me,ran like 6 credit reports on me and shopped my loan
all over america. I'll never let them sell me financing again because pulling all those
reports came up as a red flag
Internet places I would avoid like the plague esp Autotrader which is a scamming mess

Every dealership I've ran across shopped a loan through credit unions and local banks :shrug:

 

[Charles147]

Paying it off in 3 yrs??

Thanks

-Emt1581

72 months

 

[Skatz5000]

No it wont. How much are you paying for the car? Easily get a loan in low 40k with monthly lower than 650 a month at under 2% rate.

He's talking 36 month your talking 72. And good luck getting that kind of loan/rate on a used car

 

[daltron]

When it's time to do your loan shopping, hit up credit unions and banks within a 2 year period. If you buy it from a dealership, have them then try to beat your best rate. Car shopping in a short time frame does NOT hurt your credit score.

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