Will I get a better deal financing my Prius or paying the balance in cash?

When my new baby comes in, would it be better for me to purchase using a loan through the dealer or paying cash for the balance? I would pay the loan off as son as I can get payoff info anyway...I'd rather forgo 1.5% in accrued interest on the mony and pay myself back than to pay at least 6.2%...

If you can pay cash, do so. There are no breaks on interest for loans on the 2010.

execute a promissory note for the balance and then give them the funds within the stated 14 days - i did this with my wife's 2006 camry in Virginia. They may require excellent credit to do this, but if you "qualify" it doesn't cost anything. I even wired them the $ a few days after i took the car. That was convenient and even tho it cost me $15 at my bank to do he wire i felt safer than having a check in the mail or carrying it around.

I made out the check at the dealer for my 2009.

Landmark Credit Union 3.99% thats were i just got my loan 36 months

Nice rate, but you still come out ahead paying cash (if you can afford it).

i have the cashish in an interest bearing account (ING, at a whopping 1.5%) so I will wait and move it after i get the car, since i have no freakin idea when i will get the car and am likely to be surprised by a "come down today cause you are 22nd and this IV with SolarNav in red just just dropped down all the way to you because #17 didn't want it" call and have to act fast.

I always write a check. On one occasion, I realized that I could negotiate a better deal on a car if I used the dealer's financing (with a ridiculously high interest rate). I financed the car and paid it off a month later before any interest accumulated, but that's an extreme situation.

I save a little over 10,000 dollars paying cash for a Prius V w/ATP in Classic Silver. If you can, I suggest paying cash.

Thanks! I too do not know when my car will come in so depending upon what works to get me the car the quickest and cheapest I may take the financing and pay in within a few days. If I can swing it, I'd rather pay cash and pay myself back.

I told my dealer that I would wait as long as needed for my car as i still have my 2007 Prius that I will trade in, but I CAN'T WAIT! lol

If I was to finance then would be a better idea to get the loan from an outside creditor than to the dealer its as if I'm paying cash. Who knows maybe I'll find a better interest rate than what the dealer could offer?

I suggest the opposite: let the dealership discreetly know that they are going to profit by financing your car.

You can always pay it off with cash very soon thereafter, or refinance to a 3.99% Penfed.org car loan within six month I think.

You saved $10k by paying in cash? That assumes, what, an 8 year loan, no money down, at 7% APR?

You might have actually saved $20,000 (assuming a 12 year loan, no money down, at 9% APR)! Numbers are fun.

Seriously though, there's no financing incentives for the 2010, so cash or financing should make no difference on the sale price.

From a purely financial perspective, unless you can get an investment rate of return which exceeds the car loan APR, you're better off paying for the car outright.

And, by the way, if you can get an investment rate of return better than 6% in this economy, please send me a PM.

If you're willing to gamble, I hear GM stock is cheap...

I don't think the accrued interest on a couple of weeks of loan would really amount to much, but...

It seems to me that your question has more to do with simplifying the process. If you have a checkbook and want to pay but the only thing you're missing is the payoff, then there should be a number you can call to get an immediate payoff balance on you current loan. That can usually be done in the business office. Then you can write a check for the full amount and let the business department take care of all the details. If however your car is not in yet and you have the money for the payoff anyway, why not go ahead and pay it off now? Then you take the title with you and make your trade.

I have in the past when dealing with an outstanding loan on my trade gotten my credit union to go ahead and give me the clear title to take to the dealer. I take the paper work back to the Credit Union the next day to finance what ever I need on the new car. This is a credit union at work and they know me well. Not sure that would work with a "public" credit union.

Call me ignorant, but how do you save about 1/3 the cost of the new car by paying cash? Perhaps you are in the Big City and you borrow money normally from Louie on the street corner???

Perhaps he meant that he has saved up $10,000 in a savings account, and will use that cash (possibly with other money from a trade in, or financing the balance) to buy the rest of the car?

Otherwise, I would also be very interested in how he could save $10k by paying cash, as I would jump on that too!

This may be true for some loans, but I believe that the majority of loans issued by the auto manufacturers (Toyota, Honda, GMAC, etc,) have all of the interest built in. Unlike a home mortgage, where you can save money by making extra payments or paying off the loan early, there is usually no benefit to paying off a car loan early. It is best to make the cash or finance decision BEFORE you sign the papers.

what's the vig?