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Minimum credit score for Toyota financing?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by TomInOregon, Jul 9, 2009.

  1. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    well i wrote a personal check for the car (of course, this was 3rd check for 3rd Pri at same dealership) but i write it, give it to salesman, then go to waranty manager, sit down, talk with him, sign some more papers and then done. it takes about 10-15 minutes. then the salesman comes back out, hands me keys, (then tries to tell me how to operate car... i politely listened but also told them i had another appointment , which was true and to rush it a bit)

    but during that time, they can easily verify my balance. its a local check, so not sure that its not verified before i leave since it would only take a few minutes to check
     
  2. stedye

    stedye New Member

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    Thanks to all you generous folks who answered the question . It truly helped me and I learned a few tips on credit that I had not got from some of the Financial/credit books I own. Greatly appreciate it!!
     
  3. jestoy7

    jestoy7 New Member

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    Wow, that is REAL good! I have decent credit and got 4.44 through BofA and I thought that was pretty good. :)
     
  4. TomInOregon

    TomInOregon Junior Member

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    You called that one! They offered me $1,000 and thought they were doing me a favor. They were not willing to negotiate at all. Now I have to run some more numbers to see if I am still even interested in a Prius. Without taking the Altima on trade, I will end up with an extra car I do not need, higher payments than I planned and will need to find another car dealer to work with. It doesn't look like this is going to work for me. When did car dealers stop taking trade-ins?
     
  5. jburns

    jburns Senior Senior Member

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    • We have a good dealer here. Here is the financial info right from their website. They will match interest rates with local credit unions. Of course they do offer the overpriced extended warranty but will offer a deal if you know enough to ask.

    Finance Pricing

    Tier 1 - FICO 720+
    63 Months 6.74%

    Tier 1 - FICO 720+
    66 Months 7.24%

    Tier 1 - FICO 720+
    75 Months 7.74%

    Tier 2 - FICO 700-719
    63 Months 7.24%

    Tier 2 - FICO 700-719
    66 Months 7.74%

    Tier 2 - FICO 700-719
    75 Months 8.24%

    Tier 3 - FICO 680-699
    63 Months 7.79%

    Tier 3 - FICO 680-699
    66 Months 8.29%

    Tier 3 - FICO 680-699
    75 Months 8.79%

    Tier 4 - FICO 660-679
    63 Months 8.64%

    Tier 4 - FICO 660-679
    66 Months 9.29%

    Tier 4 - FICO 660-679
    75 Months 9.94%

    Tier 5 -
    60 Months 10.04%

    Tier 5 -
    66 Months 10.79%

    Tier 5 -
    72 Months 11.54%

    Tier 6 -
    60 Months 12.59%

    Tier 6 -
    66 Months 13.59%

    Tier 6 -
    72 Months 14.59%

    Tier 7 -
    60 Months 13.78%

    Tier 7 -
    66 Months 14.78%

    Tier 7 -
    72 Months 15.78%



    Finance Programs available for First Time buyers & Credit Challenged. Please Inquire



    LEASE MONEY FACTORS


    Tier 1 - FICO 720+
    24 - 42 months 0.00214

    Tier 1 - FICO 720+
    48 - 51 months 0.00214

    Tier 1 - FICO 720+
    54 - 60 months 0.00224

    Tier 2 - FICO 680-719
    24 - 42 months 0.00254

    Tier 2 - FICO 680-719
    48 - 51 months 0.00254

    Tier 2 - FICO 680-719
    54 - 60 months 0.00264

    Tier 3 - FICO 650-679
    24 - 42 months 0.00334

    Tier 3 - FICO 650-679
    48 - 51 months 0.00334

    Tier 3 - FICO 650-679
    54 - 60 months 0.00344

    Tier 4 - FICO 600-649
    24 - 42 months 0.00388

    Tier 4 - FICO 600-649
    48 - 51 months 0.00388

    Tier 4 - FICO 600-649
    54 - 60 months 0.00398



    Extended Service Protection
    Months/Miles

    Platinum Protection
    84 months / 100K miles $1499

    Platinum Protection
    72 months / 80K miles $1197

    Platinum Protection
    60 months / 60K $1090


    Other Products


    Payment Protection


    Credit Life / Disability Insurance
    Premiums may vary according to state requirements, the amount of indebtedness, the age of the insured, length of re-payment term, and other factors. Call us for details.


    Guaranteed Auto Protection (GAP)
    Available on all Retail and Lease Contracts $595.00
    * Rates depend on final approval by SET Finance & are subject to change without notice. Vann York Scion tries to keep finance rates as up to date as possible. We check every week for verification.
     
  6. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Yeah. Sorry, to hear about that, but I'm not surprised.

    Sometimes dealers don't give you much because they know they can't/don't want to sell it themselves, so they'd just put it up at auction. I've had them tell me that w/one of my cars before.

    I was gonig to suggest seeing how much Carmax would give you, but there are none near you (or me).
     
  7. Jabber

    Jabber Chicagoland Prius Guy

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    I am positive. It is not official yet. You will get dinged if 20 dealers run your bureau.. If you would like proof, simply PM your SS# :D I am kidding of course.

    And someone else mentioned that I can run a bureau without an SS#. That is true, but I have to be VERY lucky. I need to know your exact address, DOB, and at least 7 out of the 9 numbers in the correct positions. If I get that, it will give me your bureau, and your correct SS#. But the odds are I won't be able to guess.

    Cashier's checks aren't what they used to be. We had a gentlemen mail us a cashiers check that was such an obvious fake (no watermarks, no tiny printed script, etc). It looked like he made it on MS notepad, then printed it when one of his ink cartridges was running low. He was adamant about us shipping the car to him, and including the shipping costs that he was going to "pay". But he had to have it by a certain date. Tried to give some lame excuseas to why he needed it so quickly. We told the customer that it was shipped (having some fun with him) and it should arrive at a certain time on a specific date. He must have called the transport company 6 to 7 times (it was another salespersons cell phone). As the date got closer, we again confirmed the exact time, date, and address (this should have been a huge tip off to him). Last I heard, we had a driver there at the exact time we promised. The driver was a local sheriff.

    I'm speaking tongue on cheek of course, but there is no law that says a dealership has to buy your trade in. We do it because we need the trade in and feel we can make money on it, can live with the trade in and really need to sell the new one, or we appraise it for less because we don't want it. Another story here, but I recently had a customer try to trade in an avalon with 181k miles. Car was a piece of junk. Rusted, smoked in, ripped seats.. junk. She had a "for sale" sign in the window asking $3,500. She confided in me that she had a buyer at $2,000 but he backed out. When I told her we would only give her $500 for it, she flipped out. "I had a buyer for $2,000, so you should give me the same!" "Well, you had a buyer, but since he walked, his offer means nothing. If he offered you $8,000 for it, and backed out, does that mean your car is worth $8,000 now? I don't want your car. I don't want to have to run it through the shop. I'm going to send it to the junkyard within hours of you leaving it with me. Therefore, to the dealership, it is only worth $500. I know it is less than you want, but it is the most money you are guaranteed to get for it so far."

    I'm not saying your Altima is in as bad a shape as the avalon, but to that particular dealer, at that particular time, it is only worth $1,000 to them.And, speaking tongue in cheek still, I am pretty sure it will be easier to get rid of a 2010 Prius than a $1,000 Altima right now. Please don't take offense at my demeanor here.. I know this is a serious subject when it comes to people's pocketbooks this day and age. Just trying to let you know how the other side of the desk is looking at things.
     
  8. TomInOregon

    TomInOregon Junior Member

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    Oh, I understand they would wholesale it out. They only had used vehicles under 5 years old on their lot, so to them it is worthless. That's their prerogative to sell what they want on their lot, but I also have the right to not do business with them. If they don't help me with the sale of my old vehicle, then they have done absolutely nothing to help me purchase my new vehicle and haven't earned one dime over invoice. I have researched the Prius on my own, arranged financing on my own and now I have to sell my old vehicle on my own. What have they done to assist me in any way?
     
  9. jim256

    jim256 Member

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    I thought they offered you $1000--the wholesale value of the car to them at that time? If folks are paying MSRP without a trade, you're on the same playing field as them. You probably should try to sell it yourself if you believe that will be the best option, but they didn't tell you to get lost by any means. They probably offered you what they'd get for it from a used car dealer or auction if they wholesaled it.
     
  10. TomInOregon

    TomInOregon Junior Member

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    They did offer $1000 for trade. By "worthless", I mean they only offered that much because they are certain they can get that back by wholesaling it.
    The purchase price is the same with or without a trade. The difference is that in order to get anything approaching fair value for my trade I have to sell my car myself. This could take 1 hour to 1 month to accomplish. After I sell the car, I have to either take whatever Prius is available on the dealer lot that isn't spoken for (regardless of my preference my choice of color or options) OR I can order one and wait 4-8 weeks for delivery. During that 4-8 weeks I have no transportation because I sold my car. I am also running the risk that during that 4-8 weeks waiting for delivery demand may go up for Priuses and the dealer decides he can sell it for $2,000 over MSRP so he decides to no longer honor our purchase price.
    If I choose not to sell my car until after purchasing my new Prius, I am now stuck with payments $65 per month higher for the entire duration of the loan plus I have to find parking for an extra car until I can sell it.
    The dealer is supposed to help you buy a new car. That's why they get profit. They are supposed to earn it. Offering to let me lose money on my existing car or waiting for me to walk in with cash isn't exactly breaking a sweat to earn their profit.
     
  11. Jabber

    Jabber Chicagoland Prius Guy

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    Playing devil's advocate here, but the dealer doesn't need to do that on a hot selling car. Jim256 is correct. If you want me to give you more money for your trade, more than I am prepared to give, to sell a commodity that is in hot demand, where is the incentive for me? I would rather just pass on the deal you offer and wait for the next person to walk in behind you and sell it to him. No hoops to jump through, no worrying about whether I can sell your car and break even on the deal. Since demand is high, and supply is low, simple economics tells us that the owner of the product writes all the rules.

    Let's flip the tables. What if I had 50 2010 Prii on the ground. I would be more than willing to give you more money for your car in that situation to help get one off my lot. Are you saying that if I offered you $2,000 instead of the $1,500 you want (strictly examples), you are going to say, "No, keep your extra $500." No buyer in their right mind would do that since it is a buyer's market. You can, and should, demand more "hoops" for me to jump through in that scenario.
     
  12. fred garvin

    fred garvin New Member

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    one of the many ways the seller "earns" profit is by investing capital in the dealership and in the inventory

    think of a dealer with 200 new cars at an average of 25K cost each that is what - $5M tied up? what about the dealership itself? Is there a note on the real estate? What of salaries of employees? Salespeople are on commission by and large i assume, but the lady who does the tags isn't, as one example of many.
     
  13. TomInOregon

    TomInOregon Junior Member

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    That's kind of the point. You don't "have" to make it easier for me but you do it anyway. It's called customer service. When you're on the ropes and you can barely give cars away, it's not hard to imagine dealers going the extra mile. When you can sell them as fast as possible and decide to coast and lose sales rather than lift a finger to help the buyer then that's poor customer service. If everyone else in the industry does the same thing it's still poor customer service. It's easy to be someone's friend when you need them, but the true test of your character is how you treat them when they need you. The incentive for you is to go home at night feeling good about what you do and the extra money you make selling trade-ins.

    If you offered me more than what I wanted for a trade, of course I wouldn't insist you take it back since you offered it, but I would be a lot more generous when agreeing on the final sales price and would be far more inclined to make sure both the salesman and dealership at least made a decent profit for their troubles. If I have to fight for every scrap, I'm going to take every penny I can get. If you draw a line in the sand that's just a little too far, then there's no point in negotiating at all. At that point it's all "give" from me and all "take" from the dealer.
     
  14. TomInOregon

    TomInOregon Junior Member

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    I'm not buying 200 new cars, so the benefit isn't there for me. I can sign papers in a barn if it'll save me $1,000. Matter of fact, it would be far easier for me to order the car online, have it delivered to a regional facility and pick it up there for $1,500 less than MSRP. How many people on here now are traveling across multiple states to either get a cheaper price or get the colors they want? The real value of the dealer is for parts, repairs, accessories and warrantee work and I fully expect to pay for the convenience at that time. I understand the costs associated with running a dealership, but just because someone is paying for them doesn't mean I benefit. Paying the salesperson's salary didn't help sell me a car or help me decide what kind of car I wanted or what color. Having air conditioning tacks on how much to the purchase price? Paying 2-3 times as much for a high visibility location adds how much to the bottom line?
     
  15. DianneWhitmire

    DianneWhitmire High PRIUStess

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    Tom, will you please call me?
    All of this back and forth rhetoric. Just call me. Not to buy a car, because that's silly, you have no tax where you are, but to clarify things.

    One thing that sure is getting my attention, and Jabber's sorta trying to explain it... if the market wholesale for your Nissan in the geographic area you're in IS indeed $1000, and that's what a dealer's willing to pay for it, you take it or you leave it. If you sell it privately to get more for your car, there are pluses and there are consequences that CAN apply.

    Dianne
     
  16. TomInOregon

    TomInOregon Junior Member

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    There's nothing to explain here that I don't understand. Yes, the dealer is willing to pay XXX dollars. Yes, I can take it or leave it. I left it.
    Now imagine I am a car dealer. You want to buy a car from me. You wish to trade in a 2004 Prius for the new 2010 model. I can handle this in several ways.
    A) I can offer you trade-in blue book for your trade, sell you the new car and place the 2004 on the lot at retail price and make a little extra money. Worst case scenario, I end up selling it for trade-in value and break even on the trade, but made money on the sale of the 2010 plus volume sales makes future cars cheaper.
    B )I can tell you "I'm sorry, but our standing policy is to not take trades older than 5 years. I really wish I could help you out".
    C) After a quick walkaround (by the salesman, not the mechanic) and making you wait around the dealership for 45 minutes, I can tell you "I'll give you $1,000 for it. I'm just going to wholesale it out. You can try to sell it on your own and come back when you have cash". I can then refuse to even attempt negotiation.
    D) I can lowball you on the trade-in price and try to get it from you as cheaply as possible to minimize my risk, but realizing that without a trade you will not purchase a new car at all. I can then negotiate with you to see if a compromise can be reached.

    Which scenario is most likely to sell a car? Which one is least likely?
     
  17. TomInOregon

    TomInOregon Junior Member

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    Well, I'm guilty of derailing my own thread. I apologize to all involved. I do appreciate the information shared in this thread. I'm a little upset that I will not be able to use the Cash for Clunkers program and that's one reason I went off topic. The salesman was not very diplomatic and did not listen to what I was saying either. I have not even considered buying a new car since 1991 until the Cash for Clunkers program came along. I think I'm the demographic they were targeting with the program. I can afford the payments, but would not buy new without incentive due to the depreciation. When I decided to buy, I was prepared to pay MSRP for the Prius, plus full price for the options we wanted. I expected it to be a very easy purchase. Obviously that did not work out as planned. At any rate, I apologize for derailing my thread and do sincerely thank those of you who provided information.
     
  18. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Sorry, I'm going to have to side w/some of the others in this thread. You stated yourself that the $1000 is what the dealer could confidently get at auction. It doesn't make much sense for the dealer to want to give you more money on a trade when they feel they can get another Prius buyer where they don't have to bend over backwards/go the extra mile/give extra on a trade, etc.

    I definitely wouldn't sell your Altima first before buying the Prius. I'm a single guy w/2 cars and when I bought the Prius, I had 3 cars for a few weeks.

    As for your last option, well, if you're concerned about higher loan payments, then don't finance it or finance less of it. Maybe you could make a big payment to cut down on the interest cost if there's no prepayment penalty.

    FWIW, I paid cash (check) for my Prius and my former Maxima. I went in assuming that I wouldn't trade in since a dealer would likely give me a lot less than I could sell it myself for. I was right and sold old cars both privately.

    BTW, you're very fortunate that you have no sales tax. It recently went up to 9.25% here from 8.25% (yet our state is still having budget troubles - another story in itself). Also, a friend in Oregon mentioned some sort of $1500 tax credit and I dug up this http://www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/TRANS/hybridcr.shtml. We've never had anything like that here. (Not having been to Oregon to go Prius shopping) That might be what's helping dictate hybrid pricing, supply and demand there.
     
  19. 2010-V

    2010-V Green, without envy

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    I applied and was approved for a 5% loan through my credit union in mid June. When my Prius arrived on June 22nd I contacted the dealer requesting that they send the documentaion requested by my credit union, I was transferred to their finance manager who offered to handle all the paperwork through Toyota for a competitive interest rate of 5.09% for 60 months. I traded a 2000 Lexus RX 300 with 39K mileage for $10K and put another $5K down which had something to do with the lower Toyota interest rate, which was posted at 7.9% in the dealer's showroom. I opted for bi-weekly payments deducted from my bank account which reduced my payment by $20 monthly and the term from 60 months to 57 months. :)
     
  20. TomInOregon

    TomInOregon Junior Member

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    Yeah, it's kind of a perfect storm of incentives at the moment. Otherwise, it doesn't make financial sense to buy new. Even with the incentives, I'm coming up just shy of what I need to consider it worthwhile.
    BTW, the dealer does take cars in on trade and they do sell them on their lot. There are a number of recent model year vehicles for sale. They will go the extra mile for some people, just not for me. I guess I take that personal. You all seem to think I believe the dealer HAS to treat me the same as their other customers. I understand they don't. I guess I'm lamenting the fact that somehow we've gone from a paradigm where the seller earns the buyer's business to a new paradigm where the seller sits back and decides who it wants to do business with. Particularly in this economy where car sales supposedly have slumped and our tax dollars are going to help out car manufacturers and dealers.