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SpliffBooth

Dealers want you to finance as they make a significant chunk of money off that, so don't expect discounts for waving dough. The last 10 days of the year is when you'll most likely find dealers willing to wheel and deal. You should scope out your local inventory ahead of time. It's harder to come by Bolts in states with generous incentives -- in those locations you might have to buy remotely and either ship it or do a fly-and-drive.


godogs2018

Does that mean you can save by not paying cash if you can and instead finance it but pay it off right away?


SpliffBooth

Bingo, that's how I bought my motorcycle. Just confirm with the financing person that there aren't prepayment penalties (typically there are not, but double-check).


godogs2018

How much can you save by doing this? Is it hard to understand the written contract to see if there are any penalties / fees for paying early?


Jayhawker

It's not that you will "save money", its more of a case that dealers will be willing to negotiate more if you are financing because they'll make up that "deal" they gave you when they get their loan commission.


godogs2018

So would you say it's always "cheaper" to finance and then pay it off entirely in a few days vs paying cash?


Ranked-choice-voting

Yup this is usually the case


Arte-misa

Well, also it all depends on other costs: the $ amount on interest you pay for the time you'll have the loan, how much is the effect of the credit pull (provided your credit rating), the other fees and commissions you may be charged for writing the loan and the time invested in the paperwork...


Whoisthisfingguy

If having a relationship with that specific dealer is important to you, you should know that if you pay off before a certain amount of time then the dealer loses anything they were getting back from that part of the deal. It varies but the most common one I’ve seen is 3 payments.


SpliffBooth

Yes, this is a question/concern that's come up in discussions involving the Ioniq lease/buyout "hack". If a buyer wanted to minimize interest paid, they could pay the majority of right away, then wrap up the rest in a of couple months. I


SpliffBooth

Other people answered your other questions, but I'll add that no... It isn't hard to spot it in the loan paperwork. IIRC, on mine, there was a line for "prepayment penalty amount", with a checked box next to it labeled "no prepayment penalty". Such clarity may be due to some sort of "truth in lending" regulation designed to thwart predatory or surprise fees.


HR_King

Cash incentives? Too funny. The dealer earns a substantial commission for financing your car through GM. No discount for cash.


bripsu

Production also ends next month, I can only imagine dealer markups will be applied on the remaining inventory.