Purchasing decision help?

[xdbuix]

I got $2000 saved up for the downpayment. What my situation is, is if I should go ahead and preorder now and hopefully the interest rate stays low (subaru apparently offering a 2.9) or wait it out n save up for the downpayment. I was hopign to get 7000 for downpayment, but at the same time possibly lose out on the low interest rate.

What are your guys thoughts? and experiences with subaru's interest rate programs? Thanks.

[whitefrs]

You can go and make a deal now with 2k and then when the car comes you can give a larger down payment.

[xdbuix]

Yeah I was thinking just that. What kinda down payments are you Guys putting down jw

[whitefrs]

trade in 10k plus 5k cash
got 1.9% when i order it. car is coming today or tomorrow and i order 7/12

[Zaggeron]

Do the math. Use an online interest rate calculator to see the difference in total price with $2000 down @ 2.9% vs. $7000 down @ 4.0%

For example, say the car is 27K out the door

at 2.9% for 60 months the total payments are 26,886. Add in your 2k downpayment and the total paid for the car = $28886

at 4.0% for 60 months the total payments are 22,099. Add in your 7k downpayment and the total paid for the car = $29099

So, with those numbers the difference is in the noise. So it will depend on whether you can handle the bigger monthly payment that comes with a small downpayment.

[Sportsguy83]

Pentagon I think is doing .49% APR right now. Go for that!

[ap5512]

Put down $7,500 and financed the rest @ 4.0%....need to refinance since when i bought the car my credit dipped due applying to a bunch of banks for home refinance.

[gily25]

Run your credit score at MyFICO (unless you already know) and find out if you qualify for the best rate (the longer the term the higher the rate). The lower your score the more downpayment you need to qualify for the best rate. With most dealers/cars 20% down will qualify you for the best rate as long as you have a halfway decent credit score (above 720).

I agree, go on a site like cars.com and use the calculator. cars.com calculator is good becauase it allows you to put in sales tax which a lot of the calculators don't have. Grab a manila folder, throw in some print outs from your bank (if you'd consider "out of dealer" financing), the details of the car and underneath stash your numbers from using the payment calculator. When the salesman tosses the numbers at you it'll probably be in payment # and not state the specifics, sure you can ask and they may tell you but they're usually hesitant since they're not locked in yet with the bank, it's easier to refer to your own numbers and have a general idea right away where the rate is.

Also, if you can't put down 20% you'll quickly be underwater on the loan which may not be a factor but if you have upcoming family/financial/career changes you may want to consider.