JasonH

When I went to pick up my car on Saturday the Finance manager asked me how I was paying. I told her that I had a check already from a Credit Union. She said "do you mind if I ask what your rate is?" I told her I got 3.9%, knowing that the week before they told me their best rate was 4.9%. Much to my surprise she told me that American Honda Finance was offering 3.29%.

Here are the details from a different dealer's website: "Criswell Acura is celebrating celebrating Presidents Day by offering 3.29% financing for 60 months (5 Years)! All new Acuras are included in this special offer; the all-new 2005 RL, TL, TSX sport sedan, the very popular MDX 7 passenger all-wheel drive SUV and even the high performance RSX! This offer expires February 22, 2005 and will not be extended." (I have to wonder why the NSX isn't mentioned). Needless to say I called the credit union and cancelled the financing with them.

acuravet

Hmmm...
I just purchased a 2005 TL through a Aura dealership 2 days ago and they didn't mention anything about it. There is no mention on the American Hoda Financial web page, either. Could this be a dealership incentive?
-Acuravet

rbf351

same shit happened to me, bought my car a few days before this deal came out and i was only able to get 4.14% from honda finance, i called the dealer back and they said they knew nothing or they would have told me about it, i call BS

AdamNJ

I was at my dealer(Open Road, EB, NJ) on saturday and negotiated my deal. I already have been approved by capital one and plan to use their financing. My salesman mentioned something about 3.29, and thought I would qualify, so I figured I would give it a try. Supposedly I got approved, unknowningly for 60 months even though they never asked me. So I asked my salesman for a some type of paper with all the details...etc. He said I had to go talk to the finance girl in the business office. So I go in there and start asking questions and I'm asking for something saying I have this 3.29 rate...etc. I mention that I want it for 36/mo, she says sure no problem.

But she was a bitch about everything and wouldn't give me anything in writing about the terms or that I had this rate...etc. All I know is that with my capital one loan, if I increase the length of my loan, then the % rate drops...so I'm sure I would get something lower if I extended my period....but this girl was saying its 3.29 no matter what.

In short, there was some type of 3.29 rate at least for presidents weekend, but I have no idea what the length of the loan was because the girl was a total bitch. I've decided that I am going to stay with my capital one loan, and lose a whole $144.36 over 3 years due to this girl's "customer service".

Tripp11

Just curious JasonH, how much of a discount did you get from Criswell?

JasonH

Tripp11: I didn't get my car from Criswell. That was just something I got from the web so people would know the terms. I purchased from Montclair Acura in Verona, NJ. I got the car for $200 over invoice with free VIN etching (which includes a $5000 theft policy that supplements whatever you get from your insurance). At first it was $400 over, Acura raised the invoice by $200 before my car was delivered from the factory. Additionally, I got all accessories at employee pricing. My girlfriend's father is a regional manager for the group that owns the dealership, so I got employee treatment all around. See the thread I started with my first post:

URGENT: WDP/5A/NAVI Parchment on order. Need advice!

AdamNJ: It's unusual for the rate to drop as the term increases. It's usually the other way around.

rbf351: A few days before the promo, 4.9% was what I was able to get from AHF, so you got a good deal for the time. I just double checked my contract. It says APR=3.29%, Number of Payments=60

Cheers,

Jason

AdamNJ

You're right, I was wrong, it would go up at the term increases.

Does anyone know if that 3.29% deal can be for a shorter period then 60 mo? I'm putting down a pretty large down payment, do my amount financed is going to be small and I want to pay it off quick.

Even though my rate with capital one for 36 mos is a higher % rate then the AHFC rate, I would wind up paying more if I went with AHFC over 60 months.

JasonH

I think the 3.29% was available on terms of 60 months OR LESS. 72 months is a higher rate.

Even if that were not the case, AHF has no prepayment penalty so you could just sign up for the 60 month loan but schedule to have higher payments made each month. Once your balance hits $0, your loan is closed. Using a simple amortization calculator you can figure out what your payments would need to be to pay off the loan in any given number of months.

Cheers,

Jason