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    How to Get an Interest-Free Car Loan

    Fantasy Finance

    If you're interested in borrowing money to buy a car without paying interest, you can. But the only way to get a truly interest-free car loan is to pretend you don't need one.[See 50 Best Funds for the Everyday Investor.]Typically interest-free car loan programs are offered to people who buy new cars and especially those with good credit score ratings. But if the car company jacks up the price of the car to offset the loan, you're really not getting an interest-free loan.I often hear commercials advertising cars for sale at zero percent interest or a 10 percent discount. For example, say you can buy a car for $20,000 if you pay cash or $22,000 with zero interest. But if you choose the latter option, you aren't really getting zero interest. The interest is the $2,000, which is the difference between the cash price and the financed price.[See the top-rated Vanguard, Fidelity, and T. Rowe Price funds from U.S. News.]If you decide to buy a new car, ask what the price is if you pay in cash today. If they don't automatically offer a cash price discount, ask for one. After you get a specific figure, then inquire about the interest-free car loan program to see if the loan amount is for the same price. If they don't stick to the original price, begin to walk out of the showroom and do not look back.One of three things will then happen. The first possibility is that the salesperson will make the deal. The salesperson could also offer a compromise and you can decide to either accept or reject their offer. Assuming the offer is an improvement on the all cash deal, you've already improved your situation. The third possibility is that the salesperson watches you drive off and waits for the next showroom visitor.[See 6 Numbers Every Investor Should Follow.]Using this technique, you may end up with an interest-free car loan or, if not, at least a much better price on the car. One final tip: It's always important to know your credit score before you make a major purchase. By presenting yourself as a low risk to the dealership, you make it easier for them to reduce or eliminate the interest cost.The only way to truly get an interest-free car loan is if you know what the cash price is and get that same cash price spread out over a period of months or years.Neal Frankle is a certified financial planner and runs Wealth Pilgrim, a personal finance blog that helps people make smart decisions about their money. As a start, he suggests that you strive to understand your credit score range.

     

    2 comments

    • Willy Watenabe  •  4 months ago
      Save $15,000 to $25,000 in one month in 5 easy steps!

      For most people the two highest living expenses are housing and transportation. No public transportation? Can't use a bicycle? Can't walk to work? - read on!

      Eliminate your new car and associated car loan payments in favor of an owning an older car that looks good but has a NEW engine. The decision to purchase a new vehicle and take on significant debt doesn't make sense that every time you have a flat tire you want a new car. Old tires, lot of dents or the need for a car paint job does not equal the purchase a new car for $15,000 to $25,000. New car payments can easily top $200/month and span over 5 or six years and full coverage insurance can easily be well over $100/month. Your total monthly cost is easily over $300/month. You may WANT a new car but what you really need is reliable transporation with much cheaper liability insurance. The idea is to get your biggest monthly expenses down to minimal cost so that you can free up that cash flow to pay down large credit card balances and other debt.

      Step 1) Find an older model car . Ask your friends or coworkers if they have a decent older model car or small truck where their engine is no longer operational and they no longer want to sink more money into the vehicle. If it's what you want offer them $250 or less for it because salvage yards will try to pay less than that to acquire the vehicle. In my case I purchased my co-worker's 89 GMC S15, 2.8 liter V-6 for $250.00 back in 2003. You can create a Win-Win situation by paying your friend or coworker more for the vehicle than a salvage company would pay for it and in the process you'd be helping your friend or coworker by eliminating their problem of getting rid of the vehicle and you would be picking up a non-working vehicle for very cheap.

      Step 2) Purchase a remanufactured engine from O'Reilly's Auto Parts, Autozone, or Advanced Auto Parts. In my case, I purchased a remanufactured engine for $1,033 from O'Reilly's in 2003 and in March of 2012 the engine will be 9 years old and it is still going strong in the truck. I have not had a truck payment in over 8 years. If you don't have a truck to pick up the engine from the parts store you can have a friend that has one pick up the engine for you. The parts company will forklift it into the bed of the truck because the engines are palletized. Or...if you sweet talk the parts place and pay a small fee they will deliver the engine to your destination - your garage.

      Step 3) Remove the old engine yourself and save $1800 to $2500. Even if you have someone else remove and install your engine the total worst-case cost is about $3,000. I removed the old engine from my recently purchased S-15 truck myself using commonly available mechanic tools (standard metric socket set, crescent wrenches, vise-grips, and screw drivers) I purchased for less than $100. I had to rent an engine stand and engine picker for a few extra dollars. I'm not an an automotive expert or even a Saturday mechanic by any stretch. I used a spiral bound notebook to record and track each of the steps I performed during the engine removal and drew a diagram of the parts I removed so that I wouldn't forget how they were oriented. So if you're good a tearing things apart just get good at documenting how you do it.

      Step 4) Install the Remanufactured Engine by reversing the process following your recorded step by step instructions. I re-installed the new engine. In my case I had more time than money. The whole process of removing the engine and reinstalling the remanufactured engine took about 2 to 3 weeks of diligent effort during my evenings after work and week-ends.

      Step 5) Visit "MrLottman" on Youtube for more savings tips!
    • Irfan  •  5 months ago
      somebody provide me loan.

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