Can you spot the “catch” in this car dealer’s sales pitch?

Mooch: Can you spot the “catch” in this car dealer’s sales pitch?
My sister is tempted to take advantage of the one car dealer’s (local Chevrolet dealer) current promotion which states according to the commercial:

“Do you have five years on the job?”

“Do you make $ 300/week?”

“Do you have $ 199 down?”

“The you are approved regardless of your credit history!”

This just sounds too good to be true for me. I personally have never financed a car…I have always saved up and paid cash. What can I tell her to be on the lookout for if she goes to this dealership to take advantage of this offer?

Answers and Views:

Answer by pinkcowgirl12
You might be approved, but your interest rate will be through the roof.

Answer by fordman
If you notice, they didn’t mention the interest rate, did they?

That’s where the catch is. Plus you never know how much extra they are going to charge you for the car to begin with.

You may even get a fairly low rate in interest, but you may have to pay list price for the car.

One way or the other, they are going to get you.

Watch out.

Answer by mdcbert
Hey, the dealers are all trying to offload all the gas guzzling `07s right now, thats one.

Tell her to remember that along with Payments for 5-6 years, She ALSO has to pay FULL coverage for auto insurance with it too, for 5-6 years. and frankly, after a year of it, it gets really tiring.

Then in 2 years, she will get some “check-engine” code, and ask us here, whats wrong, and the problem becomes some non-warranted tune-up part that costs $ 113 plus the $ 85 Labor

Answer by Noone i
The first thing to notice in any payment situation is:

how much ARE the payments and

how MANY are there, ie: is it a 10 yr pymt plan?

These ads are intended to cast a wide net to catch poor credit buyers, first time buyers, or low income people but they really dont do the buyer any good because they drain them of long term cash flow.

Answer by treyprice04
They probably are talking about putting someone in a long term lease. Some of the plans Chevy offers are 66 month residual based financing plans. This means you will pay on the car for 66 months and then your final payment will be about 50% of the purchase price or you can turn the car in if you are within the terms as agreed.

Answer by bostonianinmo
It’s all relative.

If I walked in there, I’d get the best deal in the house — I make a lot more than that, have no debt other than a small mortgage payment and a FICO near 800. I could drive out in 30 minutes with a new ‘Vette and a sub 6% loan.

My brother would probably be stuck with an 8 year old Cavalier at 25% APR.

Two rules:

1. NEVER buy on the first visit! Get a Consumer Reports pricing guide first. Get a copy of the deal in writing and let your bank or credit union review the loan. They can probably do a better deal than the dealer.

2. NEVER forget rule #1!