Ev43

Hi folks,

New Lexus owner (almost). RX 350 is on the way to my dealership here in California.

I am considering whether to pay cash or finance a small portion to take advantage of the
extra 1k$ discount if financed through Lexus Financial.

Does anyone know if the LFS loans are TRULY simple interest or if they stack the
interest on the front if the loan?

Thanks in advance,

Everett

vlad_a

Of course you want to take advantage of the extra $1,000. Simple as they get.
I had to use LFS to get $1,000 loyalty rebate. I also used it in the past for my IS300.

Finance for whatever minimum amount they require and then pay it off. That's what I did.
My dealer wanted $12,000 financed for at least 6 months. I paid off $11,000 right off the bat and then the rest in the following 2 months.

Ev43

Thanks Vlad. I''ll likely pay of the loan in a few months so I wanted to be sure the balance owed
would be less than the original loan amount.

vlad_a

You're welcome! Enjoy your new ride!

Ev43

The car is for my spouse, and she is thrilled, so it's all good!

ezzzman

My dealer also asked to finance 20k and paid off after 6 months

Evitzee

A sharp negotiator would get that $1,000 even if he paid cash, but most people aren't that diligent. So finance part of it, get the $1,000 and then pay off the loan. But you still should be negotiating hard from the start and keep that $1,000 bait off the table, that's a sweetener AFTER you make your best deal.

Ev43

Thanks Evitzee. That is good advice. The dealership balked at letting me pay all cash
and get the additional 1k$ discount [I did get $5500 off MSRP] but it may well be the case that
if I started to leave they would have capitulated. In a way it seems silly of them since I can
write a check for the financed amount a few days after I make the deal and pay them virtually no interest. Of course they are hoping I leave the financing in place and pay it off over time!

Their finance guy told me they calculate what the entire interest would be and then divide that by
the number of months in the contract and just deduct that each month as interest. Frankly that sounds too good to be true since they wouldn't be getting the interest on the declining balance using that method. I am trying to get them to give me an amortization table for the first couple of years of the loan so I know exactly what the payoff amount will be at any point in time.

GoGiantsNJ

Good job at not leaving any money on the table. I always ask the F&I person if there is a pre payment penalty on the loan.Usually there isn't.

I also don't tell them about a trade till after I negotiate the best deal on the new car.

Enjoy the new RX.

vlad_a

Can't get additional $1K off without financing through LFS, no matter how good a negotiator one is.
Lexus takes care of it, not a dealer and rules are rules. They do this so that customers would not get 3rd party financing somewhere else.

Dolphin

check contract, min. finance period, usually 6 months

vlad_a

I haven't seen anything in writing about 6 months min, so I just paid mine off in 3 months. No issues whatsoever. Got the title in the mail.