I'm new here and expecting my '06 Nautical Blue tC in a week or so. I know the College Grad Rebate has been discussed previously, but I'm adding a bit of a twist to it that I hadn't seen discussed yet.

Say you finance through Toyota financing so you can get the $400 college grad rebate, but you don't really need to finance the vehicle. Everything I've found says there is no early repayment penalty, so can you just pay off the entire loan the first month if you have the means to do so?

There is alot of talk about how to get a better deal in the whole "pure pricing" scheme, and this seems like a surefire way.

Has anyone tried this yet? Success?

Excuse me if this has been covered before but I wasn't able to find it and hopefully it can help others of you out.

 

I'm not familiar with car financing, but aren't you responsible for paying off the entire interest amount for the period financed whether or not it gets paid off in that amount of time? Seems like it would add up to more than $400...

You would probably be best off not financing and paying the car off at time of purchase, and you save the 3-16%/12-72 months that the rest of us are paying.

 

Good point, but I'm not sure if that's the case or not? That's why I'm asking the question.

So adding to my original question is this question: If you finance with Toyota are you responsible for paying off the entire interest amount for the period financed, even if you pay off the loan early?

The Toyota financing section doesn't give these details as far as I could find.

 

I am not 100% certain, but I do not believe there is an early pay off penalty. But it does sound like a real hassle dealing with Toyota Financial over a $400 savings.

 

There is no early pay off penalty here in Arizona. And the earlier you pay it off the less money it will cost you in interest payments.

 

The $400 goes towards your downpayment, making the total amount you are financing less. There is not penalty for paying it off early here in NY.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Captain tC - What would you consider the hassle of dealing w/ Toyota financial to be? I consider $400 a pretty good discount, so I'd be interested to hear if the risk would outweigh the benefit?

 

I used the college grad program when I got mine... the $400 is nothing compared to what they do for your interest rate. It doesn't say on the Scion website, when I got my tC they said my interest rate was going to be their second tier just because of the college grad program. At the time, that was 5.15%! A great program if you don't have fantastic credit or not much credit.

 

What is required to qualify for this?

 

http://www.scion.com/scion/pub/own/gradsBuy.do

And I did have to bring in my diploma as proof and they copied it.

 

No offense and I don't mean to high jack, but why do they offer a college grad credit and no military discount. Guess there's no love for us military folk, even though we contribute to the opportunity for people to get that dipolma. Thanks Scion, and America for that matter.

 

Well... you could always ask them... just contact corporate and ask them the same question.

Though I think the College Grad program is really just a marketing ploy - they want to grab them early and try to get some brand loyalty b/c they know many people right out of college are looking for a new car when they get that first job. I was.

 

Althought I will have all in cash for my xA 06, my Dealer rep. told me that I can finance with the grad program and get the $400 of even if I pay all there is left later. There is no early payment fee. However I was not fully convince because of interest so I went for advice to my frind who is getting an MBA. He gave me an excel spreedsheet -nothing special, I think he said it is a presaved Excel template that comes with the program- that allows me to calculate the interest by month. That way I can see if it is worth it.

What is cool of the spreedsheet it that it allows you to control parameters such as: downpayment, interest and loan life span. Conjecturing about the worst case scenario it seems that I would only loose $150 -that is if I were to finance the whole car!-

Anyway, what I will do is give a substancial downpayment, have the finance dept do a financing report and I will see if it is worthy thru my spreadsheet. If I save $200 or more I will finance and pay the balance on the first bill, if not I will pay all.

My e-mail, LOL I think, is in my profile, so I can send you the file if you want.

~Omar

P.S.
Need to remember that there would be a financingf fee as well. I think that changes from dealer to dealer. Also my friend told me that financing and then paying it all of improves your credit score as well because it shows that you have paid a loan you owed. How much would the improvement be, not sure.

 

I also received the college grad rebate/discount of $400. I was also told by the finance guru that if paid off before either 3 or 6 months there would be a penalty. I don't recall which it was though, the 3 or 6 months.
You could always finance it and then pay it off at the end of the restriction period. Just call up Scion or toyota financial and ask.

 

my dealer told me there is no penalty, however i will ask again.

 

Does anybody know if this is the same in MA because im gonna pay mine all at once too, hope there isnt a penalty!

 

my dealership, springfield va, said you must make 3 payments to be able to get the discount.

 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm an army brat and I wanted to join, but that seems a bit selfish. Not everyone offers one. They don't give out government official or Union workers discounts. The military is a job just like any other. Its just a high risk government job. I don't see why you would complain about something as meager as that.

College discounts are handed out because most of the time people who have gone to college are responsible, will pay thier bills on time and in full, and normally will keep good credit. Thus the incentive. Not saying all people in the military aren't like this. Its just an example.

NOTE: This is not meant to be ignorant to the military. I would thank each and every one of our Armed Forces personel in person if i could. This is just an opinion.

 

That whole "High Risk" thing is why many offer military support. Sure, it's another government job, but mailmen aren't sent 4,000 miles from home to a foreign country risking their lives every minute for 15 months at a time.

Toyota sometimes does offer a military rebate. However, there isn't one going on at this time.

While college kids will normally "keep good credit" as you say, keep in mind military personnel are the same, except we also have a guaranteed steady income...everyone else wants our money for that reason, why not carmakers?

 

I agree. No doubt there is respect for the military, but there is a big difference between enlisting (signing up) in the military and having the academic credentials to get into college. Getting into a good university isn't easy, it takes a lot of work.

Most automakers, like the guy said, look at us college grads/upcoming college grads as a "good bet"... and as potential future buyers of their more expensive automobiles. And if you're an officer in the military you qualify for the college programs because of the education required to become an officer.