I wish a service existed that I would pay a lump sum of upfront cash to, and they'd sort out all the loan paperwork, etc.
Obviously if it's a 60 month 0% loan, I want to pay the sticker price minus the return on a 2.5 year fed bond...
Here is what needs to happen: the vast majority of people need a steady job that sees them afford a car. They need to not be "financially literate" because the vast majority of options open to them are not financial footguns, and we need a world where playing financial games doesn't make or break a person.
What was it Henry Ford did?
a. gave all his workers a Robinhood account so they could play derivatives and try to afford one of his cars
b. paid his workers enough to buy a car
That wasn't my point. My point was ordinary people shouldn't be looking to hedge the principal of something costing $15k with long/short positions in the stock market.
This is the financialisation of yet another area of western life and it's not smart.
Also 0% loans are fantastic for your credit! I take them as much as possible because it’s a free credit score bump.
This sentiment makes some sense during normal times, but we're now back in ZIRP. As of this week, a 2.5 yr treasury bond pays about 0.25%. On $40,000 that's $100 per year. https://www.bankrate.com/rates/interest-rates/treasury.aspx
On a $40,000 vehicle, negotiating a $1,000 reduction in purchase price would dwarf any considerations of "the return" on a treasury bond.
For example, even huge banks do this: https://www.bankofamerica.com/auto-loans/
Smaller places might have a car buyer that does everything for you.
Really, the trick is to get a good price on the vehicle and then convince the dealer that you don't want their dirty, obfuscated, expensive loan.
For instance, the Honda Accord outsells the Chevy Malibu by ten-to-one. Instead of simply selling the Malibu for a lower price, Chevy wheels and deals on the rebates and the financing.