Hey did you know that the all new Chrysler 200 also known as "America's Import" can easily be confused with a high quality Japanese or German car? You didn't? That's o.k. because if you live in the Midwest you can finance one at 0% interest for 84 months. Take that Honda and BMW!
Awhile back we reported that Ford was offering 0% financing for 72 months. Not to be outdone, Chrysler upped the ante. According to Cars.com's Kicking Tires blog, you can find ridiculously long 0% financing terms in the heartland.
Chrysler dealers in certain Midwest states including Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin are offering 84 month financing deals with zero percent interest through Chrysler Capital the company confirmed with Cars.com. The deal is also only good on three models at this time — the 2015 Chrysler 200(excluding LX trims), 2015 Chrysler Town & Country and 2015 Dodge Grand Caravans — and runs through Dec. 1.
Of course to qualify for the 0% at 84 months you would have to have a stellar credit. Is taking an 84 months loan a good idea? Well, that depends. Longer loans do have lower payments so folks on a tight monthly budget may benefit from something like this.
Let's say you're buying a 2015 Chrysler 200 for $25,000 with 20 percent down and sales tax of 7.25 percent at zero percent for 84 months. Your monthly payment will be $259.67. At 1.9 percent that would be $277.52 over the same term, and at 3.9 percent it would be $297.14.
But if you did zero percent for a more traditional 60-month term, you'd be looking at a payment of $363.54, which takes more than $100 out of your hands that you could be putting elsewhere.
The better question is...do you want to be making car payments for 4 years after your bumper-to-bumper warranty and 2 years after your power-train warranty runs out on a Chrysler?
Now let's be real for a second, comparing long term Chrysler payments to shorter term Chrysler payments isn't the story here. The story is that a Chrysler dealer can advertise payments on a $25,000 200 at $297 per month where the Honda dealer is pitching a $25,000 Accord at over $400/mo. Because most buyers only care about payments they see the 200 as hundred dollars cheaper! This will get people into the dealership where many of them find out they don't qualify for the 0%, some of them will purchase anyway. I just hope these people do the math.
If you have a question, a tip, or something you would like to to share about car-buying, drop me a line at AutomatchConsulting@gmail.com and be sure to include your Kinja handle.