interest rates causing slow down on sales?

[surfstar]

I personally bought the Maverick to run the wheels off it. So, while I could have gotten a lower trim, I knew I would be keeping this thing for 15-20 years and was fine with the "buy once; cry once" to get the nicer features. Plus, ACC spoiled me in the wife's Escape and so that became a non-negotiable.

I could have gotten approved for an F-150 that cost twice as much as a fully loaded Maverick, but I didn't want to spend that much.

Great point - owning a new vehicle for that long is another great way to extract the best value. I really wanted ACC, but after dealer messed up my '23 Lariat order and didn't add CP360 Assist to get it, I settled on a "cheap" XL and hope I won't miss ACC too much...

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[gator_dub]

Shop around on your rates. I joined a credit union here locally that is offering as low as 4.5%.
Still not as amazing compared to recent history but much better than what Ford has to offer.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

Not sure about your area but where I live insurance rates are a fair bit higher if there's a lien on the vehicle due it being financed which would likely wipe out most of difference over a 5 year term.

Plus most lenders on 6+ year loans will require gap insurance which will be added to amount financed.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

Shop around on your rates. I joined a credit union here locally that is offering as low as 4.5%.
Still not as amazing compared to recent history but much better than what Ford has to offer.

If you joined farm bureau to get Ford discount you can finance and insure through discounting affiliates and possibly even lease. Plus you can get additional certificates for mowers plows lots of stuff. It's a big discount club,!

 

[GyroRon]

I am 51... I have paid cash for my vehicles for about the last 10 years or so. But throughout my 20's and 30's I was in a bad habit of buying a new car or truck about every year or two... Would buy a new truck, drive it for say 2 years, then sell it or trade it in for a new one... Never for any good sensible reason looking back at it, but at the time it was just what I did. I have been through quite a few vehicles in my lifetime.

One of the few things that really stuck in my memory from all those purchases was the " $20 for every $1000 "... So without needing to sit down with the salesman and do the whole process they like to do to sell you a car, I knew that based on window sticker and any rebates or deals I could expect to have a payment of around $20 per every $1000 financed. This was always for 60 month loans, and never any money down, and I always have had top marks on my credit report.

It's been so long I couldn't remember the rates from back then but after doing the calculations yesterday, it looks like 7-8 percent was the going rates back then.

I guess maybe folks are spoiled from the much lower rates that were really common the last several years.

I agree with what some of you all have said about the MSRP going up in the last few years, and the higher amount of interest paid over the term of the loan.... All of that is good solid thinking. But I remember back in my 20's and 30's all I cared about was how much the payment was. And I feel like that is likely still the biggest factor that most buyers care about even to this day.

I see so many people spending their money in silly ways.... always eating out, buying expensive energy drinks and fancy coffees, Having to have the latest iPhone or newest Samsung galaxy, buying expensive concert tickets, paying crazy membership fees at the local burn boot camp, paying for doordash to bring you food instead of going to pick it up yourself, buying your groceries at the high end grocery store instead of at Aldi or Walmart.... etc... etc... That a extra $75-100 in higher payments on a new car just seems like that wouldn't be a thing to stop the average joe person from buying a new truck.

 

[MaverickEVwouldBeNice]

I'll go through quite a bit of effort for not a lot of financial payoff, but that's a lot of hoops to jump through and the limits make it simply not worth it (at least for me). VMFXX 7-day yield is currently 5.30%; zero hoops and zero limits. We're holding well into 6-figures in VMFXX as we save for a house upgrade and kick the can down the road on our current bills by putting everything on credit cards I am churning that have 0% APR through next summer.

I easily fulfill all those requirements. We're talking groceries, gas, the occasional coffee to go, amazon and chewy purchases. Do I count my purchases once every couple of weeks? Yes, it actually helps me not to overspend.

I liked getting $30 in interest in September, has never happened to me before. As a matter of fact, I haven't gotten that much in interest in my quick access savings on an annual, let alone on a monthly basis.

 

[mechatron_prime]

I cant seem to find a good rate. I dont qualify for navyfed which seems to be the best rate ive seen so far.

 

[stoptothink]

I easily fulfill all those requirements. We're talking groceries, gas, the occasional coffee to go, amazon and chewy purchases. Do I count my purchases once every couple of weeks? Yes, it actually helps me not to overspend.

I liked getting $30 in interest in September, has never happened to me before. As a matter of fact, I haven't gotten that much in interest in my quick access savings on an annual, let alone on a monthly basis.

Combining VMFXX with using a CC for purchases that has cash back and/or that you are churning for a bonus would likely garner you a greater return than that account with 15 debit card uses per month (plus debit cards are less secure), with no effort. I'm not even sure wife and I make 15 total purchases a month combined, so that would definitely be a no-go for us. I try to take advantage of everything I can, but IMO you can probably do better with less effort.

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