topic Re: Advise Please in Auto Loans

Advise Please

repairing84 — Sat, 03 Feb 2024 14:42:09 GMT

I have a lease on a Toyota Highlander up in two months. I would like to purchase however I am quite concerned about the decrease in my credit score and increase in credit utilization over the past 3 years of my lease.

I am able to put a significant amount down (15k...buyout will be around 28k before fees) No collections,repos,no 90 day late payments or charge offs. Perfect payment history with Toyota for 10+ years (4 purchased vehicles all paid in full).
I guess I'm wondering if I should use cash to pay down credit balances or save for down payment.

Obviously the smart thing to do would be to use cash to buy something outright however I'm over on miles and would have to pay for those first which seems like such a giant waste.
Any advise is greatly appreciated! Thank you!!!

Re: Advise Please

fury1995 — Sun, 04 Feb 2024 02:13:35 GMT

Short answer is find out what Toyota Financial will offer you for an APR to buyout your lease with as little to no money down and also what theirAPR offer is with $15k down. Your history with TFS will have some impact as a loyal customer.

You should run the comparison between overall interest paid over the term versus the savings of paying down your card balances which I suspect will have a more substantial impact on your overall credit profile.

If the rate is great either way, use the money down to pay your compounding interest debts instead of the fixed rate debt.

Re: Advise Please

repairing84 — Sun, 04 Feb 2024 17:22:46 GMT

Thank you so much for this!

Re: Advise Please

pizzadude — Sun, 04 Feb 2024 19:55:16 GMT

Agree with the above post, you might be okay given your auto loan history with Toyota. If you can get roughly the same interest rate with or without a large downpayment then I'd for sure throw as much as possible at your revolving debt as I'm guessing you're paying a much higher interest rate on it.