topic Re: Understanding Ford Credit.... in Auto Loans

Understanding Ford Credit....

KeithW — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 22:55:20 GMT

My wife and I have bought 3 vehicles through Ford Credit each ranging from 45-60 thousand dollars and each time we get 0% interest for 72 months.

The last time we did it we both had FICO scores in the mid to upper 600s, but my lowest FICO Auto 8 score was 580. It is always about 80-100 points lower than my FICO 08 score with Experien. My TU and EQ Auto are 630-645. Of course the dealership said they use Experien, which is my worst score.

All that being said, doesn't it seem odd that they would offer us 0% interest every time? I just ordered another vehicle from them and once again they were happy to do the same deal. I remember 20 years ago, before I monitored my credit, the dealers would pull my FICO Auto score and it was around 600, but they would want interest rates close to 10-12 percent. I am not complaining, I just don't understand why they seem so much more lenient with the low or no interest loans.

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

blindambition — Sun, 30 Aug 2020 00:27:25 GMT

Ford Credit is very relationship focused. They will even reward less than stellar scores. That's if you've paid satisfactorily on previous cars with them.

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

KeithW — Sun, 30 Aug 2020 01:03:46 GMT

I like to see places that work that way.

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

ridgebackpilot — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 06:08:15 GMT

@KeithW wrote:
My wife and I have bought 3 vehicles through Ford Credit each ranging from 45-60 thousand dollars and each time we get 0% interest for 72 months.

The last time we did it we both had FICO scores in the mid to upper 600s, but my lowest FICO Auto 8 score was 580. It is always about 80-100 points lower than my FICO 08 score with Experien. My TU and EQ Auto are 630-645. Of course the dealership said they use Experien, which is my worst score.

All that being said, doesn't it seem odd that they would offer us 0% interest every time? I just ordered another vehicle from them and once again they were happy to do the same deal. I remember 20 years ago, before I monitored my credit, the dealers would pull my FICO Auto score and it was around 600, but they would want interest rates close to 10-12 percent. I am not complaining, I just don't understand why they seem so much more lenient with the low or no interest loans.

During the pandemic, auto manufacturers like Ford are having trouble selling cars. Since no one is traveling, no one needs new cars.

So Ford and the other manufacturers need to create incentives for people to buy cars. And they need to ease their eligibility requirements, too. That's explains why Ford (and many other manufacturers) are offering 0% interest loans (free money) for unheard-of long terms such as 72 or 84 months. And why people with marginal scores can qualify for top-tier financing deals like 0% interest.

I've had two Ford loans at 0% interest recently. It's one of the silver linings of the pandemic!

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 06:16:32 GMT

Most captive lenders will reward repeat customers whether it's a rate discount, special financing, or exclusive cash incentives.

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

Anonymous — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 09:39:46 GMT

@blindambition wrote:
Ford Credit is very relationship focused. They will even reward less than stellar scores. That's if you've paid satisfactorily on previous cars with them.

This plus the fact that since the pandemic Ford and other corporations have been able to package up car loans into asset backed securities for low interest rates. That means that the cost to Ford to subsidize your loan's interest rate to get to zero is low by historical standards.

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

Anonymous — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 12:49:30 GMT

We've leased 1 vehicle from Ford and 2 from Lincoln; each of those leases pulled TransUnion. I'm in the Midwest so perhaps that's a regional thing, I'm not sure.

But as others have already stated, Ford Motor Credit values past relationships. If you have established rapport with them you'll be fine.

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

Anonymous — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 19:58:27 GMT

wow enjoy that 0%, from experience Ford even sends you Private Cash Offers you can stack into your buy if you have previously had a ford purchase from them.

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

user365735 — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 13:25:04 GMT

I look at it as either way they are making money because it's their car...even if it's a risk they sold a car.

I think history is just as important as the dealers relationship to the bank. I got approved with a 590 score....well 8.9%

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

dunn2500 — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 06:35:18 GMT

manufacturers are selling cars left and right......incentives are at all time lows, inventory is low so they can charge whatever right now......its the relationship you have........been buying vehicles since last august and its worst time to buy right now (maybe not every model).......dealers that were hounding me 3 months ago have ceased to exist if i dont pay what they want.......wasnt the case short time ago

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

ridgebackpilot — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 07:56:12 GMT

@dunn2500 wrote:
manufacturers are selling cars left and right......incentives are at all time lows, inventory is low so they can charge whatever right now......its the relationship you have........been buying vehicles since last august and its worst time to buy right now (maybe not every model).......dealers that were hounding me 3 months ago have ceased to exist if i dont pay what they want.......wasnt the case short time ago

While it's true that inventory is low, incentives have diminished, and low-interest financing is tougher to find...it's still possible to find these things, you just have to work a little harder!

Case in point: I purchased a new 2020 Ford F-150 Platinum SuperCrew Turbodiesel this week. The dealer discounted the MSRP by 10 percent and I got an additional $2,500 rebate from Ford. Ford Motor Credit offered me 0 (Zero) percent for 60 months, but I opted for 1.9% over 72 months. It wasn't easy and the dealer lost money on the deal. Gone are the days when Ford offered 0% for 84 months!

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

TheBoss — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 04:30:37 GMT

So a data point here for anyone interested ...

Purchase a new 2020 Escape Titanium Hybrid today. Score is under 580ish. Got 2.9% for 72 months from Ford Credit AND $3800 in rebates (including $3500 for financing through them). Shocked is an understatement. Income is good and DTI is decent. This is my third Ford but first with Ford Motor (first two were with CapOne). No mortgage or car lates or issues on credit, just high balances and 1-2 collections. So

So, uh, I guess you just never know.

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

dunn2500 — Sat, 16 Jan 2021 22:00:17 GMT

@ridgebackpilot wrote:
@dunn2500 wrote:
manufacturers are selling cars left and right......incentives are at all time lows, inventory is low so they can charge whatever right now......its the relationship you have........been buying vehicles since last august and its worst time to buy right now (maybe not every model).......dealers that were hounding me 3 months ago have ceased to exist if i dont pay what they want.......wasnt the case short time ago
While it's true that inventory is low, incentives have diminished, and low-interest financing is tougher to find...it's still possible to find these things, you just have to work a little harder!

Case in point: I purchased a new 2020 Ford F-150 Platinum SuperCrew Turbodiesel this week. The dealer discounted the MSRP by 10 percent and I got an additional $2,500 rebate from Ford. Ford Motor Credit offered me 0 (Zero) percent for 60 months, but I opted for 1.9% over 72 months. It wasn't easy and the dealer lost money on the deal. Gone are the days when Ford offered 0% for 84 months!

yeah i was just browsing to see if something would pop up mostly...I contacted 20-25 dealers on my last deal thru 3 different states and did 16-17% off MSRP though on 2020 silverado 2500 HD in April....they were a bit paranoid about which direction things would go then I think......1500s usually have pretty good incentives at least GM and Ram do....right now yours is a great deal for 1500!... inventory on 2500 is non existent.....i can sell mine for what i paid or really really close.........I cant come close to what i paid for both my last 2 trucks currently..... In aug 2019 bought new 1500 silverado for 27% off which was fairly common if you did your homework.....

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

BallBounces — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 16:33:25 GMT

The 3/4 ton and up Truck market is crazy right now, and commodity issues are putting further pressure on inventory problems.

I do hope that FoMoCredit is still handing out good APRs to low credit scores in about 4 weeks ... that's when i need them to hand one to me.

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

mich800 — Sun, 24 Jan 2021 01:59:07 GMT

Does Ford Credit require you to bring pay stubs to the dealer to complete the transaction? Considering something in the next couple months but I have not set up my login to get pay stubs from the payroll company my employer uses. I am direct deposit.

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

Anonymous — Sun, 24 Jan 2021 02:18:34 GMT

I have never had to bring in paystubs for Ford. Their requirements for such could of course be dependent on several factors; age of credit, credit score, debt-to-income ratio, length of credit, listed income, etc. Why not just go ahead and setup a login for yourself? New car aside, you never know when you'll need one in a pinch.

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

mich800 — Sun, 24 Jan 2021 03:22:03 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I have never had to bring in paystubs for Ford. Their requirements for such could of course be dependent on several factors; age of credit, credit score, debt-to-income ratio, length of credit, listed income, etc. Why not just go ahead and setup a login for yourself? New car aside, you never know when you'll need one in a pinch.

Thank you for the info. I am getting the login corrected, it has just been a PITA. They changed payroll companies and the code I was given to set up online access was either wrong or I entered it incorreclty and now locked out. That with the fact they entered my wrong birthday has just caused the process to drag on.

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Feb 2021 17:08:49 GMT

I would've been so excited about this! Truthfully, I hadn't bought a Car in probably a decade and the last time I did, it was horrendous and my credit was probably in the mid to upper 500s and I got the worst interest ever, like 17.9%. So of course my car loan could be no more than like 12K for 350 payment.

My credit is in the upper 700s, I had a little more than a $2000 down payment, 65K a year with zero debt to income ratio in for credit just gave me 6%! The age of my credit is not long, like less than seven years, but I don't understand it. I'm going to refinance in six months because I felt like my bank would've done better but I was scared to get too many inquiries.

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Feb 2021 17:13:40 GMT

Just so you know, I know my credit score was higher but Ford didn't even call my employer. They didn't request paystub's and I signed for the loan before they even called my employer. And I also got freaking 6% interest and I'm thinking the only reason I did is because the car loan was about three times my current credit limit, my age of credit is less than seven years but my scores were in the upper 700s. That was also with a pretty good 20 to 50 chunk down. So I'll refinance in six months but I Was worried about getting too many inquiries right now. I have two jumping off in the next eight months so it'll work out.

Re: Understanding Ford Credit....

dunn2500 — Sun, 28 Feb 2021 06:27:45 GMT

same here.....never seem to get a good rate from dealers and in lower to mid 700, heck my brother is well above 800 and got 4.75% from GM! he paid it off in a month so didnt care but even couple weeks ago shopping between Ram and GM the sales guy said yeah 4.9% was lowest if your not taking 0% in lieu of rebates.....they jack up the rates and thats fine, you can always get your own and these days its super easy plus when you go to dealer its in and out fairly quickly

too many games with the financing at dealerships usually......