If interest rates are equal, is there any advantage to go with Toyota for financing vs. a credit union or bank. I'm getting a very good 60 and 72 month rate on a 2011 Limited from my CU and Toyota Financial will match the rate. I know the dealer gets some $ in return if I go with Toyota, but what do I get out of it by going with Toyota Financial?

Thanks.

If rates are equal, I'm a fan of staying with an organization you have an existing relationship with (your CU) instead of starting another business relationship. I have no complaints about Toyota, but I'd have preferred to use my own bank if rates would have been equal.

Is the dealer actually offering the financing through Toyota Financial, or a different bank? Usually banks will kickback an origination fee ($100 or so) to the dealer for sourcing the loan. I ask because I thought the my dealerhip was offering the loan through Toyota - it turned out the dealer was just offering the financing through a competing bank. Believe it or not, the tone of the price negotiation changed immediately when I said that I would consider their offered financing provided they matched terms I had from my own bank.

Ultimately, I regret buying the vehicle from the dealership, not because of the bank that matched the rate, but the finance department and senior management at the dealership - incompetance like you would not believe!

It depends. Like Scuba6 said if its equal then go with whom you have an existing relationship.

But sometimes the dealerships can be competitive. When I bought my limited, the dealer actually got me a better rate then my credit union. Plus a lot of times the dealers broker the financing to the banks anyways.

Every circumstance is different. In my case I'm self employed and it's hard for me to prove income. My credit union wanted proof of income despite my good credit, where as the dealer didn't ask for it, so I went with the dealer and got a good rate with my credit.

But if your getting a good deal with your credit union go for it.

In some cases Toyota Financial wouldn't match low rates from another financial institution. And who knows what ($$$) dealers are getting from deals done with local banks/CU ;)

I work for a large national bank. Toyota Financial was able to beat my employee rate by almost 1/2 point.

The problem with using the same bank you keep you other money in is if you miss a payment they can just take it out of your savings or other holdings. I'm not saying you're going to miss a payment, I'm just saying s**t happens and I like to keep things separate.

This is where we're all in different situations. As a Soldier who moves a lot and is otherwise "unavailable" from time to time, I see this ability that you mentioned as an advantage rather than a negative. I'd rather them take the money out of my acct than burn my credit score for the missed payment. Plus, less companies to do changes of address with when I move. But - different situations call for different preferences.

This is excellent advice!

my wife works for a bank as well and we get prime rate for new/used autos and personal loans.


Toyota financials would match prime at 60 months (3.25%) but not 72 months.

I financed my truck with Toyota financial for a stupid rate (5.5 or something) because of the stupidity of the dealership and I just wanted the deal to be done. As I was signing I told the finance guy, this loan will be refinanced in about 60 days so I hope you guys still get your kickback and I chuckled. I then refi'd with chase for less than half the rate I had. Even if they match I wouldn't give them more business than I need to.

when i bought my truck, i kept asking the sales guy if they had or 2.99% on the 4runner. He kept saying yes, yes, yes. When it came to apply for financing he said the best i could get was 5.5%, and that is with excellent credit. I went ahead and signed the paperwork, but, i knew i could get what i wanted somewhere else...

I ended up re-financing with Pentagon Federal like 2 months later for 2.49%, no fees and they even gave me $100 bucks back.

Boo ya

Next time i buy a car, i'm either going to pay straight cash homie, or have my financing already in place before dealing with the dealer.

Well guys, I had something strange happen shortly after I bought my truck from Toyota. They were going to match USAA's rate for a 72 month loan at 4.49%, we signed all the paperwork with that rate on it. I got a letter in the mail from Toyota saying they changed the loan to 3.6% APR. Kinda weird eh?

I shopped around banks for the best financing and walked in with my financing in place when I picked up my 4Runner and the Toyota finance rep took a look at it and said she would beat it, and she did.

They wanted my loan business regardless of how low they had to go.

Yeah, this is what all sale reps are saying.
In my case I really did not care who gives me a rate I want. I just pointed out that credit union XYZ (keeping their name secret, just do not want extra publicity for them) advertises rate of 3%/72m and I need the same rate for 72m or basically a lower rate for 60m. At the end, dealership came up with 2.5%/60m which I accepted and it was done through a local bank. Manager @Toyota dealership said that Toyota Financial wouldn't match that rate.