loans Archives | AutoDepot

Report: More car buyers favoring longer term loans, up to 10 years [w/poll]

Filed under: Car Buying, Earnings/Financials

Couple shopping for new cars

The length of car loans in the US keeps on growing as more and more consumers look for ways to save money every month to pay off obligations and necessities. Extremely low interest rates and more durable automobiles have become key factors in driving these new longer-term car loans, which can last anywhere from six to 10 years.

Auto loans used to last four or five years on average, but, in today’s cash-strapped era, automakers are more interested in selling cars than profiting from financing, which has resulted in the low interest rates and longer loan terms consumers are seeing today. While some might be concerned that this is the same sort of subprime lending that led to the housing crash in 2008, James Lentz, chief executive of Toyota North America, tells The Detroit News that there’s little risk added with these longer loans because defaults typically happen within six months. He also told the newspaper that the longer term options can be the difference between a customer buying a Corolla or a more expensive Camry.

And consider Bradley Gallant’s case. The Detroit News reported that he financed a new Honda Accord with a six-year loan at 1.89 percent to divert money to other investments. Compared to a four-year loan on the same car, he saves $130 on his monthly bill and only ends up paying $370 more in interest by the end of the loan. We commend Mr. Gallant on negotiating such loan terms, but it also drives home the point that interest rates must remain low for such loans to be good deals.

In December, we reported that the fastest-growing category in automotive borrowing was the seven-year loan and noted that automakers were reluctant to offer them because it kept customers off the market for too long. Well, apparently, the times they are a-changin’ – and they’re getting longer.

View Poll

More car buyers favoring longer term loans, up to 10 years [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 25 Jul 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: More car buyers favoring longer term loans, up to 10 years [w/poll]”

Breaking: Chrysler repays the rest of its federal loans… are SUVs to thank?

Filed under: Government/Legal, Chrysler, Earnings/Financials, Fiat

chrysler banner announces government dept paid off

It’s Official: Chrysler has announced that it has repaid its multi-billion dollar obligations owed to both the United States and Canadian governments. Adding up both loans plus interest, Chrysler has just shelled out a tidy $7.6 billion. The U.S. receives $5.9 billion and Canada will get $1.7 billion.

Chrysler was able to secure new means of financing, which allows the automaker to pay off its government obligations a full six years ahead of the original payment schedule. While this new financing still involves debts, it saves Chrysler an estimated $350 million per year in interest. This move also allows Chrysler to remain liquid, with more than $10 billion in assets ready to roll.

Under the direction of the U.S. government, Chrysler partnered up with Fiat, and the goal was to bring smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles to the states. Yet as an opinion piece in The Detroit News sagely reminds us, it wasn’t really the smaller cars that helped Chrysler, but the newly refreshed sport utility vehicles. The all-new Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee models helped push sales up 17 percent in 2010.

Regardless of how they got there, this move should serve to instill confidence in the U.S. car-buying public. Chrysler continues to add new or redesigned vehicles to its lineup and has a strong media campaign behind those vehicles. Will high gas prices slow the positive momentum that Chrysler has built up, or is this the chance for the Fiat portion of the relationship to step up and shine? Sound off in Comments, and check out the full press release posted after the jump.

Continue reading Chrysler repays the rest of its federal loans… are SUVs to thank?

Chrysler repays the rest of its federal loans… are SUVs to thank? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 May 2011 13:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Breaking: Chrysler repays the rest of its federal loans… are SUVs to thank?”

Audi makes it right with disgruntled customer, loans free S4 until order arrives

Filed under: Car Buying, Sedan, Performance, Plants/Manufacturing, Audi

Audi S4

2010 Audi S4 – Click above for high-res image gallery

Ordering a special edition luxury vehicle from Germany can take some time. The plant needs to put you in the production queue with the rest of the orders, shipping across the Atlantic can eat up weeks and parts availability can also throw off timing. Such a protracted timeline played out for Audi forum member Datz as he waited for his brand new S4, except three months became five months and then his December order led to a July delivery.

Instead of sitting back and listening to excuse after excuse from the dealership, Datz reportedly took to the Internets in search of justice. The expectant owner even sent a note out to Audi U.S.A. chief Johan de Nysschen, and he says he focused his vitriol on Audi’s goal to be the global leader in luxury autos instead of complaining about his plight at the dealership.

Instead of ignoring the email, de Nysschen took action, calling the disgruntled buyer to see how he could hep. The Audi boss apologized for the delays, telling him that his $2,500 Daytona Gray paint job and trunk component delays were the issue, though he reportedly added that those issues are Audi’s, not his.

Calling the customer was a very cool thing for de Nysschen to do, but he went a monumental leap forward by providing a 2010 S4 loaner to use while he waited for his new vehicle. He also called the plant and had production moved up to April, with a June delivery date. Nicely done Audi, and way to use the Internet to your advantage, Datz! Now you can beat the snot out of the loaner to get it out of your system before you get your own S4 to coddle.

Gallery: Review: 2010 Audi S4

[Source: Audizine.com via Quattro World via Motor Authority]

Audi makes it right with disgruntled customer, loans free S4 until order arrives originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Audi makes it right with disgruntled customer, loans free S4 until order arrives”

Video: Audi loans eight robot arms for art installation

Filed under: Etc., Plants/Manufacturing, Videos, Audi, UK

Control Audi's Octopus

Audi’s Outrace Project – Click above to watch the video after the jump

Trafalgar Square is located in central London. It plays host to thousands of people on a daily basis. The square is filled with memorial fountains and allows direct passage to the National gallery, and starting September 16th, it will serve as the backdrop for the London Digital Festival.

Audi has determined this would make a good time to unleash its opening salvo in favor of the impending revolution by Skynet and the robots. The automaker’s mechanical beast consists of eight robotic arms and weighs over 10 metric tons. It’s known simply as The Octopus. Fine, it’s not an octo-armed assault system but rather a new art installation device.

Each arm features a LED headlight taken from the Audi R15 TDI racecar, mounted at the end of each arm. Messages up to 80 characters in length can be sent to octopus from a computer or smartphone via the Outrace.org website, and these bits of text will be chosen at random and written in real time in the form of “light paintings.” The images will be captured by SLR cameras and then transferred into a video. The images and video will be available via the Outrace site, as well as sent to the chosen contributors. To see the arms in action, you can view streaming video at both the Outrace site and Audi.com. The footage will be available 24 hours a day, for eight days.

It all sounds quite odd yet intriguing. The big robotic arms will be able to write out letters up to nearly 12 feet high, yet they are capable of precise movements down to 0.2 millimeters. Be sure to watch the trailer after the jump, and read Audi’s press release to understand what all the fuss is about. We haven’t throw out that Skynet idea just yet…

[Sources: Audi, YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Audi loans eight robot arms for art installation

Video: Audi loans eight robot arms for art installation originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Video: Audi loans eight robot arms for art installation”