Questions about Nissan Financing

Hello All;
I have some questions about Nissan Financing for a used 2015 Nissan Leaf. I am not leasing it, but am buying it outright.

The salesman talked me into financing it due to the fact that they gave me a $750 rebate.

However, I stopped using credit long ago but only consented because the salesman said ...

I can put down a large down payment and can make extra payments each month and there is no penalty for paying off early.

The only thing he said was that I had to keep the loan for at least 6 months then I can pay it in full.

I got what they called a tier 3 approval which qualified me for a 6.65% loan. While I know that car dealerships tack on extra points to make more profit, I did check my credit score prior to coming it. My credit score is rated "C" on one bureau and "B" on another. I expected it to be on the low side for the only reason is that I don't use credit and haven't carried a large loan in many years.

So I have a few question for those of you who took the time to dig into the nitty gritty of the Nissan Loan terms ...

1. Is there a person I can talk to regarding the Nissan loan terms who actually work for Nissan, and not the dealer ? I have not actually signed the loan paperwork yet but will probably do so later today unless I find something I don't like when reading the contract.

2. Does anyone know if the salesman is bring truthful about needing to carry the term atleast 6 months ? Does anyone know if I can just pay it off in the first month ? I know 99% of you don't do that, but am still wondering if anyone has any insight?

3. Does anyone know how interest is calculated on the balance ? I don't know if this is done anymore but about 30 years ago when I got a loan from a loan company, they charged me interest on the balance as if I only paid the minimum payment even if I made a larger payment. On a Nissan loan, would I end up paying much less interest overall if I make a large down payment and (more than the minimum) monthly payments ? Or would paying extra not help reduce my interest as in the example from 30 years ago that I gave above?

4. And finally, can anyone confirm that they have had no problems paying off their loan early, even much earlier ?

5. Will the actually earn $750 and not pay much interest with a initial down payment of $4,000 and monthly payments of 1/6 of the remaining balance so I pay off in 6 months ?

Thanks a million ...

Tim

I'll be really surprised if you cannot pay off the loan completely after 30 days or so (to give time for the paperwork to settle) with no penalty but in the end the ONLY solid advice is to read the contract.

As for interest, you will pay ~ 0.555 percent (0.00555) of the outstanding loan principal each month you hold the loan.

Example:
Loan is 10k
0.555% of 10k = 55.5
You make your first payment 40 days later and pay off the loan
The payoff amount will be ~ 10,000 + (40/30)*55.5
This is not exact because you will also pay interest on the 10 days you added $55.5 to your principal, so another 55.5*0.00555*10/30 dollars. About ten cents more.

I just signed a loan with NMAC for a 16 SV. They put me at 5.89% interest, which is insane. I only took the loan to save the $750 up front. At the first payment, I'm refinancing through my credit union. I can get 2.74% and save $50-$60/month just in interest, plus I'd rather pay my own CU than NMAC, even if the interest rate were the same. it simplifies things for me.
The finance person at the dealer told me there's no early payoff penalty and they only ask that you keep the loan for 6 months because that's how long it takes Nissan to payout their rebates.
I don't really care...If I keep it for 6 months I might as well have done the financing initially with my CU because I'll pay them $300-$360 more because of that dang interest amount.

When I bought a new 2003 Altima, I actually went to NMAC's website and got pre-approved for a loan, with a max loan amount and a specific interest rate, before I set foot in a dealership. It doesn't appear they let you do that anymore.

Dealers get REALLY pissed when you pay off dealer financing early, because they don't get their "kickback." That happened to me when I bought a CPO'd Audi in 2009; I didn't think my credit union could beat VW/Audi's financing, plus I wanted to take the car home right away, so I went with the dealer financing. My CU only beat it by 1/2 a percentage point, but because it would be deducted from each paycheck rather than as a monthly sum, it made it easier on my budget. So not even a week after taking possession, I had my CU take over the loan.

I then got frantic phone messages from the dealership's finance manager demanding to know "What the hell is going on?" (her exact words) She was NOT happy when I told her what I had done.

As mentioned above, as long as there is no verbiage in the contract about a pre-payment penalty, you can pay off the interest as soon as you get the confirmation letter from the finance company.

All of your comments are interesting.

OK so I ended up financing with NMAC through the dealership at 5. something percent interest.

The loan officer at the dealership told me that I had to keep the loan for 6 months or I wouldn't get the $750 credit. I told him I wondered what what happen if I paid off before 6 months and his exact words were "Don't test it because I will lose $750". However, there was no where in the paperwork i signed that I could see any mention of a 6 month requirement to keep the loan.

The loan officer further shared with me the way I could pay minimum interest. I financed for around $8,700. He said in the first month, I can pay $8,000 and then for the remaining 5 months pay 1/5 of $700 so that's what I'm going to do.

Tim

wtdedula said:

The loan officer further shared with me the way I could pay minimum interest. I financed for around $8,700. He said in the first month, I can pay $8,000 and then for the remaining 5 months pay 1/5 of $700 so that's what I'm going to do.

Click to expand...

Or you can make the first payment at $8600, then pay $20 a month for the remaining 5 months.