Are you thinking of purchasing a new Ford? If so, you may also be considering financing your vehicle. In the past, if you had good credit, financing options primarily involved:
- Negotiating a price.
- Deciding how much money you wanted to put down.
- Choosing the best interest rate available.
- Picking your loan term.
But Ford now has a different option: Ford Flex Buy Financing.
Flex Buy Financing is a program available only for new car purchases. If you qualify, Flex Buy allows you to lower your monthly payment for the first 36 months of your loan, giving you more breathing space in your monthly budget for the first three years. Alternatively, that lower monthly payment may enable you to afford a pricier model or package you prefer.
Let’s look into what Flex Buy Financing might mean for you.
Flex Buy Financing Gives You More Options
Let’s face it: the current economy is not doing you any financial favors, particularly if you had planned to purchase a new car this year. Not only is inflation outpacing many peoples’ salary growth, but higher interest rates can make financing a car more challenging. Higher vehicle prices and interest rates can make a big difference in a monthly payment on a new vehicle.
Ford understands this and decided to create a different financing program that allows you to keep payments low now while giving you time to build higher payments into your budget down the road.
Flex Buy financing starts by taking a standard car loan term – usually 60 or 72 months – and extending it out to 66 and 75 months. The loan will provide a qualified borrower with a 15% or 18% “discount” off the loan payment for the first 36 months. That discounted amount is then spread out over the remaining months of the term (either 30 months or 39 months). The extended term means that the “jump” in payments after the first 36 months will not be drastic because the payments will be spread out over a longer term.
Here’s an example of how a typical Flex Buy Financing plan might look:
Suppose you purchase a new Ford vehicle and need to finance $30,000. For a standard 60-month term loan, your payment would be about $594 per month using a current market interest rate of about 7%. In contrast, under the Flex Buy program, your payment would be about $504 for the first 36 months (providing you a $90 cash flow advantage per month for three years). In months 37 through 66, your monthly payment would go up to about $611. In other words, even though the payment would make a $106 jump, it is not much more than you would be paying if you had used standard financing.
What’s the catch? The loan term is six months longer, so you will pay off your loan after 66 payments rather than 60. Overall, at a rate of 7%, you will also end up paying about $830 more in interest over the life of the loan with Flex Buy Financing than with standard financing in the given example.
Accordingly, consider whether the Flex Buy option provides a more significant benefit than standard financing. The cash flow benefit for the first three years means that you can get into a new car more easily now or may be able to afford more cars than you think. In other words, you can upgrade your model or buy a more expensive vehicle. Remember that if interest rates go down in the first three years, you also have the option of refinancing your car with another lender to keep your payments down over the life of the remaining loan balance. The bottom line is: the Flex Buy Financing option gives you a 36-month window in which to plan.
Another advantage of the Flex Buy Financing program is that it can be combined with other Ford purchasing incentives such as retail Bonus Customer Cash, Open Bonus Cash, or Ford Credit Retail Bonus Cash. Qualifying customers can also benefit from low Annual Percentage Rate (APR) rates associated with Ford’s standard 60- and 72-month loans. With current Ford incentive rates below the market rate of 7%, this means that, in the example above, the difference in overall payment between a Flex Buy arrangement and standard financing can be significantly smaller than the $830 mentioned.
These additional Ford discounts make the Flex Buy program attractive and worthwhile for eligible borrowers. The Flex Buy program is not available in some states but is available here in Idaho and nearby Washington.
Come in to See What Mike White Ford Can Do For You
If you are in the market for a new Ford and are not sure whether you can get the vehicle you want for the payment you want, come on into Mike White Ford. Ask about Ford’s Flex Buy Financing program, which offers customers like you a flexible and affordable way to purchase a new Ford vehicle. With discounted rates for the initial 36 months and the ability to choose your loan term and the discount amount, it caters to a wide range of buyers and gives them more control over their payments. Because the program can be combined with additional incentives and low APR rates, it is an enticing option for qualifying customers. Come to our Coeur d’Alene or Sandpoint showrooms, or contact us online. We’d love to help you get the new Ford vehicle you’ve been looking for.