medjunkie

I was quoted 3.79% by MB financial for 60 months. I have A+ credit. I have to go with them as they will make the last three lease payments on my current C63s. Question is if I have any room for bringing that rate down? Thanks!

montreal red

thats a good rate compared to the 5.89% rate i had to sign back in 2019.... the dealership insisted that i had to finance through them to get my G550. i ended up signing the finance agreement and paying off the entire loan after 6 months. you can do the same, mercedes finance loans are open and you can repay them within a few months if you want.

marcolarco52

Depending on your loan amount and the monthly lease payment you make on your C63s it might be a good rate because the savings from a lower rate can be offset by the lease payments being waived.

Hodog16

I’m using American 1 credit union. It’s based in Michigan but is open for membership out of state. Requires one time $3 donation to a community fund and a $5 deposit into a free checking account.

I looked at over 50 credit unions nationwide and this was by far the best deal in terms of being eligible.

Rates are 1.59% for 72 months and 1.99% for 84 months. This promotional rate is good through 12/31 and covers new, used cars and purchases and refinancing. No limit to how much you borrow. Eligibility based on credit score and paystub.

Hope this helps others! They sent me a cashier’s check made out to my dealer that I’ll sign upon delivery.

montreal red

yup definitely agree with this. i didnt get any previous lease payments waived but is there usually a minimum finance term when they do this? if there isnt, you can always get those lease payments waived and pay off the loan using a personal line of credit or home equity line of credit which usually have lower rates.

montreal red

your dealer was able to sell you a G with no financing attached? it seemed like my dealer was using the finance department as part of their vetting procedure to ensure that i am not a car exporter/reseller. would have been easier if i could do an all cash deal from the start and i could have just found my own financing.

Hodog16

They didn’t require financing through MB but they know I am financing in general. When I was looking at other dealerships, they admitted they scanned me in the exporter database. It helps that I live close by and the G market here isn’t crazy because dealers only sell to locals.

MS616

Do I need to make the donation right away or when the loan is approved?

Hodog16

It's a pretty easy process. You start by applying online for an auto loan (it'll ask what dealership you are buying from and to upload a copy of your license, the bill of sale, and your most recent paystub as well as the typical info needed to pull your credit).

Within 24 hours or so they get back to you, and when approved they'll follow-up with a phone call and ask you some ID questions (i.e. which of these is a place you lived, which of these names are you associated with, etc) to set up membership. You can give them your checking account and routing info for them to pull the $8.

medjunkie

so couple of updates. I tried the American 1 credit union route and was told that the dealership does not deal with out of state financial institutions even if it is a cash deal... that sounds really weird... but anyways.. they said they will buy my current car so the lease payments are a moot point. They shopped around for me but all others want down payments. They called MBFS again and the rate dropped to 2.79%. Obviously, there was a markup that the dealership was keeping and now I forced their hand to drop it down... how much more can I push them?

medjunkie

this is legit and by far the most amazing rates I’ve seen anywhere. They have no max limits and will do zero down as well. Thank you for sharing this information for me and others.

streborx

I've been offered 0%/72 months on any 2021 Lexus

Hodog16

Yes even Mercedes has 0%/36 month financing but only on certain models. In terms of universal rates this is by far the best I found. I saw some in the 1.49% range but those credit unions were only for locals so I couldn't join.

Sure glad I can help--hope you can work it out with your dealer. My dealer had no problem with American 1, so it's not a Mercedes thing, just your dealer playing hard ball, and American 1 told me they are used to dealing with out of state dealers all the time.

medjunkie

I have a Lexus as well and was offered that too. Likely because they haven’t been able to move many recently.

streborx

MB offered me 1% on any 2020 and 2% on any 2021 sitting on the dealer lot (obviously no G's). They're all trying to unload inventory before year-end.

EJKaufman

I got a loan from Bank of America for 72 months with a 2.09% APR on 100k+ loan. Much better rate terms than anything offered by MBFS. But the credit union that @Hodog16 mentioned sounds like the best rates in the nation and I would try to get a loan there if I could.

streborx

Not dealing with out of state financial institutions (you mean like MB financial services in Texas)? What a bunch of hooey! Your lender sends them a check and the dealer is thereafter out of it. Dealers make a ton of $$ on financing and they push their lending services hard (and then try to sell you loan insurance on top). Find the best rate elsewhere, present it to the dealer, and chances are he'll match it.

streborx

Bank of America like most banks today are paying 0.04% (that's 4 hundredths of 1%) on deposits, so even an attractive lending rate like 2% is all profit for them. As they say, "cash is trash" -- not even banks want it.

MS616

FYI, I had American 1 do a loan and the max they provide is $120,000 and not even $150,000. I told them a board member got the loan and she says she's never seen this amount being offered and all they can honor is $120K. For reference I have a 870 Credit Score, Tier 1.

Hodog16

MS616: Hey just replied to your message. They told me when I asked there was no loan ceiling and I was initially approved for above $120,000.

EJKaufman: Not to play devil's advocate, but these rates are good for refinancing auto loans too haha. I'll send you a PM.

streborx

I wouldn't take the dollar limit personally. Most lenders put caps on loans as a matter of risk diversification.

MS616

I signed up at Mercedes Benz dealership trough MBFS (72 Months). I bought the Extended Warranty, Pre-Paid Maintenance and including Taxes, Tags, Titling & Reg I've financed $185,600 with MBFS. I was trying to refinance that with this Credit Union. If I can get $160,000 - $170,000, from them, it would be lovely.

MS616

You are a gentleman.

LapTimes

Thanks, this is a great find. Curious, how did you find this?

Hodog16

I googled credit union auto rates and went looking for a needle in haystack. I found a local CU that had 1.99 across the board but in November they raised it to 2.49, so I had a baseline.

Any CU with higher rates I quickly moved on, but any below 1.99 I looked at the membership guidelines, looking for out of state ones that allowed donations.

I narrowed it down to three—this one, one in Texas, and one in California. The CA one allowed donations but only for relatively local people. The Texas one allowed me to be a member but American 1 had the best rates and let me join so I stopped the search there.

I took delivery yesterday with cashiers check so it’s all good.