When obtaining new car prices via email, why would the salesman ask if I am looking to finance or pay cash?

You can play a lot of games with the financing. Cash is cash, but financing can be pretty creative. Just look at the total of your payments.

There can be a couple of reasons for that. One salesman explained to me that they want to be able to present you with a “package” when they meet you, to look more personal and professional.. I suspect that they also like to have a patter prepared as to why this deal is the best.

Good luck with your car search!

If you finance, they get a cut of the interest rate == more profit for the dealer.

Cash is cash and they don’t get a kickback.

^What @elbanditoroso said. When I went to buy a car recently, I was paying cash. The dealer kept telling me that the interest rate was so low that it was practically free money! On and on. Also he kept trying to get me to buy the extended warranty, and some kind of cleaner to put on the seats for the low, low price of 500.00. Of which he got a cut I’m sure. Because this went on and on. I finally told him to stop or I would walk.
Do your research and see if you think you need all these add ons that they push. For five bucks at a leather shop, I bought a bottle of leather cleaner and protector.

@elbanditoroso

But if you’re prepared to pay cash in full they’re more than willing to accommodate, especially if it’s a new car. Speaking from personal experience.

@Darth_Algar As I said above, that wasn’t my experience. I wonder why?

@Darth_Algar – some will, some won’t. Depends on the time of the month, their quota, and their honesty.

@chyna He gets a cut of the rate or he’s getting something upfront to increase his profit. I’ve done deals like this. Watch the total of your payments versus the cash price.

He can get you a better, or at least a different price, if you pay cash. It’s easier to screw the banks rather than you, the customer who might want to buy another car from them someday. My experience? All car sales people are crooks, drunks, or both. Watch out!

Most new car dealers have a manufacturer’s finance system and they get a percentage of the financing. Some also get a bonus point from the finance wing of the car manufacturer for financing the cars on their lot waiting to be sold.

I’ve only had one dealer try that. They wouldn’t even give a cash price on the vehicle, so I had them run the financing numbers. What they came back with was… well, ballsy. The way they did “simple interest” was to take the APR, multiply it by 5 (60-month term), and add that quintupled percentage to the principal of a 0% loan with no ability to save interest costs by making principal-only payments. That right there was shady enough to turn the deal down without even looking at the interest rate that dealer wanted.

But since my mind was already made up I looked if for no reason other than to see what the vehicle price was (they still wouldn’t say). As it turned out, it was a $12,000 car (that I might’ve gone as high as $7,500 on) at 19% APR for a total price of $23,400 regardless of whether I paid $390/month or made larger payments.

After that, my policy is that if I can’t get a price up-front then the question isn’t whether I want to buy there or not, but whether I leave nicely or tell them to fuck themselves on my way out the door.

@kritiper That is why I love private sales.