Topic: How much can you save by paying cash?

[Metablob]

I have the luxury of being able to pay cash for a new vehicle I am concidering (Nissan Xtrail). Several manufacturers are offering cash discounts in lieu of low interest payments. Saturn is offering $4000 off the MSRP off their FWD Vue model for cash instead of 0% financing. I am right that the financing incentives are offered by the manufacturer, and that I should be able to negatiate a discount based on a cash offer.  
What is Nissan offering for cash?

[ovr50]

My experience has been that "cash" does not command any discount; the dealer gets paid anyway by the bank or the finance arm so cash is no real incentive for him. Just my opinion.

[Ldp]

I agree with Ovr and why should you pay the  finance arm as well. 0.9% may mean $500.00??, don't know, %0 like GM is a gift if there are no other premiums or unjustified mark-ups or overpriced options. We all know the secret is to keep your financial liabilities low. I've never understood the reasoning for paying, for instance, bank car loan rates to pay for an asset
that depreciates 10% the first time the back tires
roll off the curb of the dealer in your name. Knowing the MSRP is a good start. I would think, if you cannot possibly put the money better somewhere else, cash is better, then keep the bugger for 10 years like most us.  Alot of other folks here have far better experience and interesting advice with dealers and buying strategies. There are some great posts in other threads about your options. Specifically about Nissan? I'm not sure but you should be able to keep it close to the MSRP.

[Sterling]

Disregding what the factory may be offering, cash will not result in any discount from the dealership compared to financing. In fact, the dealer may be willing to accept a slightly lower price if you finance because of the commissions they may get from the banks.

[johngenx]

Cash buyers used to be desirable since the transaction was "clean" and there was less hassle.  Those days are long gone.  Today, dealers make a spiff on your financing.

When we were recently car shopping, most salespeople got a little sad when we said we were not financing.

[eddy4]

Your only saving is in accepting the discounted price over the "0%" financing.
Which of course costs you money.

[JSCC]

Out of the 3 payment methods:
1. Cash
2. Financing
3. Leasing

Cash is the last one a dealer would want to deal with.
But that doesn't automatically mean it is always the best way for the consumer.

It depends on your finacial ability and driving habits.

If you have the money, and know you want to keep the vehicle until it dies. Then pay cash.

If you like changing vehicles every 2 years. Even if you could pay cash, it should be better to lease. Or else you would be taking serious depreciation hits for others every 2 years.
And you could use you extra cash flow to do other stuff, say pay off credit card debt, RRSP, education, etc.

[ovr50]

If you change vehicles every 2 years, you will take serious depn hits no matter whether you lease or buy. The real benefit to leasing then is that you do not pay the PST/GST up front. Changing every 2 years is expensive no matter what you do (but it sure is fun...).

[johngenx]

Leasing, unless the terms are subvented, does not save you money over buying.  The total costs are the same.  What leasing does do is conserve cash flow.

Buying/Leasing a new car every two years is very expensive.