Bank Loan Rates For Buying Your Elio

[Joshua Caldwell]

Taking what ross said a step further, assuming you'll be driving what you're driving now, open a separate account (I know, the interest the banks pay doesn't even keep up with inflation....but.) and 'Starting NOW', everytime you fill up your present vehicle, double that and deposit it in your Elio payment account. Then, when you get your Elio, go with the Elio gas card option for payment. When the gas card bill comes, take it out of your dedicated Elio payment account (which should have a fair amount in it by now). It might hurt a little now depositing the money in the new account (just as it does with 401Ks), but once you get your Elio with it's tiny little tank, you'll be glad you had some self-discipline a year earlier. Heck, you might even end up with some extra cash when it's all said and done for options for your Elio, or whatever else you might want.

The gist of this post - There's more than one way to skin a cat (metaphorically speaking )

I'm making extra payments into my 401k (with 80% company match) and will do either a 4% interest 401k loan or a simple withdrawal when the time comes.

 

[NSTG8R]

I'm making extra payments into my 401k (with 80% company match) and will do either a 4% interest 401k loan or a simple withdrawal when the time comes.

80%! Nice! Ours is 40% matching up to "X" amount...not sure off hand, but it's around 3k per year [free money]. The only real consideration with doing something like that, other than penalties, which I assume there is none, like Boeings, is the "potential interest lost" by lowering your 401K's current principle. At least the interest is paid back to yourself.

 

[tazairforce]

I'm making extra payments into my 401k (with 80% company match) and will do either a 4% interest 401k loan or a simple withdrawal when the time comes.

Josh, That's a good deal. I get a 50 percent match, I still consider mine a good deal, for a non-profit hospital.
It all mounts up.

 

[imageon]

US Bank will do a motercycle or car for 2.59 on a 4 - 5 year note right now.
I plan to finance the base vehicle $6100.00 about with deposit and rebate + destination charges. Then pay cash for the extras.
6100 x 4 years = 133.92 x 5 years = 108.50.
MK

 

[Craig]

Depends on how the financial institutions classify it. It may be an autocycle but they could classify it under auto instead of motorcycle. Only time will tell.

My bet is even if they can go either way, and since the over all amount will be much lower than a car, they will go with motorcycle. Normally it's two or three percent higher than an auto loan.
It's all about the money.o_O JMO

 

[goofyone]

If everything works out the way I hope it will I should be fortunate enough to be able to buy my Elio in cash.

However that is still a long way off for me as there are a lot of things I need to sort out between now and then, not the least of which is figuring out a direction on my employment situation.

 

[Terrence]

I was wondering if anyone else has contacted their bank/Credit Union to see about a loan for their Elio? I contacted a local credit union and they said because the "car" is so new and there isn't an established resale value and the loan interest rate will be higher. This is because if they need to repo the car they don't know if they can recover their money or how fast it will sell. The estimated rate is about 9.0% for the new Elio "car" but for the "autocycle" (it may be classified as a motorcycle/RV) the rates are higher. They hadn't heard the term "autocycle" yet. They said they do not know for sure what the rate will be until it is out on the market. I may have to pull the "Loyal customer" to influence the rate!

- Are most people planning on paying cash?
- Or for those planning on financing their Elios, have you looked into this already? What are you being told?
- Any more info on the Elio financing program?

Howdy Cache man: you may or may not have found over time more data on the term autocycle and how the Elio could be classified. Please look into this link when you have time: This is a very good document
file:///C:/Users/I3PC/Downloads/3%20Wheel%20Vehicles%20BestPractices%20(3).pdf
Enjoy the wait here at Elioowners.com
Terrence

 

[Jay3wheel]

I'm making extra payments into my 401k (with 80% company match) and will do either a 4% interest 401k loan or a simple withdrawal when the time comes.

If you are choosing between a 401k loan and a withdrawal, you should know that the interest you pay on the loan is added back into your 401k account along with the principle from the payments. Also, the withdrawal is taxable to you in the year of the withdrawal.

 

[Terrence]

I agree. Isn't Elio advertising the autocycle as a first time buyer car? This financial information should be discussed with new buyers, and hopeful as parents of "First Time Buyers" we should help guide them though this maze that many get caught in... Debt.

I have seen advertising more as adding the Elio to the households current vehicles, using this at the main work vehicle for saving money to get to and from work. They also commented usually it is one person driving to work on the average. Then use you full size vehicle or gas guzzles for other items. Use the 84 mpg Elio to get that one employee or employer to the job and back safely with air bags.
Then there are other groups to consider for the Elio, first car buyers, young adults, persons with financial restrictions, family with financial restrictions, car rentals, fleets, etc, etc..
The Elio fits the pocket book for its outright cost of $6,800.00 and fits the gas bill while it gets 84 mpg!
Enjoy your Elio
Terrence

 

[Cache Man]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Elio financing. haven't heard much lately, but there was to be a plan with 2x the cost of your gas going towards principle, with a minimum amount per month. nothing regarding rates were concerned.

Thanks for bringing this up. It is a good point. I have heard of this program but I do not know much about it. This is a really good idea. I am sure more will come out as Elio starts production.

In reply to the debt free comments...
The issue with the younger group is that they may not have credit and typically with school and starting out, they don't have a large savings account. Needing to borrow may not be a direct relationship to family principles or learned habits. There are plenty of adults that have debt issues. I believe that 46% of all Americans maintain an average credit card dept of $15,611. So if you average it out over all households and not just those who are indebted it is $7,283 on a credit card per each household. Here is an interesting link on consumer debt: http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-card-data/average-credit-card-debt-household/

Parents may/will need to co-sign to help with the lower interest rate for their children in many cases. The idea of always paying cash for everything is good if you have a large income or wealth. If you have to get a loan... the main point is to pay it off quickly! Not to think to yourself... I can finance other things that I want (non-necessary items/toys) because I still have money each month. Sort of the "want to income ratio".

Most people need to finance their homes as an example. Many may be able to pay cash for their cars that are $20k to $50k for a new car. But many cannot for a $6800 Elio. So in order to finance a car or other "needs" you have to have credit. Another point is to not buy the fanciest and most expensive or to "keep up with your friends or peers" (notice I didn't use "Jones" - I have no idea who the Jones' are anyway but they must be rich!). More than likely your friends or peers are up to the eyeballs in debt anyway! If you have always paid cash you will not have credit or you will have a very poor score which will cause you to have a very high interest rate when you need to finance big purchases like a house or "needs".

So the funny thing is that you have to have some debt to earn credit. This is what makes the Elio a good car for the credit beginner. You don't have to go into some crazy debt to earn good credit. Credit is a necessary evil in today's society. It is the high debt that is the bad thing. Getting out of debt as quickly and savings are the best moral principles you can teach children.