Toyota financing through TFS
Toyota Financial Services (TFS) is the lending arm of Toyota. It serves more than 26 million borrowers across 35 nations and regions. In consumer satisfaction, it ranked ninth out of 25 on J.D. Power’s U.S. 2017 Consumer Financing Satisfaction Survey.
To qualify for financing through Toyota, you generally have to have good credit, but Toyota has a program designed to help customers with limited credit called iFi. If you have a credit score of at least 610, you may be able to enroll in the program. (You can check your credit score for free here.)
A tier bump could help. A negotiating tip is to ask for a tier bump. Whenever you apply to an auto lender, you’re classified into a credit tier based on things like your credit score and income. The higher your credit tier, the better loan offer you’ll get. So if the offer you receive from Toyota Financial Services seems out of whack with your credit history, ask for a tier bump. Point out your down payment, past auto loans you paid off successfully and relatively low debts compared with assets, such as home equity, savings accounts and stocks and bonds, to make your case. These could all be reasons you might deserve a tier bump. You may not get one, but it’s worth a try.
Finance terms through TFS range from 24 to 72 months. To apply, you’ll need your personal details (address, phone number, email address, birthdate and Social Security number), your education and employment information (education level, employer’s name and how much you make monthly). You may be asked for a copy of your driver’s license, proof of income and proof of residence.
Rebates and incentives
Toyota offers a suite of rebates and incentives for its customers. Each has different qualification requirements; some require you to finance with Toyota Financial Services. Deals change frequently, depending on the time of year and location, so check with a dealership or through Toyota’s website to see which ones apply to the vehicle you want.
Here are the types of Toyota rebates and incentives, what they’re typically worth and their general requirements.
- College Grad Program: You could get a $750 rebate on certain models if you’re a graduate student, if you graduated from an accredited two or four-year university or technical college (or a registered nurse program) within the last two years or if you will graduate from one of them within the next six months. It also requires you show proof of current employment, or proof that you’ll start work within 120 days from the day you sign for your car.
- Military Rebate: This $500 rebate can be used toward any new Toyota financed through TFS. Any active-duty U.S. military personnel or those who separated from service within one year and any of their household members may qualify. You would need to bring a leave and earnings statement, a military ID card or a DD-214. If you’re a household member of the military person, you’ll have to bring proof you share the same household, such as both of your driver’s licenses with the same address.
- Repeat Customers: If you’re leasing a Toyota and want to buy or lease a new Toyota, you might qualify for a $500 loyalty bonus and a waived disposition fee. There are loyalty programs such as Encore and dealer-specific programs tied to vehicle maintenance that are highly subject to location and time, so contact your local dealer for more information.
- Conquest Cash: If you’re driving a comparable vehicle from a competitor, you may qualify for a conquest incentive, depending on the model you have and the model you want.
- Cash Back, Customer Cash and Special Edition Cash: Depending on the exact model and trim of the vehicle, and where you buy it, these rebates may apply. Watch for the expiration date on these as they can change often.
- Specialty Finance programs: For customers with high credit scores, you may qualify for low APRs such as 1.9% APR for 60 months, depending on the model. In Illinois and Arkansas, Toyota also offers balloon loans (very small payments for a few years followed by one very large payment) for qualified customers.
- Subvention bonus If you have excellent credit (720+), meaning you’re in Toyota’s tier one credit category, you may be able to get a subvention bonus from the manufacturer in addition to a low APR.
This is not an exhaustive explanation of all the requirements you may need to meet in order to qualify for Toyota rebates and incentives. See Toyota’s website or a Toyota dealer for details.
Leasing from Toyota
Toyota lease terms can range from 24 to 60 months with mileage limits of 12,000 to 15,000 miles a year. There are also business lease plans, which can have opened or closed terms, and 1Pay Leases, in which you pay the entire price of the lease upfront. All new Toyota vehicles are eligible to be leased. If you’re looking to lease or you’re about to turn in a leased vehicle, check out any promotional programs before handing over the keys, such as Toyota waiving a disposition fee if you buy or lease a new Toyota 30 days before or after your current lease ends.
Alternative options for Toyota financing
Before you head to the dealership, check out your bank, credit union or online lender to see what they can offer you in terms of Toyota financing. The benefit of multiple offers is finding the lowest APR possible. You won’t hurt your credit by applying to multiple places within a 14-day window and you don’t have to know exactly which car you want to get a preapproval that you can take with you.
Take the preapproval(s) that you like best with you to the dealership so that when the salesperson brings up financing, you can say you already have a few offers. Having a preapproval on hand gives you a stronger negotiating point: You’re not going to take a 10% APR loan if you have a 7% APR loan offer in your pocket. It is recommended that you let the dealership run your loan application to see if they are able to beat the best loan offer you have. If they can, great — you just saved even more money. If they can’t, you’re ready to go with the one you have.
