Hi,

I am going to be buying my first car soon, a new Scion xA. I asked the dealer to provide me a breakdown of charges before I sign and pick up the car next week. Most of the numbers look OK, except for the appearance of a 'finance charge' which is around $2.5k. What is included in this charge? How much of this is optional? What have other people paid here in finance charges when buying a new xA? I'm getting an APR of 5.9% and putting about 2k down for an initial term of 60mos. Are there any other charges I should be aware of that arent required that the dealer may be trying to add on?

Thanks for your replies,

Andy

 

That figure should be what you will pay in finance charges over the course of the loan.

 

The finance charge is the total cost to finance the car with the APR you recieved.

For example, if you financed $100 at an APR of 10%, you'll be paying roughly $10 extra for one month. That $10 is your finance charge.

Okay, these numbers are from the top of my head;

Base price xA - $13000
License and processing fee - Varies from $150-400
Tax - Varies from state to state - Avg $900

Final cost of vehicle - $14200

If you're putting a down payment on the car for $2000, it brings the total amount to finance to $12200.

Financing @ 5.9 APR for 5 years, your finance charge will be $1,917.59.

Your monthly payments will be roughly around $235.29

If you want more accurate numbers, plug them in yourself using a loan calculator like the one below;

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/popcalc2.asp

 

Also, since you live in CA, tax would be much higher, likely around $1100 at 8.0%