Toyota may renew "Saved by Zero" no-interest loans
Toyota is reportedly having great success giving away money with their 0% loans. According to Bob Carter, general manager of the Toyota Division, the "Saved by Zero" ad campaign is building traffic and may be renewed when the program expires on November 3 (of course, he won't tell us now because that may slow traffic down again). Dealerships are reporting an increase in sales leads due to the no-interest financing, and the drastic sales declines in September seem to have eased-off a bit so far this month. The 0% financing is only good on 36-month loans making payments a bit steep for first-timers (longer terms also get reduced rates, but not the 0%). This is causing some dealers to ask for more rebates on Toyota cars and trucks in lieu of the aggressive financing -- the rebates are helpful as the cash incentives often provide customers with the down payments needed to originate the sales in the first place.
[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Stumpy 2:37PM (10/27/2008)
I wish I could jump on that deal, cause I really need a new car. Unfortunately, I don't think any of the Toyota vehicles are "fun". No MR2, No Celica...
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Frylock350 2:42PM (10/27/2008)
If you can make it with your current vehicle a bit longer, the deals will get even sweeter as dealers will do anything to push metal when everyone is spending their money on holiday purchases rather than vehicles.
Gabagool 2:46PM (10/27/2008)
Isnt this the reason we are in this financial mess? Because people buy cars they want not the cars they can afford or need?
Torrent 2:48PM (10/27/2008)
Well hey. The corolla is plenty fun for any....I think the Prius is fun enough for the people who....The Yaris really has.......Ah screw it, who am I kidding.
Gabagool 3:10PM (10/27/2008)
But Corolla is super reliable, all you have to do is regular maintenance, think how much do you save on not visit mechanics, no more days off work to go to mechanic, no more getting screwed by mechanic. Gets great MPG, not e very exiting ride but it goes with the territory.
You want to get a Camaro.great, but do not complain about the fact that you are getting 2 MPG and that you know your mechanics boyfriends last name.
Torrent 4:37PM (10/27/2008)
Come on. It doesn't matter what car you have, it's going to be in the shop at least once in it's life. You are the regular Sushi Car Fanboy who doesn't give American cars a chance because he owned an unreliable Chevy Citation in the 80's (wow), and I respect that, because there will always be retarded people on earth, but the point is- I don't respect people who can just assume that all American cars are ill-conceived and unreliable, but haven't owned, driven or even rode in one for decades... Oh and:
"and that you know your mechanics boyfriends last name." yeah, that's logical.
WTF- go perish somewhere.
Gabagool 4:44PM (10/27/2008)
@ Torrent, who peed into your cereal this morning?
You Mechanics BF?
Torrent 5:19PM (10/27/2008)
your mom.
Adis 5:28PM (10/27/2008)
Ok. I agree give American Cars a chance. My dad used to tell us to never buy anything other then Toyotas.. He was a mechanic so he knew what he was talking about.. Anyhow, Last year my brother was looking at a 7 pass SUV and his final 2 were the GMC Acadia and the Acura MDX.. After telling him countless times not to get the GMS he went for it....and he hates the car!!!! the car leaks water after going into the car wash... LAME!!!!!!
so sum it up, his like this car feels like its 10 years old.. Mistake!!!
so yea, we did give American Cars a chance and will never go back!!!!
Brn 10:16AM (10/28/2008)
If your experience with GM is bad, I can understand why you wouldn't want to purchase from them. Why slam Ford because of a bad experience with GM? Why think Nissan is great because of a good experience with Toyota? I have some concerns with your logic.
"He was a mechanic so he knew what he was talking about"
I know dozens (maybe a hundred) of current, certified, mechanics. They're factory trained on American, European, Japanese, and Korean autos. The truth is that all cars are pretty well made today. GM, Toyota, and so on.
jc 3:18PM (10/28/2008)
They need these financing deals on the Scions. The tC may be considered a chick car but it's the closest thing Toyota has to a fun car. No manual transmissions on Corolla S models.
And add a small rebate. Give a kid a $500 rebate and he'll buy a spoiler or body kit or sway bar. Throw in 2.9 financing and I'd get one for commuting. But they're not really trying to sell Scions.
I'm indifferent to the saved by zero commercial. But I hated the Brooke Shields ad when it came out, but now I love the new Brooke VW ads. When did she transform from Blue Lagoon waif to milf? I missed that. Oh, wait, I just got old.
Jake 2:46PM (10/27/2008)
In questionable economic times you should definitely be getting into a risky car loan.
We have a huge economic crisis because of excessive use of credit. I don't think that the answer is more credit.
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pmalloy4391 3:37PM (10/27/2008)
Sure it is, dont you listen to our great leaders?? There is no resession, and everything is fine, keep watching american idol and spend spend spend!
Brn 2:50PM (10/27/2008)
They completely ruined a perfectly good song.
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fixitfixitstop 3:27PM (10/27/2008)
And like most ads, they miss the entire point of the phrase. The song title actually means "saved by nothing".
eb110americana 3:36PM (10/27/2008)
I wonder if they have to pay royalties to The Fixx for bastardizing the tune, and to Dire Straits for their previous "I want my MPG" take on "Money for Nothing" (I want my MTV). I hope they're paying dearly every time that ad plays.
awkward 9:02PM (10/27/2008)
god i hate that commercial
RG 2:50PM (10/27/2008)
Oh Dear Lord- does that mean more "Saved by Zero" ads? I'm ready to put my head through the wall after the third commercial break during the football game when I have seen that ad for the 4th time.
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StinkyPete 2:58PM (10/27/2008)
Seriously, I hope that song dies the death it deserves. It feels like it's taking a piece of my soul when I hear it.
estammel 3:00PM (10/27/2008)
I'm glad I'm not alone on preferring to put my junk in a vise than to see that ad again...
I can't put my finger exactly on why I dislike it, but
it's definitely not helping the boring and monotonous image they've gotten. It's essentially the same 50 frame animation with different models for the whole thing! yawn.