New Hyundai 'We pay you for buying our cars' campaign really just deferred incentives?
The Hyundai Assurance program may well go down as the most innovative and perhaps successful marketing campaign of 2009. The program was so perfect for our economic times that General Motors and Ford eventually followed suit with very similar offers. But according to The New York Times, Hyundai's marketing magic may have worn out with the South Korean automaker's newest offer – an incentive that sounds great until you dig just beneath the surface.
The new Hyundai campaign promises to pay customers during the first six vehicle payments on any model purchased before June 30. As you likely already know, the payment paradigm usually works the other way around, and the new Hyundai plan sounds like a real winner for the customer. In fact, though, the payment basically takes the place of a lump sum cash incentive that would normally be due at signing. That's right, we're talking about the repackaging of existing customer rebates. In this case, you get six small payments (on a Visa card) spread out over six months instead of one big rebate that you would traditionally receive up front. When considering the fact that the standard lump sum rebate can often be used to lower your car payments – while also taking a bite out of interest payments through the life of the loan – we'll take our rebates the old fashioned way.
[Source: The New York Times via Kicking Tires]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
tankd0g 11:04AM (6/03/2009)
This is just a fancy way of saying 6 months no payments. Not much of an incentive. Unless you were planing to default after 6 months anyway :)
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XJ 2:51PM (6/03/2009)
Here is the rundown on the numbers:
Option A: You buy a $20,000 car with the up-front rebate of $2319 (6 months of payments) and a 60-month loan at 6% interest.
Months 1-6) You have to pay $342/month
Months 7-60) You have to pay $342/month
Option B: You buy a $20,000 car with deferred rebate with a 60-month loan at 6% interest.
Months 1-6) You have to pay $0/month
Months 7-60) You have to pay $387/month
Note: The numbers above are rounded to the dollar.
Advantage of Option A...After it's all said and done, you end up saving a total of $365. (You save less money if you can get a better interest rate; save more if you're interest rate is higher.)
Advantage of Option B...You don't have to pay until month 7. This would be ideal for people who need a car now, but can't pay for it just yet for some reason or another.
Randy 9:54PM (6/03/2009)
Just get fired at month 7 and then collect! ;) jk
Avinash machado 11:06AM (6/03/2009)
As usual "Always read the fine print".
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Rogue_G 11:12AM (6/03/2009)
There's a sucker born every minute. Hyundai just capitalized on that. Props to them on a clever marketing scheme.
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zamafir 11:42AM (6/03/2009)
Well, and for still giving rebates, in adition to these monthly amounts. There's a reason toyota's afraid of them.
JDM Life 11:54AM (6/03/2009)
@ zamafir
I'm sorry. Toyota is afraid of who??
Your kidding right...Hyundai is doing better then have ever done. Good for them. Toyota has nothing to worry about.
zamafir 12:30PM (6/03/2009)
Kidding? No. Well read? Yes. You might want to read a car magazine once a year or so before underlying how unfamiliar you are with the topic you're replying to:
"We're worried about them," Yukitoshi Funo, chairman of Toyota Motor Sales USA, told reporters in Detroit this week.
"Our main competitors here are essentially Honda Motor Co Ltd, Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Hyundai, but Hyundai is the one we are very carefully watching," he said on the sidelines of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
We've known of Toyota's concern regarding Hyundai for YEARS.
m 12:34PM (6/03/2009)
@ JDM Life
WHOM, YOU'RE, and THAN
Sorry, three at once was just too much to handle.
Alex 11:12AM (6/03/2009)
Now I understand those commercials. They made absolutely no sense to me.
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ryan 11:20AM (6/03/2009)
haven't they been running this for the past couple of weeks? and it took everyone that long to figure it out?
same thing with many 0% programs. you usually are just buying rate down with incentive that you waive. so take off your blinders and figure out which is smarter money based on how long you plan on keeping the car, your average miles, and normal finance changes.
i swear, i see so many people taking 0% when they shouldn't be, it's ridiculous!
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Wobbly_ears 11:26AM (6/03/2009)
Hyundai's Assurance program was genius & honest. It addressed the biggest worry a car buyer would have had. I am sure it has generated a lot of goodwill for the brand.
But this new scheme is silly & dangerous. Dangerous because it might cause a customer to view Hyundai with suspicion & disgust when he/she hears about the fine print. This scheme sounds like something which a scammy dealer would use to get people to visit his store.
This is a gimmick & Hyundai should stop it immediately. There's no reason to lose a lot of goodwill over this. Not worth it.
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zamafir 11:44AM (6/03/2009)
there there, do you feel better now?
geo.stewart 12:17PM (6/03/2009)
wow, paranoid much?
Actually, this is just another take on rebates. but if you are Hyundai looking down the road, you dont have the stigma of $3000-$6000 rebates (looking at you Chrysler) and the havoc that plays on resales or offloading 'demos' (again, looking at you Chrysler).
True, from buyer perspective, its not a down payment so you are paying interest on it but you will get it back in higher resale value.
nanotube 11:34AM (6/03/2009)
I agree with Ryan; this is the same sort of fancy footwork as the "Zero percent financing OR Cash Rebate," offers that bundle the interest payments into the MSRP and then subtract them if you don't finance. In the end, you pay more if you finance than if you pay cash, it's nothing new, although usually the effective interest rate ends up being quite low.
This new program... seems like a mistake waiting to become aparent in 6 months.
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Avinash machado 11:40AM (6/03/2009)
Get out of here.
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ronEbear 11:45AM (6/03/2009)
I just bought a 2009 Accent. I payed 14000 (Canadian) after everything was said and done. (including borrowing costs, taxes and registration). I took the lump discount.
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TurboD 5:40PM (6/04/2009)
Man! Can't you people learn how to spell , it doesn't sound like ESL is your case, then spell it 'PAID' and 'BUY' (not by or bye)
Jeez
tuxchown 11:48AM (6/03/2009)
Misleading deals should be illegal.
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blackmage439 11:51AM (6/03/2009)
As long as Hyundai doesn't rebrand another horrible marketing strategy for their use, we'll be fine.
"Saaaaaaaved by Zeeeeeeroooooooo [payments for six months]!"
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