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Automakers Are Courting Car Buyers With New 0% APR Financing Deals

By: Pete Grieve
Pete Grieve, expert in Personal finance, housing, and Reporter at Money
Pete Grieve
Reporter | Joined May 2024
Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market.
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Editor: Brad Tuttle
Brad Tuttle, expert in Personal finance, shopping, consumer trends, and Senior Editor at Money
Brad Tuttle
Senior Editor | Joined January 2014
Brad Tuttle is a senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals.
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Published: Sep 01, 2023 8 min read
Photo Illustration of a Car cut out, on top of two opposing colored squares, with a percentage sign and a zero in the background
Money; Getty Images

After a long and frustrated dry spell for new car deals, automakers are advertising a growing number of 0% APR financing offers. These promotions are especially attractive given that current loan rates for new cars are often above 7%, but there are pros and cons to these deals.

Usually, 0% APR financing offers come from car manufacturers' lending arms, like Nissan Finance and Chrysler Capital. How this is works is that automakers essentially buy down rates for customers with good credit who use their financing. These offers are promoted strategically to boost sales and clear inventory.

Thanks to improving new vehicle supply in the U.S., there have been a lot more 0% APR financing deals out there to consider in recent months.

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Auto financing deals are frequently promoted around holidays. Ahead of Labor Day, manufacturers like Ford and Nissan are promoting 0% APR financing offers on at least 10 vehicle models and dozens more sub-2% APR deals, according to RealCarTips.com Founder Gregg Fidan, who tracks financing deals by scraping manufacturers' websites.

Car shoppers are often faced with a choice between "cash on the hood" (rebates) and 0% APR deals. Given that auto loan rates are so high in 2023, 0% APR financing deals may save you money in the long run compared to taking cash back.

"It used to be that cash back was better, but now that interest rates are a lot higher, typically I'm seeing that the low APR offers are better, especially if they're longer term offers like 48 to 72 months," Fidan says.