Mazda to switch to Toyota Financial Services for loans, leases

The annoyance with Chase is that they don*t make it easy to pay extra for principal reduction each month. I think the only way for you to specify that you want any excess in your monthly payment to go to principal reduction is if you make payments from a Chase banking account. Otherwise, excess in the payment just goes to reduce the next month*s payment.

My Chase payment coupon (under the name of Mazda Capital Services C/O Chase) has a box to check with this verbiage next to it:

Principal Reduction Option. Check here to apply any amount over the Total Payment Due to reduce your principal balance.

It goes on to say that if you don't check the box, excess amounts will be applied to the next payment.

My loan was issued March 2019.
Maybe it's recently changed.
Or maybe these are terms Mazda requires, and Chase does not extend them universally.
 
Last edited:
I just hope Toyota doesn't buy out Mazda. While Toyota makes reliable cars, they are BORING to drive and lack any sporty feedback. They are just kitchen appliances.

The Mazda "zoom zoom" will turn into "snore snore"

I doubt theyd buy out Mazda just to wipe them out like that. However, if they used the acquisition to fire the awful Lexus designers and add the Mazda style/feel to their luxury line, thatd be something!
 
I doubt theyd buy out Mazda just to wipe them out like that. However, if they used the acquisition to fire the awful Lexus designers and add the Mazda style/feel to their luxury line, thatd be something!

IDK, I kind of like this.

Lexus-LC-gallery-overlay-1204x677-LEX-LC5-MY18-0362_M75.jpg
 
Might be good. Mazda wouldn't even run my credit because they knew they couldn't beat my private financing @ 3.2%x72mo, which, IMO, is a pretty crap rate, anyways, so it's going to be nice if they can get competitive.


1.9% 72 mo here in Ontario Canada :)
 
It goes on to say that if you don't check the box, excess amounts will be applied to the next payment.
They say that to get people to under-pay on the next payment (because they want their interest) but its still a simple loan and any overpayment does indeed reduce your principal. Ive regularly rounded up car payments to the nearest $10 or $100 increment with Chase and with my credit union. They both reduce the amount of my next payment due, and theyll even get to the point where they say my next payment due is two months out. If you actually look at the balance on the loan at any point, though, youll see that your principal is lower than what it should be according to a simple repayment schedule.
 
They say that to get people to under-pay on the next payment (because they want their interest) but it*s still a simple loan and any overpayment does indeed reduce your principal. I*ve regularly rounded up car payments to the nearest $10 or $100 increment with Chase and with my credit union. They both reduce the amount of my next payment due, and they*ll even get to the point where they say my next payment due is two months out. If you actually look at the balance on the loan at any point, though, you*ll see that your principal is lower than what it should be according to a simple repayment schedule.

That makes sense. I disagree with their tactics, but what you say is factually accurate.

I guess if they didn't blindly apply the excess payment to subsequent payments, they would be perpetually reamortizing the principal balance over the remaining term, and recalculating the required payment every month...which is what they should be doing.

If you make an excess payment of any amount and continue to regularly make the original payment amount, then your final payment would be lowered by the excess payment(s) plus any saved interest.
 
That makes sense. I disagree with their tactics, but what you say is factually accurate.

I guess if they didn't blindly apply the excess payment to subsequent payments, they would be perpetually reamortizing the principal balance over the remaining term, and recalculating the required payment every month...which is what they should be doing.

If you make an excess payment of any amount and continue to regularly make the original payment amount, then your final payment would be lowered by the excess payment(s) plus any saved interest.

My mortgage is also through my credit union - I called them a while ago and asked how it would work if I wanted to make a half payment every other week. They said that any partial payments would go into what amounts to an escrow account and be held until there was an adequate balance to cover a full payment. I didn't go any deeper into the details of whether the full amount of the account would go toward the mortgage, since I thought it was silly for them to hold half a payment and not give me anything in return. I opted instead to just pay my regular payment, rounded up to the nearest $100 increment, every fourth week. I'll still get a 13th payment in a year, and the extra ~$32 is going toward curtailment every time a payment transfers from checking to my mortgage.

The point is that just because one lender does things a particular way doesn't mean that it's standard practice for every lender or every loan type. In my experience, though, car loans are one of the simplest types of loans out there, and I'd have a hard time imagining them ever getting into anything more complicated than principal reduction if they receive a payment that's more than required.
 
My Chase payment coupon (under the name of Mazda Capital Services C/O Chase) has a box to check with this verbiage next to it:



It goes on to say that if you don't check the box, excess amounts will be applied to the next payment.

My loan was issued March 2019.
Maybe it's recently changed.
Or maybe these are terms Mazda requires, and Chase does not extend them universally.

Should have said if you want to use electronic payments. Yes, if you want to physically mail a check every month, you can check the box. But if you want to use electronic payments, you have to use a Chase account.
 
Should have said if you want to use electronic payments. Yes, if you want to physically mail a check every month, you can check the box. But if you want to use electronic payments, you have to use a Chase account.

Good point. Actually, I use my bank's electronic payment feature for those bills I don't run through my credit card. My Chase loan is set up for Recurring Payment. I should have thought of that.

I guess I could call them to see if there's a process, but at these rates, paying down a loan is really picking at the fringes. I won't tell you what "promo rates" are on CDs at my bank. It's a different world...
 
I mentioned this here like 6 months ago. Took long enough. My dealer told me they were partnering with Toyota so they could start offering 0% again. Apparently Mazda couldn't.
 
Mazda getting better finance rates should be a good thing. -Captain Obvious
 
Mazda offered 0.9% last fall.
And they offered the same rate starting a couple of months ago...still 0.9% today, per the dealer's website.

So I gotta think there are other reasons for this besides low rates.
 
I was told they want to get back to offering zero %.
I never gave much thought to what it might cost a business (in any industry) to offer below-market financing managed by a 3rd party entity (like Chase.) But it's not exactly free to host that Credit Institution infrastructure in-house, either...both in terms of people and capital/cash-flow.

You gotta have horsepower (and cash) to do that.
 
The last time I financed my fourth Mazda was with Money Expert. My brother as me got a loan but the rates were lower than mine. The Porshe was and is more expensive than my car, that's the answer. Although, I'm okay with the car and monthly repayments 500. Furthermore, my family insures the car here, three cars with multiple-car insurance, 300 monthly. So, monthly I spend 800 when my salary is 5k. It's enough for living and for travel as well. Moreover, my wife works and it wasn't a bad idea to get the loan
 
Last edited:
I read late last year that Toyota and Mazda were building a joint assembly plant in Alabama. I also suspect that the CX-9 will soon have an in-line 6 cylinder, turbocharged. Maybe the CX-5 too.
 
The last time I financed my fourth Mazda was with Money Expert. My brother as me got a loan but the rates were lower than mine. The Porshe was and is more expensive than my car, that's the answer. Although, I'm okay with the car and monthly repayments 500. Furthermore, my family insures the car here, three cars with multiple-car insurance, 300 monthly. So, monthly I spend 800 when my salary is 5k. It's enough for living and for travel as well. Moreover, my wife works and it wasn't a bad idea to get the loan

So your auto insurance is $3600 a year? Did you get caught doing 120 MPH or what? :)
 
Folks, regarding the convo last summer around paying extra principle: Make the extra payment from your checking account bill pay. The finance company will usually apply it to your next payment first (technically, they apply it against the interest, then anything leftover gets applied to the principle). Then you regular payment hits and the same thing happens...applies against the interest first if there is any left, then against the principle. Even if they don't explicitly have an "extra principle" function, for simple interest loans with no early payoff penalty (pretty much every auto loan), then the extra principle will apply. They may give you some crazy stuff about when your next payment is due (ahem, BoA), but in the end they will recalculate everything by the day the payments are made when it is time to settle up at the end of the loan. Again, this is how it is supposed to work.
 
Back