Who are we?

We are Tarrant County Credit Union, headquartered in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. Our neverending mission is to provide our members with the best possible financial and member services.

Beware of Zero Percent Financing

You've seen the advertisements.  But did you catch all of the fine print? 

Zero percent financing is once again being dangled as bait from car dealerships trying to get you into that car you've been dreaming of and to bring their inventory down.  Those zero percent offers have worked very well for car dealers, as well as furniture stores and credit card companies, but let us ENLARGE some of that fine print for you.

1.  ONLY ABOUT 5% OF CONSUMERS QUALIFY FOR ZERO PERCENT FINANCING

2.  ZERO PERCENT INTEREST RATE OFFERS GENERALLY OFFER SHORT PAY-BACK PERIODS (can you afford a monthly payment on a new car financed for as little as 24 or 36 months?)

3.  EVEN IF YOU QUALIFY FOR ZERO PERCENT FINANCING, SELLERS OFTEN MAKE UP FOR LOST FINANCE CHARGES IN THE PRICE OF THE PRODUCT (in this case, your lovely car) AND/OR REQUIRE A HEFTY DOWN PAYMENT

4. NORMALLY, IF YOU QUALIFY TO GET THE ZERO PERCENT FINANCING THE DEALER GETS THE REBATE OFFERED BY THE MANUFACTURER (you can't have both). IN OUR EXAMPLES BELOW, WE SHOW HOW TAKING A REBATE INSTEAD OF THE ZERO PERCENT FINANCING IS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE.

Here are some examples with zero percent financing vs. using the rebate on a TCCU loan at 5.80%APR:

LOAN TERM            36 MONTHS                

Rates          0%APR   5.80%APR           

Cost of
Car            $25,000    $25,000                  
Less equity
in trade       $ 4,000     $ 4,000                  
Less dealer
rebate         $ 0           $ 2,000                        
Amount
financed      $21,000    $19,000                  
Monthly
Payment     $583.34    $576.44               

Total
Paid          $21,000     $20,751.84       

In short, zero percent interest rates work great for people with excellent credit scores and have an above average income.  For the rest of us, they are nothing but a trick to get us into the dealership.

Call us first...we'll help you make the choice that will save you money.