Financing a car in other countries is different than it is in the U.S. I read a couple of U.K. magazines and found an ad for MINI in the latest issue of EVO that was quite interesting. First of all, the "headline" on the ad:
"PRICES TO KEEP YOUR PECKER UP" was at the top of the page, printed on a largish velvet-looking banner. I wondered if an ad like that would even get a chance in the U.S. Then I noticed the rest of the ad: essentially, you are given the option to buy a MINI Countryman, and only one of the MINI Countryman models (including one of the diesel models) for 0% through MINI making only two payments. The first payment is when you take delivery, the second (and FINAL payment)? TWO YEARS later. GM had something like this once, I think, but I believe there were more than 2 payments involved and it was a lease of some kind. Lincoln also had something like this, too.
I was just surprised that they let you drive for 2 years after only the first payment. No mention of whether they do like the U.S. MINI dealers do, which is "free scheduled maintenance for 2 years". The offer expired in March.
