I found a vehicle I liked online. Semi-used (2020), low KMs (35,000), seemingly good price ($21,000). I reached out to the dealer who sent me this:

“The price posted online would be the finance price. Dealers get a incentive from the bank whenever we can secure a finance. So we would take the incentive and apply it to the vehicle price. If you were looking to pay cash for the vehicle, I would recommend going with a short term finance, and paying off the vehicle after 6 months! This way you can take advantage of the finance price, and you only pay 6 months worth of interest!”

I know that paying cash upfront would increase the price, but is this a viable option? This is the first car I’ll ever buy so I’m not entirely sure what all the options available to me are.

I’d obviously pay off the full loan as soon as I can and (apparently) this will decrease the total cost. Does this seem like a good idea? Or should I just get the cash price and pay for it upfront like I was planning?