Best Buy and Apple Expand Upgrade+ Program to Include iMac and Mac Studio

[sw1tcher]

I would like to know more about the 0% interest car loan. Don't tell me it is 2%, which is basically free. I am genuinely curious how you got a 0% car loan.

There were many during the pandemic.

Best Car Deals During the Coronavirus: Zero-Interest Car Loans and More | Edmunds

Automakers are offering auto loan finance deals including no-interest loans and deferred payments for qualified buyers. We round up current offers and supply resources to find more.

www.edmunds.com

and there are still a few right now.

Every 0% APR Car Deal in February 2025

Nothing beats zero-interest financing. To help save you money, we’ve tracked down a wide selection of 0% APR car financing deals this month.

www.carfax.com

 

[Spock]

I have an Amazon Store card which offers similar deals and lets me pay off on any Apple product over time. I can do the same with my Apple Card, is just that if you have a balance on the card, for say groceries and you want to make a installment just on the Apple product you bought, you can't. You have to pay off the groceries in order to pay the amount you want on the installment. I love the 3% back, but I will stick to Amazon going forward for most of my Apple hardware purchases.

I am not a fan of how Apple handles the installment plan payments either.

 

[topmounter]

Great news, a new opportunity to grow consumer debt! Just don't (accidentally or otherwise) miss a payment... or 'they' win... big!... 'Standard Purchase APR is 29.99%'. Just in case you were wondering how Amazon (and other retailers) are able to discount new / current Apple products. Apple builds in extra margin to cover the cost of financing (which allows them to call it 'zero interest financing'), but not when selling wholesale. A nice bonus for Apple when you pay upfront and don't finance using your Apple Card.

 

[topmounter]

I have an Amazon Store card which offers similar deals and lets me pay off on any Apple product over time. I can do the same with my Apple Card, is just that if you have a balance on the card, for say groceries and you want to make a installment just on the Apple product you bought, you can't. You have to pay off the groceries in order to pay the amount you want on the installment. I love the 3% back, but I will stick to Amazon going forward for most of my Apple hardware purchases.

If you're carrying a balance, why would you not pay-off the 'groceries' first... aren't they charging you interest on that balance versus the '0% APR' installment payments on Apple products?

 

[Act3]

I would like to know more about the 0% interest car loan. Don't tell me it is 2%, which is basically free. I am genuinely curious how you got a 0% car loan.

2021 through Honda financing, on our CRV, google it if you dont believe me. Yes it is 0.0% APR

 

[topmounter]

I would like to know more about the 0% interest car loan. Don't tell me it is 2%, which is basically free. I am genuinely curious how you got a 0% car loan.

It just depends upon how desperate the manufacturer is to unload inventory. There's usually a ~comparable cash-back offer for anyone not using the manufacturer's financing which is basically the cost of the financing built in to the price (or price + fees and charges incorporated in to the loan agreement) you'll pay when using the 0% interest financing option.

Every 0% APR Car Deal in February 2025

Nothing beats zero-interest financing. To help save you money, we’ve tracked down a wide selection of 0% APR car financing deals this month.

www.carfax.com

 

[Mr. Dee]

If you're carrying a balance, why would you not pay-off the 'groceries' first... aren't they charging you interest on that balance versus the '0% APR' installment payments on Apple products?

Maybe I want to use one pay check to pay towards the Apple product and pay more than the installment.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

I think you can get at least $700 for an old Mac that costs you $1299 if you sell it , that will but you over half the cost of a newer Mac.
Or you could just keep it for several years until it's not enough for you and then sell it or give it to someone who needs it.
I have a 2018 MBP that is still very powerful for most use. It's hosting a Zoom Meeting, and running 2 VMs in VMWare Fusion: macOS High Sierra and Windows 11. An almost 5 year old Mac that is still very worthy.

 

[genovelle]

Thank you, this is my big takeaway from this article. Is that really an option anyone would consider? hahaha

Also, it sounds like the financing is loan-based, like the iPhone Upgrade Program. Doesn’t that mean the customer has taken out a loan and has to repay the loan, as opposed to deciding not to make the last payment and returning the device? Or maybe it’s closer to the regular iPhone Monthly Payments option, where you just pay off the loan and own the device at the end. I don’t believe turning in the device at the end of the term is an option there.

Edit: the article has been updated to clarify that the final payment is substantially higher than the normal monthly payments. Thanks for updating the article, that makes a lot more sense.

The regular price would be 1299 but in 36 months they have only paid 1008. I assume the balance would then be taxed.

 

[genovelle]

Car leasing is nothing new. This is similar. And many people are leasing their furnitures as well in the states, so leasing a computer is not a foreign concept. It's inevitable due to inflation outpacing income and Apple only looking to increase prices.

I actually leased to own my first computer years ago.

 

[compwiz1202]

Appreciate that the article was updated and you offering more detail.

I can imagine someone choosing to turn down the option to pay the remainder to own…but I still think it an odd choice, outside of simply not having the funds. At the very least, I would think you could pay the device off and sell it to make some money in most cases. I guess it depends on how big that final payment is, and whether something else has come out since. It’s also good people have options, in the end.

Exactly. If you trade at the end, do you get anything else for the original. If not, it has to be worth more than the final payment, so trade or sell the regular way to get some $$$ towards the new one. And is this always 0% unlike the other article where if you went to BB, it said you could have up to 29.99%?

 

[compwiz1202]

There were many during the pandemic.

Best Car Deals During the Coronavirus: Zero-Interest Car Loans and More | Edmunds

Automakers are offering auto loan finance deals including no-interest loans and deferred payments for qualified buyers. We round up current offers and supply resources to find more.

www.edmunds.com

and there are still a few right now.

Every 0% APR Car Deal in February 2025

Nothing beats zero-interest financing. To help save you money, we’ve tracked down a wide selection of 0% APR car financing deals this month.

www.carfax.com

The issue with them is the only ones to quality don't need the 0%

 

[mannyvel]

The issue with them is the only ones to quality don't need the 0%

It's sad but true. I got a bunch of 0% car lease offers after I started making 6 figures, but that would have come in handy when I was actually making no money. A few years ago I could have gotten a fully loaded Camry for like $179/mo for 3 years/$0 up front.

 

[compwiz1202]

If you're carrying a balance, why would you not pay-off the 'groceries' first... aren't they charging you interest on that balance versus the '0% APR' installment payments on Apple products?

Issue is there's so many different ways they handle deferred interest. Some will apply payments over the minimum. Some won't apply anything unless the other balances are zero. The best ones let you choose where to apply payments

 

[compwiz1202]

I also get the error

 

[compwiz1202]

If I point to the link and just type the URL shown in a browser, it works. And it's the same BS; they need to say in the artlicle it COULD be 0%. Dig enough, and you find this.....

This Line of Credit offers an interest rate of 0% APR to 29.99% APR for 36 months,*

 

[compwiz1202]

Why don't they just keep the payments even? It's literally $7.94 more a month if you spread that final payment. They just want people to see the last payment and return or trade and get shafted. And shady BB and CB make out like bandits

 

[BigMcGuire]

Why don't they just keep the payments even? It's literally $7.94 more a month if you spread that final payment. They just want people to see the last payment and return or trade and get shafted. And shady BB and CB make out like bandits

Hey... how dare you! How dare you! Bank CEOs and executives need their 6th house and 4th car too!

 

[compwiz1202]

Hey... how dare you! How dare you! Bank CEOs and executives need their 6th house and 4th car too!

And top the current ultrayacht size

 

[tongxinshe]

"Hey honey, we've paid $28.17 36 times, which is $726.12, so I guess we aren't gonna spend $286 to finish it off.

Your parents must had your 100 year old grand-grand-grandma taught you math!

 

[Act3]

Your parents must had your 100 year old grand-grand-grandma taught you math!

nah, just no calculator app on their iPad. lol

 

[QuarterSwede]

interest free financing, and invest the cash instead would be valid reason

Exactly, you’re literally borrowing money from BB for free.

 

[IllinoisCorn]

Think about it.
I can give Apple $2000 upfront for a mac, or I can finance it for 37 month interest free, and in the meantime, invest the money somewhere else. I'd rather do the later than giving all $2000 to Apple upfront.

I mean, are people really "investing the difference," or is it more likely there is no difference, because they simply cannot afford the machine at their salary?

 

[IllinoisCorn]

I would like to know more about the 0% interest car loan. Don't tell me it is 2%, which is basically free. I am genuinely curious how you got a 0% car loan.

Dude, that sounds a lot like "mom and dad loaned me the money for my car and I am paying them back."

 

[amartinez1660]

As an example, if you buy a $1000 Mac and pay it off in 3 years, have locked in the 2022 $1000 purchase price, and then pay it off with 2025 money that's only worth $850ish.

Its disappointing that they seem to have limited configuration options, but I would 100% buy my next Mac this way.

(Quote emphasis mine)
Agreed 100%, here I just bought a refurbished Mac with Apple Card’s 0% Monthly Installments, it felt “like a deal”, plus that it also has cash back on top of that… but it’s only 1 year instead of this 36 months.
I would have totally gotten one of the more limited options of a 1TB 64GB Mac Studio and rely on an extra SSD to compensate in exchange of a whole lot lower monthly cash flow hit.