Originally posted by: senseamp
It's basically a discount, they just give it to you over time by forgoing the interest.
No, it isn't. Eliminating loan interest does not discount the vehicle, it prevents you from paying money to the bank on top of the price of the car for lending you the money for it. If you can pay cash down for your vehicle, taking the 0% financing isn't going to save you any money (though it could actually make you money). That said, you're almost always better off taking the 0% if it's 48 months or longer, than you would be taking whatever instant rebates or other discounts are available.
Take a typical 60 month loan for example. If the loan amount was $30k and there was a $1000 cash back offer and you got a pretty decent 5.5% rate on your loan, you'd be paying $553.93 per month on your $29k loan. If instead you chose no cash back, and 0%, your monthly payment would be only $500 on a $30k loan. That's a significant savings of $3235.80 over the life of the loan. That's no gimmick in my book.
And truth be told, you should never put anything down if you get 0%, even if you can afford to pay for the car in cash. Instead, take whatever downpayment you have and stick it in an interest bearing account, and you basically end up making money off of someone else's money. About the only downside is that you will be upside on the car for a period of time.
I got 0% last year and they stacked the rebates on top so even if the offer says one or the other, it's not necessarily true. Do your homework beforehand, check your local credit unions or whatever to find out what kind of rate you can get through them before you go to the dealership. Run the numbers yourself, so you know what the best deal is depending on the scenario when you walk in the door.