While it's surely facepunch-worthy, we are going to buy a new car from a dealer in the next three to four months. We will not have a trade-in, and could either pay cash or finance it.
I remember reading in the Millionaire Next Door his method for car buying: handle it like a procurement specialist. Contact the sales manager with your specs, specify it's a cash purchase, and ask for a quote.
OTOH, I've heard if you pay cash, you might not get the best price, as a good chunk of profit is on the financing side.
And then from the overall financial efficiency viewpoint, 0% or 0.9% interest over 60 months is probably a good bet. I don't need the cash, but this crazy year, it doesn't seem like a terrible idea to have extra cash on hand, either. If we paid cash for the car, afterward, we would still have about 8 months of usual monthly expenses in liquid savings.
Any thoughts on how to weigh these factors? Anyone actually done the Millionaire Next Door buying method - did it work?