That’s just a budgetary matter though, and depends on the particulars of your budgetary situation. If you got a longer term loan, your monthly payments will be lower, which means you might be able to fit both payments in you’re budget. 

What do you mean by “padding the cost of the vehicle”? If you mean they charge you more for that particular car, well, that’s only true if they are offering you a rebate as an alternative to 0% APR. If you mean they increase the price of every vehicle to cover the occasional 0% APR deals they close, well, if true,…

Nothing is risk free, but taking an interest-free loan with a longer term isn’t inherently riskier than taking an interest-free loan with a shorter term, even if you plan to pay each one only according to its terms. For one, the sorts of risks you are talking about are idiosyncratic, difficult-to-foresee risks that…

If you qualify for a 0% interest loan, that money is free to you. I don’t give a fuck about Ford Credit and what they have to pay for the money. I’ve gotten two interest-free car loans, both of which are now paid off, and I can confirm...that money was free, inasmuch as I paid exactly zero dollars in interest charges…

0% financing always makes sense. It’s free money. If what’s on offer is “0% APR for [X months] or $[X] cash back,” yeah, you have to do a little more math to figure out which makes the most sense, because you could end up paying less money out of pocket at the end of the transaction, depending on the financing terms…

If you qualify for an interest free loan, you should not ever opt for a shorter term loan than a longer term loan. And if you have an interest free loan, absent extraordinary circumstances, you should not pay off the loan early!

I’m not sure what the joke is supposed to be. What is the significant link you seem to think there is between a 7 year loan and a depreciating asset? My understanding has always been that if you are financing a depreciating asset, the loan term should more or less match the expected life of the asset (at least for…

How are you buying security with that extra $200 a month?

No, that’s someone buying a car for you, i.e. a “free car.”  When you get an 0% APR loan, that money is literally free.

From an accounting perspective, they are in the exact same situation. You have forgotten to account for the money they have already put into the car. Sure, the person who took the 60 month, 0% interest loan owes less money on the car, but that person has also paid more of their own money for the car. It ends up just…

Use of FICO scores for lending decisions definitely helps perpetuate the wealth gap.

What if you like cars, and can afford to pay for one or more cars?  Should people who like cars and can afford cars literally not buy any car other than the cheapest possible car?

Costs more than what?

No... you look for something that pays far more than 3.5%. But with that, comes higher risk. You mitigate that risk by doing your homework.

7 years is at least 2 years longer than the powertrain warranty. Imagine something major going on the powertrain on a car you’re still making payments on AND you have no more warranty coverage on.

Okay, my credit union is offering HELOCs at 3.5% APR over 15 years. There aren’t many investments you can get that can guarantee you 3.5% return per year over the course of 7 years. Put it this way—you’re not going to walk into a bank and put on an application, where you put the reason for a loan, “To invest in…

Who cares?  You got free money to buy it.  It is not a “horrible situation” to be paying an interest free loan on a depreciating asset.

What is the scenario in which you think you’re going to get a $60,000 loan at an interest rate that would virtually guarantee you a profit from investing that money?

At zero percent interest?  Why would you turn down free money?  How is that insanity?

Have you ever gotten a loan to just invest it? You aren’t going to get a zero percent loan to invest. You aren’t going to get a loan for 7 years at anywhere near the sort of interest rate that could all but guarantee you a profit by parking your money in an investment for that 7 years.