So you’re looking for some new car parts to compliment your cars appearance and attitude on the road. Great! You’re just like most people driving down the highway. In fact, most people take pride in their vehicles appearance and performance, and spend lots of money on extensive modifications. However, this can get costly.
Sadly, not everyone can feed their need for speed with their current salary. Thankfully, there are a few services out there that allow you to pay for your purchases over time. This can be convenient for emergency repairs such as blown head gaskets, transmission failure, or other catastrophic failure that requires a fast repair, allowing you to get back on the road. These services can also be used to purchase parts that aren’t necessarily an emergency, but still desired by the owner.
I’ve found a few car part financing options, and I’ll provide some information about them in hopes of informing you to make the right decision if you see yourself in a situation requiring you to finance car parts.
PayPal Credit – PayPal credit, formerly known as BillMeLater has been around since 2000. Users sign up for free, submit information for a credit check, and can begin making purchases if approved for an account. Payment terms are typically set in increments over six months or until the total cost is paid off. If the total is not fully paid off after the six month period, an interest rate of 19.99% is applied in the form of a late fee. If considering using PayPal Credit, keep in mind the payment terms and be wary of the high interest rate. PayPal Credit is a good option for financing car parts since it is used by many e-commerce sites who typically have lower prices than many brick and mortar establishments.
CarCareONE – CarCareONE is a car part finance service which works very similar to a credit card. Run by Synchrony Financial which has been around since the 1930’s, CarCarONE allows to you make monthly payments on routine maintenance, trips to the gas station, and emergency repairs with moderately low interest. Furthermore, no interest is applied to your purchases if they’re paid off within 6 months. To sign up, you must apply and consent to a background and credit check before making purchases. CarCareOne is great for emergency purchases as it is accepted at more than 16,000 establishments nationwide, but keep in mind the high interest rates if not paid off with the first 6 months.
Affirm – Affirm is a relatively new way to finance car parts, but offers the most leniency on credit. Just like PayPal Credit, Affirm offers a line of credit for users to spend on purchases. However, this line of credit is not fixed, rather underwritten depending on the amount and the merchant purchased from. Affirm applies small finance charges with each payment, so you risk paying more over time if you decide to split your purchase into multiple payments, but the rates are generally small. Affirm is a great option for users who want to purchase parts but would prefer paying for the item over time without risking long term high interest rates seen with PayPal Credit and CarCareOne. Remember, Affirm doesn’t affect your credit line, so this method may be the better option if your credit is low.
Hopefully this article has cleared up some questions you may have regarding how to finance car parts. While it may not always be the best option for long term, it is a great choice for emergencies!