Q: A bunch of Honda dealerships in Dallas are telling me I have a choice between getting 0% financing on my car or a $3000 rebate. Which one should I get?

A: First of all, unless you’ve already gone to one of the Honda dealerships in Dallas and gotten your credit checked, you can’t say for sure that you’re going to get the 0% financing, because it requires practically perfect credit, and only about 7% of prospective buyers can get it.

If you do have the option to choose between 0% financing and a $3000 rebate from several Honda dealerships in Dallas, then I almost always suggest you go with the rebate. No intrest sounds nice, but in the end it doesn’t actually take any money off of the price of the car, but just keeps the amount you owe from growing. Even with interest, though, a $3000 rebate can often save you as much as one to two thousand dollars on your car’s original MSRP, whereas 0% financing will sell it to you for exactly that original price.