What’s better than saving your pennies for a rainy day or a new car? How about having some of those pennies matched dollar for dollar?
That’s exactly what Motozuma, an automotive social savings website, plans to do with a newly launched program geared toward used-car buyers. Potential buyers can set up a free Motozuma account, save for their down payment via deposits from their existing checking or savings account — and even receive monetary gifts from friends and family. The site also features tools that help seek out contributions via Facebook, emails, and blog posts.
Once the saver is ready to purchase a vehicle from one of Motozuma’s 13 Preferred Used-Car Dealers, they transfer the funds for the down payment to the dealership. Motozuma will match up to $200 of the down payment on any make or model used car at those participating dealerships, most of which are in the Chicago area where the promotion first rolled out. There are a few dealers in Maine and Indiana participating, and more are expected nationwide.
“Motozuma has already made it possible for thousands of people to harness their social networks to help save for and purchase a new vehicle,” John Morgan, founder/CEO of Motozuma, in a press release. “Now we are excited to offer this $200 reward, which is free money, toward a down payment on a used vehicle.”
The website launched in 2009 as a social savings platform for new-car buyers to save and tap rewards, plus hit up those friends and family members for additional funding. Motozuma is partnered with several Hyundai dealers in 23 states on the new-car side, though users can save for any make or model vehicle they choose. In July, Morgan told Auto Finance News that Motozuma had “tens of thousands of users.”
At Black Book we see the peak in values for the year having been reached and for the past 6 weeks now the trending has been softening. We also see it as the fall seasonal adjustment necessary to make room for a new model year of vehicles. Nothing to be alarmed about, just part of the market. It is just that the ride has been so positive all year we are not accustomed to lower values. Still many opportunities exist in today’s used market and auction lanes. Ricky Beggs