If I pay off my Prius, do I need to tell Toyota Financial I'm doing so? Or do I just send in the check for final the amount owed?
If you ask them for a pay-off balance that is their clue you are doing so. Pay that and you are the title-holder.
I have zero percent interest so I know my balance and it says the correct payoff amount online. So if I just pay that amount I'm all set? I'm just wondering if I need to do anything else in terms of letting them know and getting the title etc.
Once you've paid off the balance it'll take them a bit of time, but it should happen more or less automatically. Depending on your state of residence it may take some time (several weeks) to release the title. There's no reason not to call them to ask about the particulars of your account for a definitive answer.
I can answer this because I just finished the process. You can call or go to the Toyota Financial Services to login to your account to see the payoff balance. Pay it and Toyota will send you a letter in about a week confirming the payoff and that they have released the lien. Your local DMV will send you the title. For California, it took just under a month from the time of payoff to receipt of title in the mail.
Yeah never JUST send someone what you figure you owe and assume you'll be out of their clutches. Touch bases with them.
FYI - My wife has been doubling the payments on her 2016 RAV4 in order to pay it off in 2-1/2 years instead of 5 (at 0% interest.) The first time she did that Toyota Financial assumed it was for two consecutive months, so they skipped sending the statement the following month mad. After a phone call, it turned out that the second payment for any given month had to be sent to a completely different address, and could not just be added to the mailed statement. Weird, stupid, and a pain in the a$$. On the upside, it's still getting paid off in 2-1/2 years.
QUOTE="RRxing, post: 2574979, member: 53037"]FYI - My wife has been doubling the payments on her 2016 RAV4 in order to pay it off in 2-1/2 years instead of 5 (at 0% interest.) The first time she did that Toyota Financial assumed it was for two consecutive months, so they skipped sending the statement the following month mad. After a phone call, it turned out that the second payment for any given month had to be sent to a completely different address, and could not just be added to the mailed statement. Weird, stupid, and a pain in the a$$. On the upside, it's still getting paid off in 2-1/2 years. [/QUOTE] You would be better off putting the second payment into an online investment account (TDWaterhouse, Vanguard, etc.). At the end of the 2-1/2 years, you can pay off the car and have a tidy sum left over. Zero % interest is giving you free money to invest as you see fit and keep the returns. If you had been able to put the $30,000 (or whatever) in an index fund 2-1/2 years ago, you would have about $36,000 today. Zero percent loans are money in your pocket.
I simply auto-paid (via online bank payment) a rounded amount on remaining two years balance to TFS for my vehicle with 0% TFS financing. TFS sent overpaid balance difference as refund check and title in separate mail. I did not call TFS or anything... Simple transaction.
You would be better off putting the second payment into an online investment account (TDWaterhouse, Vanguard, etc.). At the end of the 2-1/2 years, you can pay off the car and have a tidy sum left over. Zero % interest is giving you free money to invest as you see fit and keep the returns. If you had been able to put the $30,000 (or whatever) in an index fund 2-1/2 years ago, you would have about $36,000 today. Zero percent loans are money in your pocket.[/QUOTE] Good advice, but we'd rather clear all debt since we're both close to retiring.
