Originally Posted by PimTac
Mitsubishi Motors never recovered from that disastrous loan plan back in 2000. Actually I bought my Montero Sport with that plan but instead of not making payments like many did during the two year zero interest period I took advantage and did make payments. Sadly most did not and then turned their vehicle back in after the two years. Now the American arm of Mitsubishi is a ghost of what it once was.
In addition to Mitsubishi's "0-0-0" finance offer (0% down, 0% interest, and $0 monthly payments for 12 months), they were also concurrently offering their "Friends and Family" finance program where someone who had a vehicle financed with them could bring-in/vouch-for a friend or family member and they were automatically approved for financing. The combination was a disaster! They sold a LOT of vehicles to people who had REALLY BAD credit during this program. The bad credit buyers just figured that they had a vehicle to use for 14-15 months free of charge. In 2001 and 2002 there were literally tens of thousands of repo'd Mitsubishis coming through the manufacturer's lanes at the auto auctions on a weekly basis, many of them trashed-out, selling for a fraction of their original price. The used car market was flooded with them and it took several years before Mitsubishi could clear all of the vehicles out.