The sale of zero kilometer vehicles through previous savings plans has a history in Argentina that goes back a long way middle of the last century And it’s still the only way direct sales that car manufacturers have: although the delivery of the vehicle to the customer ends up taking place in the showroom of a dealership, which sold that vehicle is a lender of the car terminal.

The structure of these plans is usually groups made up of 168 savers who pay 84 monthly installments (seven years), which are awarded by drawing lots or by tender two vehicles per month.

Practically all automotive grouped in the Association of Automotive Manufacturers (ADEFA) have such a system. The practice of asking the customer to finance the seller can sound anachronistic in other parts of the world, but it is still common currency in Argentina: savings plans earlier today they represent almost 20% of the total sales of zero kilometer unitsaccording to statistics for the first three months of 2023 from the Association of Automobile Dealers (ACARA).

The reasons for this validity should not be sought in the benefits of the system itself, whose shares include administrative burdens That make more expensive the value of the vehicle. The share price also increases every month, as it is subject to the price list which publishes each terminal.

Those official price lists have their own rhythm: in 2021 they went up above inflation (65%, versus 45%, 4% increase in the Consumer Price Index over that period) and in 2022 it was the other way aroundthe increase is almost 30 percentage points lower (68%, against 94.8% for the CPI).

But the savings plans contain a clause that worked particularly in their favor three years ago: the car terminal commits to terms of delivery from which 45 and 60 days from the assignment of the unit. This term can go up to 120 days If the buyer changes vehicle, which is also normal, both the models and the original versions that the saver had subscribed to go out of production over the course of seven years.

However, a delay of 120 days between the awarding of the vehicle and its actual delivery to the dealership may be reasonable, when in other cases there are buyers who, despite having all the money in hand, have to register on a waiting list with delay of six to twelve months. Or resort to the widespread practice of excessive priceswhich is not illegal, but which is a clear sign that many people are looking to buy vehicles to remove the weights.

In the case of previous savings plans, shares are now also queuing up. Some units are accumulating delays that exceed the terms of the contract, and in some cases even extend between eight and nine monthsaccording to a survey of dealers.

Both dealerships and car manufacturers ensure that these are specific cases, of imported models which, in the first months of the year (especially in March) were not authorized according to the government itself, he had committed with terminals. And that leads these companies to look take cover in the legal

This Monday, the Motor1 site revealed the facsimile of a letter that a saver received from FCA SA de Ahorro para Finales Determinados, responsible for savings plans for the purchase of Fiat and Jeep branded vehicles. In this letter it is specified that “causes external to the Company limit the importation of vehicles” and therefore “I accept and acknowledge without any limitation that these terms may exceed contractual limits“.

from the automotive stellantiswhich owns both Fiat and Jeep and the financial company FCA de Ahorro, admitted that this letter is sent to savers for more than a year agoas a way to legally deny a restriction that’s not theirs.

“The savings plans were signed in some cases several years ago, and the restriction on imports it became increasingly sharper afterwards“, Stellantis sources explained.

From the dealers grouped in ACARA they also admitted that there are significant delays in the delivery of the imported units, despite the contractually committed deadlines.

“There are delays eight months or nine in some cases of previous savings plans, that’s true. But it is 5% of the vehicles, the remaining 95% is delivered within the agreed terms. Also, savers who are coming in now no longer subscribe to imported unitsexcept in the case of brands where supply is guaranteed,” said a key dealer reference.

And he added a detail that was confirmed in other salerooms, rigorously switched off: “For those savers, a way is being sought to compensate them. It is negotiated on a case by case basis but on average what is agreed is the a fee for each month due.