Patent ID: 7555443

Claim:
A method for financing ownership of a vehicle by a customer, the method comprising: financing the purchase and ownership of the vehicle by a customer with a RIC or loan of an amount financed at or before inception of the purchase of the vehicle; at or before inception of the purchase of the vehicle, determining a first payment amount for each of a plurality of first payments to occur before a decision point and a second payment amount for each of a plurality of second payments to occur after the decision point, the first payment amount being a predetermined percent lower than the second payment amount; receiving repayment of the amount financed with one or more of the plurality of first payments; and contacting the customer based on the decision point to promote trade-in of the vehicle and new vehicle purchase, the customer avoids one or more of the plurality of the second payments and the step of receiving repayment is discontinued prior to the expiration of the RIC or loan by the customer relinquishing ownership of the vehicle and purchasing a new vehicle.