Do Air Force Academy Seniors Still Buy Brand-New Cars To Keep On Campus?

2016-05-29T23:58:43-04:00

Retired Army Col. John Cole bought, back in 1977 ,a 1977 Corvette Stingray that was supposed to go to a Senior at the Air Force Academy. He got a deal because the Senior cancelled his order and luckily Col. Cole was stationed at Fort Carson. I am not sure if this trend or tradition continues to this day. Does this also happen at other schools like the USMA?

Response by CPT Aaron Kletzing made May 30 at 2016 12:55 AM

2016-05-30T00:55:33-04:00

At USMA (and I believe the other academies too) the cadets get a $30K loan from USAA at 1% interest. Many cadets use part of this for a new or used car, given that they will need one anyway after they commission. Parking at USMA for cadets is awful so that's a deterrent for some.

Response by Maj John Bell made May 30 at 2016 2:02 AM

2016-05-30T02:02:45-04:00

First Class (senior) year was the first year that Midshipmen could have a vehicle within overnight liberty limits. Lending institutions knew that and would offer low-interest loans that most used to buy cars. The Midshipmen would form buying blocks. When you walk into a dealership and say "I've got a list of 200+ Midshipmen that already have arranged financing and we're all buying Dodges" you command a lot of attention. We we're buying cars at 25%-30% off MSRP.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made May 30 at 2016 3:44 PM

2016-05-30T15:44:55-04:00

LTC Private RallyPoint Member Apologies, no relevant knowledge on Academy car purchases. I came through the NROTC pipeline, although USAA's career starter loan was open to us ROTC commissionees in 2007 as well. Great program, they bought themselves a customer for at least 9 years.