Auto Financing Options For Your Vehicle Purchase

When it is time to buy your next vehicle, you have many auto financing options available to you. You can either finance your auto through a local bank or credit union, the dealership itself or with a pre-approval from an online auto financing company. There are several advantages to each one of these and several things you should also look out for.

The best auto financing that you can get is through your local bank or credit union. Their rates will be lower than financing your auto directly through the dealership or manufacturer. As a general rule of thumb, most banks will finance a new car at a lower interest rate and over a longer duration. Used cars, those models that are two years and older, usually get financing for only 36 to 48 months and with interest rates that are a few percentage points higher.

There are a few things you will want to think about before financing your vehicle through a dealership. First, make sure the financing the dealership is offering you is the best available financing you can get. In other words, make sure you have checked all other options. Next, be careful about all of the extras that come bundled with your vehicle purchase. The dealership or manufacturer is already getting the interest for financing the vehicle for you, so turn some of those extras into freebies since you have decided to finance through them. Whatever you do, don’t let the dealership convince you that you are getting a great discount from any factory rebates. These rebates go directly to the dealership so they will already get that money. Make them give you an additional discount towards your purchase as they will make it up later in the financing.

Another financing option to consider is to secure a loan through an online company that will give you a pre-approved amount that you can take to the dealership and buy your car. The interest rates on these loans are higher, but you don’t need perfect credit to get approved for them. The best thing about getting a pre-approved online loan is that a dealership may compete with your pre-approval and try to get you better financing, either through the dealership or through one of the local banks.

If your credit isn’t what it should be, there are plenty of dealerships that offer their own in-house auto financing. Whatever your credit score reveals, these dealerships will try their best to get you financed and into a car. Many times, if you have a steady job and can verify your income with paycheck stubs, then you will not have a problem getting auto financing. You may be required, however, to put down a sizable downpayment of anywhere from 5-20%, so be prepared to have some cash.

As you can see, there are plenty of options available to you for your auto financing needs. Always choose the financing that has the lowest interest rate, or the best monthly payments that will fit your budget.

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