strategy to get best interest rate on new/used car loan

I'm looking for buy a used or new vehicle. It's been over 12-years
since I applied for an auto loan. Of course now, applying can be done
all online.
My plan is to compare rates from my bank, the manufacturer of the car
I buy, check e-loan
and lending tree to find the best terms and rates.
Is there anything else I should check or consider to obtain the best
rates for an auto loan?
Thanks

>I'm looking for buy a used or new vehicle. It's been over 12-years
>since I applied for an auto loan. Of course now, applying can be done
>all online.
> My plan is to compare rates from my bank, the manufacturer of the car
>I buy, check e-loan
> and lending tree to find the best terms and rates.
> Is there anything else I should check or consider to obtain the best
>rates for an auto loan?

The interest rate shouldn't be your only consideration. You can
get ridiculously low rates (like 0% - I haven't heard of anyone
negotiating rates lower than that, but I don't think it's inherently
impossible, but expect late fees) for certain cars with inflated
prices in a dealer-financing deal. You still might be overpaying.
Negotiate the price, loan terms, car features, and warranty as one
combined package.

Put down as much money as you can afford, consistent with not having
to later borrow money on credit cards because you tied up too much
money in the car. You'll save a lot on interest payments. A bigger
down payment may help lower interest rates (it does on houses - not
sure about cars). The best deal can be to negotiate a good price
and pay cash.

Check your credit report and clean up dings on it to the extent
possible. Paying someone to do that for you is probably expensive
and likely to be a scam. Nowadays your credit score is probably
better than the scores of the manufacturer and the dealer combined.
Don't be afraid to ask the dealer for a copy of *his* credit report
before putting down a deposit.

techman41973 wrote:
> I'm looking for buy a used or new vehicle. It's been over 12-years
> since I applied for an auto loan. Of course now, applying can be done
> all online.
> My plan is to compare rates from my bank, the manufacturer of the car
> I buy, check e-loan
> and lending tree to find the best terms and rates.
> Is there anything else I should check or consider to obtain the best
> rates for an auto loan?

Yes, you should consider not using a loan at all.

techman41973 > wrote in
:

> I'm looking for buy a used or new vehicle. It's been over 12-years
> since I applied for an auto loan. Of course now, applying can be done
> all online.
> My plan is to compare rates from my bank, the manufacturer of the car
> I buy, check e-loan
> and lending tree to find the best terms and rates.
> Is there anything else I should check or consider to obtain the best
> rates for an auto loan?
> Thanks

Go for banks as the preferred method. I've heard endless complaints about
auto company financing - which *is* done by kickbacks BTW in case you
didn't know.

However it's far better just to save up 5 grand or so and get a decent
used car. It will last years if you properly check it out and maintain it.
In addition you won't lose any income on a monthly basis nor can it be
reposessed.

"techman41973" > wrote in message
...
> I'm looking for buy a used or new vehicle. It's been over 12-years
> since I applied for an auto loan. Of course now, applying can be done
> all online.
> My plan is to compare rates from my bank, the manufacturer of the car
> I buy, check e-loan
> and lending tree to find the best terms and rates.
> Is there anything else I should check or consider to obtain the best
> rates for an auto loan?
> Thanks

Join a credit union and check their rate.

Mine charges 5.50% for 24 to 48 months and 5.99% for 60 to 72 months.

On Oct 13, 6:32*pm, "terrable" > wrote:
> "techman41973" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
> > I'm looking for buy a used or new vehicle. It's been over 12-years
> > since I applied for an auto loan. Of course now, applying can be done
> > all online.
> > My plan is to compare rates from my bank, the manufacturer of the car
> > I buy, check e-loan
> > *and lending tree to find the best terms and rates.
> > *Is there anything else I should check or consider to obtain the best
> > rates for an auto loan?
> > Thanks
>
> Join a credit union and check their rate.
>
> Mine charges 5.50% for 24 to 48 months and 5.99% for 60 to 72 months.

Good advice. Mine is charging 4.45% and 5.45% for those terms.
Nearly 1.5% lower than the best bank rates in my area. Dealers are a
lousy place to finance. They'll make up the difference on the "low"
loan rate in the price of the car.

But....you've got to have a nearly spotless credit, and your income
(at least the part that you declare to qualify for the loan) has to be
direct deposited with them for the full term of the loan so they get
their payment first.

Gordon Burditt wrote:
>> I'm looking for buy a used or new vehicle. It's been over 12-years
>> since I applied for an auto loan. Of course now, applying can be done
>> all online.
>> My plan is to compare rates from my bank, the manufacturer of the car
>> I buy, check e-loan
>> and lending tree to find the best terms and rates.
>> Is there anything else I should check or consider to obtain the best
>> rates for an auto loan?

the best rate is make a large down payment, and have 0% financing and 0
payments per month

Thats how I bought my 2009 KIA a couple weeks ago.