Auto Loans: Top 5 Tips For The Best Rate - Answering Service Resources

Home
>
Loan
>
Auto Loans: Top 5 Tips For The Best Rate

Auto Loans: Top 5 Tips For The Best Rate

You've got your eye on that shiny new Lexus - okay, maybe it's a Kia, but it's perfect and you want it to be yours, all yours - as soon as possible. At the same time, you certainly don't want to be saddled with paying nearly double the car's value by the time you finish paying off the car loan. Here are five tips to help you get the best possible interest rate on an auto loan to put the car of your dreams in your driveway.

1. Check your credit rating.

If you don't already know what's in your credit report, this is a good time to find out. Before you apply for an auto loan, get a copy of your credit report to find out what surprises may be lurking in it. You may just find out that it contains erroneous information that should be corrected, or that there's something negative on it that can be either explained away or fixed easily with a couple of phone calls or letters. Either way, it always helps to know what the credit reporting agencies are saying about you before you start shopping around for a loan.

2. If you have good to excellent credit...

...then you may qualify for special incentive financing available through the car dealer. If the car dealer is offering a low, low finance rate, check all the terms and conditions carefully BEFOREHAND online to make sure that you qualify. Most often, that 1% financing rate is reserved for those who have excellent credit and can afford to do a 12 month financing plan. If that's you - then grab the deal. 1-2% financing is a bargain if you can handle the other terms and conditions attached.

3. If you need a longer term than 12 months or have spotty credit...

...arrange your financing yourself before setting foot on the car lot. Check with your usual bank for a new auto loan first, as they may have better interest rates for those who are already established customers, or who carry all their savings, checkings and loan accounts through one bank. It may save you a few percentage points in interest to do business with someone who already knows you.

4. Shop online for the best auto loan available.

At many online credit web sites, you can submit a request for multiple quotes from area finance agencies and lending firms. Simply submit your request for an auto loan quote through an online form, and the web site will submit it to up to four financing firms at once. A representative from each agency will contact you within a few hours to a day or two to discuss your request with you and give you a quote for an interest rate and monthly payment amount that they can offer you. Online shopping for credit makes it easy to compare and pick the best auto loan terms for you.

5. If your credit is bad but you need that car...

...one of your best and most often overlooked options is to find someone to cosign the loan for you. In most cases, when you have a cosigner, you'll get the interest rate that THEY qualify for, which means a lower monthly payment for you.

Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the loan information sites http://www.selectloans.co.uk/ and also http://www.ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk.

In The News:

SBA Disaster Loans Available Following Secretary of Agriculture ...
MarketWatch - 18 hours ago
ATLANTA, Aug 29, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The US Small Business Administration announces today that federal economic injury disaster loans ...
SBA offers disaster loans The Central New York Business Journal
Disaster assistance available for private non-profits Winchester News Gazette
Mercantile Commercial Capital Eyes Best Year Ever in 2008 PR Web (press release)
Earthtimes (press release) - MarketWatchall 34 news articles

New York Times
GM's Lutz calls for $50 billion in government-backed loans
MarketWatch - 21 hours ago
Lutz told reporters in an event near Chicago that the American auto industry is deserving of government loan guarantees to retool plants. ...
GM says automakers deserve $50 billion in federal loans: report Reuters
Carmakers Deserve Loan Guarantees, GM Official Says New York Times
Lutz Goes Begging as Obama Sets Timetable To End Addiction to Oil Edmunds.com/Inside Line
Telegraph.co.uk - CNNMoney.comall 38 news articles

This is London
Lehman Has Plan for Real-Estate Loans
Wall Street Journal - 4 hours ago
... trying to shore up its balance sheet, has settled on a structure that will allow it to offload billions of dollars in real-estate loans from its books. ...
Lehman nears plan for real estate assets: report Reuters
More firings at Lehman, but not enough BloggingStocks

Comment by Christopher Whalen Managing Director, Institutional Risk Analytics
Bloomberg - CNNall 72 news articles

Detroit 3 say potential US loans wouldn't be bailout
Detroit Free Press, United States - Aug 29, 2008
"All the government is doing is underwriting the loan." Detroit's three automakers and their suppliers have been lobbying Congress in recent weeks to fund ...
US loans to automakers key for union Chicago Tribune
US loans for car makers a top priority, UAW says Toledo Blade
Auto Makers to Make Public Push for Loans Wall Street Journal
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Detroit Free Pressall 20 news articles

HispanicBusiness.com
Fees rise on government-backed loans
CNNMoney.com - Aug 28, 2008
Effective Oct. 1, the Federal Housing Administration will raise its mortgage insurance fee to 1.75 percent for a new mortgages and many refinanced loans. ...
FHA(In)Secure Forbes
FHA regaining market share Inman.com
Real Estate Report: Creative new financing options The Evening Sun
Statesman Journal - Wall Street Journalall 39 news articles

Fewer Loans, But Still More Fraud
Washington Post, United States - 14 hours ago
By Kenneth R. Harney You might assume that with home purchases and new mortgage volume off by 30 percent or more in many markets in the past year, loan ...

NEWS.com.au
ACCC to probe CBA's Aussie Home Loans purchase
ABC Online, Australia - Aug 29, 2008
The corporate watchdog says it is investigating the Commonwealth Bank's (CBA) purchase of a third of the mortgage company Aussie Home Loans. ...
CBA grabs stake in Aussie Home Loans NEWS.com.au
UPDATE 1-Australia's CBA to buy 33% stake in Aussie Home Loans Reuters
CBA confirms buying stake in Symond's Aussie Home Loans The Australian
ABC Online - Reutersall 65 news articles

Maktoob Business (press release)
Collateral on Loans
Wall Street Journal - 4 hours ago
Central banks are in a precarious position, because banks, now in the second year of a credit crunch, remain dependent on central-bank loans to finance ...
Spain's banks at risk from ECB rule changes on ABS guardian.co.uk
The European Central Bank Closing the dustbin lid Economist
Securities abuse by banks may force ECB to tighten its loan rules Irish Independent
Bloomberg - guardian.co.ukall 93 news articles

Fannie, Freddie Expand in a Bright Spot
Wall Street Journal - 4 hours ago
By APARAJITA SAHA-BUBNA and DAWN WOTAPKA NEW YORK -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are demanding higher returns from lenders in exchange for buying loans that ...
Fannie Mae halts purchases for Mid-America Fund Reuters
all 3 news articles

Best Syndication
Freddie Mac Overhauls Underwriting System
Computerworld, MA - 13 hours ago
To fund the mortgages, Freddie Mac buys loans from banks and then turns them into securities that are sold to investors. The custom-built application, ...
The Chicken and the Egg Town Hall
Housing fix backfires CNN
Need More Proof That FICO Credit Scores Matter? Best Syndication
all 6 news articles

loans - Google News

Answering Service ResourceAnswering Service Resource