[63falcondude]

Originally Posted by bybcous

You can get all that info by googling auto loan calculator

I prefer to have it all in front of me so that I can manipulate it as I wish. I found that one calculator on total interest paid was off by about $30! I trust myself more than a website that I am unfamiliar with.

[Z28 CPA]

Another factor is if you desire GAP insurance, the dealer will likely charge much higher than you can get elsewhere.

[UnknownJinX]

Mine has a 5.99% annual interest rate and a 60-month term, but it's an open loan, meaning I could pay it off at any given time without any penalities or extra charges.

I just needed the settlement money from my totaled C7 to come in so that's why I got it. Now that the settlement is in, I can pretty much just pay it off any time I wish.

[Redrado]

With excellent credit I qualified for 2.34 % rate. Just missed the zero percent promotion.

[95 imp]

Originally Posted by koelek

Yeah, you are right, I noticed that... That's why I don't use the dealer loan services, usually, I take a loan from a bank or a credit agency in order to pay for the car. The last time I bought a car, I applied for the loan on https://credit-10.com/fi/vivus-luotto/ and I found the conditions and the interest rate convenient for me. So, the interest rate is 6% and the pay off period is 50 months. Anyway, that offer was suitable for me and the more important is that now I have the car that I wanted.

TOTAL SPAM! Don't click on it!

[CamaroSS18]

Same here, just qualified for the rate of either 2.25 for 72 or 2.5 for 84.

[Mrbobcat]

That's not bad, but I'm assuming you have to have at least 700 score or above?

[CamaroSS18]

Yes, you would have to have a good credit score. Also it was a credit union bank and not a national bank, so for some reason they always have the best rates. The dealer couldn't believe it and didn't even want to try and match it, the salesman even said the best rates they were getting were like 4.25.

[kohli143]

How much higher are dealers rates than banks? I don't want to shop around at banks because they will pull my credit, and lower it and I don't have a credit union. What have you guys been doing?

[jerryc231]

Originally Posted by Redrado

With excellent credit I qualified for 2.34 % rate. Just missed the zero percent promotion.

If there was any rebates 2.34 probably would be a better deal. Zero from dealer means they keep the rebates.. Have to look at total payoff

[ember1205]

Wow there is a lot of really incorrect information in this thread.

Paying an acquisition fee because you take a loan through a dealer? That's on you, not the dealer. Fees are fees, regardless of what they're called. You are 100% entitled to say no to them. There are certain fees that you simply aren't going to eliminate completely, but you have every right to shop different dealerships before you agree to a particular amount, and that amount can be negotiated just like the price of the car.

"I have great credit and almost qualified for 0%"? You don't have great credit. If you did, you would have qualified. Great credit and a great credit score are related, but aren't the same... It's also about marks on the report and your debt to income ratio.

When shopping for a car, you should start by knowing your own credit score and what that ultimately means for you in terms of where you are LIKELY to land when they pull your credit. You also need to understand how much cash you have available towards a downpayment (in addition to any trade-in amount) to ensure that you are financing a reasonable amount LESS than the value of the car. The closer to 100% you finance, the less wiggle room you have to be selective in dealers, loans, etc.

The next step is deciding on where to BUY the car because that includes things like how far you're traveling as well as what kind of price for the car you can negotiate. Focus on solidifying the ability to get the specific car you want at a price you like. If you have to make concessions (not your first color choice or has an extra option you don't necessarily want), then so does the dealer (better trade value, larger discount, etc.).

You can't get to this point, however, unless you have already done your research and understand your credit-worthiness. When you have a solid credit score and cash to put towards the deal, you can negotiate the terms of the loan as well as everything else. In 30 years of buying cars, I have used a Credit Union to finance a purchase exactly one time (and that was actually recently - Fall 2019). Credit Unions never offer better rates for me than what I can get elsewhere and rates through the dealerships for me are always the most aggressive because they want my loan business.

If you have really strong credit, find out what the prevailing rates are from the manufacturer and ask the Finance Manager the banks that tend to offer them the best rates and what those rates currently are (for your credit score). Also check with AAA to see what THEY can do to get you a decent rate (you don't have to be a member). Last fall, AAA linked me to a local credit union with a decent rate. I negotiated the rate with them BEFORE letting them pull my credit because it was essentially the same as the rate through the manufacturer (CPO) but would mean a fair amount more legwork for me. They agreed to beat the manufacturer rate provided they saw my credit report as being top tier.

The only time you will get a single hard inquiry against your credit report is when you file a loan application with exactly one lender directly. When I bought my car last fall, this is what happened because I was steered to a specific lender by AAA. This year, however, the rates through the dealership were better than what I could get on my own so I ended up with five hits so they could shop my loan app to get me the best rate.

Something else to understand is that your credit score can be represented in a variety of different ways using many different criteria. Mortgages use different criteria than auto loans, and credit cards use other details from both. There are a number of different scoring systems in use and you seldom know which one a particular bank will use (or how to research that version of your score ahead of time).

https://www.myfico.com/credit-educat...score-versions

[VinnAY]

Two years ago I have a documented 875 and couldn't get the advertised new car loan rate from my bank that I've been with for almost 20years/checking/credit/homeowners...it's truly a bizarro world.

[ember1205]

Originally Posted by VinnAY

Two years ago I have a documented 875 and couldn't get the advertised new car loan rate from my bank that I've been with for almost 20years/checking/credit/homeowners...it's truly a bizarro world.

Yeah, I've been in a similar situation where advertised rates weren't "available" because of some stupid qualifying attribute that they required (that pretty much no one could achieve).

Look into things like:
- Joining a local Credit Union
- AAA membership
- Farm Bureau membership

Sometimes these things qualify you for rebates or finance rates (or both). Having a good relationship with a dealership that will show you the various programs available helps tremendously here.

[Coded4SS]

Avoid dealer loans. They do things like not let you pay off the principal faster you have to mail in hand written checks to pay off the principal. There is things like this with dealer loans they work to their advantage. Why go through a third party middle man for what you can do on your own?

Go to credit union get the best rate you can and if you want to see if your dealer can beat it then go ahead. In my experience it's always always better to avoid the dealer.