Advice on car financing

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Advice on car financing

Posted: 5/11/2003 5:10:26 PM EDT

I'm on the market for a car (probably a Wrangler) in the 10k-15k range. My credit isn't terrible, but its not that great either (I made some stupid choices in my younger years). My question is this: Have any of you guys been in a similar spot? How well do the dealerships work with you? What should I know before going in/what should I expect to pay in interest & down payment?

Edited to add, I'd like to keep my payments in the $200-250 range, which is like a 4 year loan.

Posted: 5/11/2003 5:13:53 PM EDT

[#1]

I had no credit before getting my Impala had someone cosign at the bank. Dealers would finance me but didnt want to work with price and wanted to rape me on interest. SO I walk out.

Posted: 5/11/2003 5:32:25 PM EDT

[#2]

The short answer is the worse your credit the higher the interest rate. You can always find someone who will finance you.

Posted: 5/11/2003 5:35:51 PM EDT

[#3]

Keep a stable employment history, that will help alot, I am talking about staying in one place for a while if you can, hard to do, but will help alot...

Also get as much cash together as you can, the more green you show them, the better you can negotiate a lower interest rate...

Do not have a lot of CC debt, that can hurt you...

I have finaced alot of vehicles, and this last time, I went in and paid cash, now that is a bargining tool, they dropped thousands off the price right away, and even more before we were done. If you can have finacing through a bank ahead of time, thats what I did.

Shop around, get dealerships fighting each other for your business, lots of fun doing that....

Posted: 5/11/2003 5:37:54 PM EDT

[#4]

BTW, no way will you get $250 payments on a 15K vehicle. 48 X $250 is just $12,000. You have to pay interest also. A 15k loan at 10% for 48 months will be $380.43 per month. A 10k loan at the same rate will be $253.62 per month. 10% might be hard to get on a used vehicle depending on your credit. With good credit you can get much better. My loan on my Explorer is at 6.75% right now.

Posted: 5/11/2003 5:47:52 PM EDT

[#5]

ok, looks like I need to stay around 10k, not 15k.

I don't have any Credit Cards (I hate the things) and planned on paying about $1-1.5k down.

Posted: 5/11/2003 5:49:54 PM EDT

[#6]

With the current glut of cars you will have no problem getting financing.

Like the guys have said, the worse your credit the higher the rate but this too can be shopped and highly suggest you do.

If monthly payments is your thing, browse the auto section of MSN.com and find the payment calculator. That'll let you know what you can afford so you can begin shopping.

$200-$250 will get into only an entry level vehicle unless you buy used. Some of the entry's are not bad especially the small trucks.

Good luck,

Tj

Posted: 5/11/2003 5:50:44 PM EDT

[#7]

If you credit rating is above 600 with about 1K down you should be able to get below a 10% rate. If your rating is about 700 you should do much better.

Posted: 5/11/2003 5:54:34 PM EDT

[#8]

hehe, I have no idea what my credit rating is. I am planning on buying used though, 10k should buy a 97-98 Wrangler in good shape (from the prices I've seen).

Posted: 5/11/2003 5:56:57 PM EDT

[#9]

get your financing set up before you go to the dealer. i have used a credit union the past few cars. i think they are better than banks.

when you go to the dealer just neg the price of the vehicle. dont talk about monthly payments.

Posted: 5/11/2003 5:57:36 PM EDT

[#10]

I suggest you go talk to your bank tomorrow. They can run your credit report and probably get the best rate for you. Then you will have leverage at the dealerships, if you buy from one. If you know how to check out the jeep yourself you usually can get a better price from an individual.

Posted: 5/11/2003 6:07:24 PM EDT

[#11]

10k should buy a 97-98 Wrangler in good shape (from the prices I've seen).

View Quote

You need to include dealer prep charges, taxes, registration, and extended warranty (which they will push hard). That could easily add $1,500 to the total price. Most people, myself included, don't figure that in when shopping around and end up with a much higher payment than expected.

Posted: 5/11/2003 6:10:59 PM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
when you go to the dealer just neg the price of the vehicle. dont talk about monthly payments.

View Quote

You can negotiate the price and financing. If you talk the dealer down in price they will try to charge you a higher interest rate to make up the difference.

I recommend going to autotrader.com and using their payment calculator. You can enter the specifics on the price and interest rates and see what the payments come out too. It will then produce a grid of prices, interest rates, and payments. Print that out and take it to the dealer to reference. That way you can compare your numbers to the dealers and will notice if they try to slip something extra in.

Posted: 5/11/2003 6:27:59 PM EDT

[#13]

Explore all your options - sometimes you'll be surprised. Chrysler finance just beat my credit union by half a point - and that was on non-incetive financing (already used the rebate incentive). Really surprised me.

Good luck!

Posted: 5/11/2003 6:40:39 PM EDT

[#14]

Cool, Good advice guys, thanks!

Posted: 5/11/2003 6:51:14 PM EDT

[#15]

Sumo, arrange financing BEFORE you go to the dealer if it's a used car you're buying. I prefer Credit Unions' basic philosophy, but a small bank might also be helpful. As somebody else noted, the dealer can do just about anything to the price to accommodate the interest rate. Best leverage you can get is committed financing up front.

-hanko

Posted: 5/11/2003 6:56:25 PM EDT

[#16]

I have worked in banking the last 7 years. If you own your own home, the best thing to do is get a line of credit. Our start at prime (4.25) Yes it is variable, but if you have had credit problems, your probable looking at a rate of 9-11%. Plus with the line you can write the intrest off on your taxes.

Posted: 5/11/2003 7:14:15 PM EDT

[#17]

If money is tight make sure you check the cost of insuring your Wrangler. They are awesome vehicles but usually carry a very high price for premiums. In fact...I'm pretty sure they are in the top 10 of high insurance prices.

Posted: 5/11/2003 7:16:54 PM EDT

[#18]

wow, I wasn't aware they had high insurance premiums. I'll check into that.

Posted: 5/11/2003 7:29:34 PM EDT

[#19]

The interest rates that can be gotten on cars are amazingly low... I don't mean to pimp Honda's but Honda of America tells me they don't change the rate for credit rate on thier loans.. My credit isn't great but got the advertised 1.9% Couldn't get the advertised rate from Ford, GM or Subaru since they tiered thier loan rates.

Posted: 5/11/2003 7:33:07 PM EDT

[#20]

I sell cars for a living. Answer these questions for me.

Do you know what your Issac is? If yes, what is it?

Are you currently deliquent on any accounts?

How much money do you have to put down?

How much money per month do you gross(before taxes)?

How long have you been on your job?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Advice on car financing

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