Buying a new car or a high quality used car is nowadays no easy task. Many are worried to over extend their finances or are simply struggling to find the finance to make the purchase. Even when it is possible to get the finance we rarely get the best deal available. The reason for this is a combination of a lack of information, understanding of the finance industry and a lack of foresight and patience.

Fortunately all this can be put aright with some simple steps and a little research. In fact with the right moves you can go from being the car dealers finance whipping boy to having an edge on the finance section and start calling the shots. How can you do this?

Here are some basic tips to improve your chances of getting a good deal on your car loan.

The number one tip of this article is to find pre-qualified finance for your car loan before you even go shopping for a car loan. This is such a key tip mainly because people rarely think to do it. Buying a car seems to be charged with so much emotions and excitement that people will take the most crazy car loan terms without questioning as long as they can drive out that very day with their new set of wheels.

Pre-qualified finance is a simple concept. You make sure you have the money to buy the car before you go shopping. We already do this for smaller shopping expeditions, like going to grocery store, buying clothes, we always make sure we have money on our credit card or cash in our pocket. It is strange how with larger purchases like a car or a house we feel that we are justified in thinking about the financial “details” once we have chosen the house or car we want.

The way to arrange the pre-qualified finance for your car loan is to visit a set of banks before you start shopping for your dream car. Explain your circumstances, give them all the information they need and ask them up to what amount would they be willing to offer financing. The benefit of this is that you are rarely turned down for credit, you just might not be offered the terms you want. No problem just carry on looking. The fact you are not rejected will help your credit score, which takes a blow every time you are turned down for a loan.

Once you have your car loan arranged you can shop with confidence, use your extra leverage to try and squeeze for better terms from the car dealer. Just make sure you the “better” terms are included in the contract and are set in stone and not put out as “pending approval”.

Once you have your finance approved you can do research on the kind of car you want. Make sure it is within your budget and stick to it.

A car dealer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Michael Sullivan was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison for fraud against Yardville National Bank for around $ 648,106, reports the Imperial Valley News website.  The Yardville bank provided Mr. Sullivan with a line of credit to sell cars which was secured with the cars in the car dealer as collateral.

When Mr. Sullivan stopped paying for the installments of his line of credit and the bank moved to demand the security on their loans and discovered that most of the cars used as collateral on the loan had already been sold. Further investigation showed that Mr. Sullivan had also defrauded customers on the trade in value of their cars. He also defrauded the clients because he failed to pay the loans on the cars he accepted as a trade in, bringing the total amount he was sentenced for to over 900,000 dollars.

This sentence brings to the light important lessons for all that want to buy a new or used car. We are not saying for a second that all car dealers are like Mr. Sullivan just like not all shoppers are thieves but shops still install theft protection on their items.
This article will focus on two steps that will protect you from car dealer fraud. 1) Check your car finance and 2) check your old car trade-in.

Car finance.
The best thing you can do if you are planning to buy a new car is to work out your own car finance. Go to various banks and finance companies, shop online with free car loan quotes, check your credit score and find out what kind of deal you should expect to get. This will help you to get the cheapest loan you can get. Nobody is going to work as hard as you to get a good deal. Let’s face it, as decent and honest as the car dealer might be, he still is motivated to make you spend as much as he can on your car loan, his commission depends on it.
The solution is to find your own car finance loan and leave car dealers for what they do best, sell you a car not a car loan.

Car Trade-in.
Trading in your car is not the routine, easy as can be, don’t think over a minute about it procedure many car dealers want you to think. Selling your trade in car is often the largest earner for car dealers. Car buyers often underestimate their old car when buying a new one. What is worse some car dealers will take trade in cars and then not pay for the pending loans on them. Because this “I will pay for the loan on your trade in car” is not included in the contract many buyers are left having to pay the loan and late fees of a car they no longer own.

For this reason, sell your own car, nobody is going to work as hard as you to get a good deal. Leave car dealers for what they do best, sell cars!

When we thought we had seen the end of high risk government loans to private companies with taxpayers money the United States has decided to inject $ 7 billion dollars into car loans. Why? The logic works as follows, if car loans are scarce, interest rates won’t be competitive and consumers will wait to buy a new car. An injection of capital is hoped to kill two crises with one bill. First the ailing car industry manufacturers like Chrysler, GM and Ford will benefit from the extra car loan cash while consumers that have borrowed conservatively in the past have a new chance of getting into debt.

The question is if the United States is providing great car loans for people that don’t want them or need them.  Do consumers really need the government to provide car loans for car manufacturers? Wouldn’t banks and credit providers that already provide car loans take the slack if can manufacturing giants like Chrysler and GM stopped providing car loans.

The answer to those questions are hard to come buy unless you own a parallel universe jumping device but it is useful to understand the factors the influence the current credit market and the car industry.

Loans are a basic part of capitalistic society. Few of us could afford to buy a car outright without saving for years. Arguably, this lack of available cash in the form of car loans would slow down the demand of new cars as average consumers moved towards the used car market with it’s more accessible prices. As desirable and logical as this seem, market analysts prefer to find better ways for consumers to spend more than they can afford. Sadly it does seem that our current model of capitalism does depend on constant spending outside of our means to keep the cogs of our capitalist system working.

Another advantage of this recent injection of car loan cash is that manufacturers that are struggling under the current credit and car industry crises can still compete with Toyota and Ford with low interest and flexible car loans. Keeping two big players like Chrysler and GM in the game could be a shrewd move from the government or just another taxpayer dollars black hole.

There is no denying that taxpayers should worry about yet another move from the government to hand out cash to failing company with little hope in receiving a return from the “investment”.

However if you are in the market of finding a new car and want a car loan this might be the time for you. If your income is solid and your credit score matches you could find yourself an excellent deal on your new car loan. With banks and car companies fighting for low risk customers you could haggle for unbelievable car loan interest rates that look more like home loan interest rates.

Car finance is a complex beast, you are dealing with a product that finances a commodity that not only drops in price faster than most roller coasters but is also a hazard waiting to happen at high velocity. All of this in a world where the credit crisis has got a grip of banks which are scared of loans that don’t get paid.

Understanding car loans is a life skill in itself. If you can’t read you are going to get a bad deal, nearly every time. The sad reality is that those who can stand up for themselves rarely get others to stand up for them. Thankfully there are some exceptions but the chances are that if you do not have the knowhow to get the best deal you can get you are not going to have it fall on your lap. Understanding car finance is going to be one of the most practical and valuable skills you hold. Take the time to learn how the read the signs and get in the driving seat of your car loan.

The same applies to any kind of finance. It pays to understand the concepts and terms behind an industry that makes money from moving money around with a profit margin based on stock markets, government agencies and the balance of fear and greed.

Finance is at the core simple, people lend money for a profit in exchange for the risk of losing their investment. The profit is directly related to the risk the borrower is deemed to pose. If you reduce your perceived risk as a borrower you can save money, easily.

Your risk as a borrower is quantified by your credit score which is in turn based on your credit report, the list of your past finance and contractual history. It is not only dodgy car loans that make your credit report. You will also have record of bad credit cards, mortgages late in payment, traffic infractions, etc…

Borrowing too much even when your payments are made on time can also affect your credit score. If you are seen to borrow more than you own or to spread your finance responsibilities too thin you are going to pay for it in the form of higher interest rates and lending fees.

It is a good idea to plan ahead and make sure your credit report is as good as it’s going to get before you even ask for a car loan. There are many ways you can improve your credit report. Take on secured credit cards. Make sure you don’t have any unpaid fines and always pay your mortgage and credit card payments on time.

A final tip that will help you save money is to always arrange your car finance as a separate deal to actually buying a car. Shop for your car loan just as you would shop for your new car, with care and without rushing it.

Car loans, credit reports and scores, the finance facts

Buying a car is a big deal for most people. Taking on a car loan is a big deal for everyone, if it isn’t you pay cash for it. In most cases anyway, more on that later. The problem with buying a car is that it is a big deal and many people don’t even realize it. They will buy a car on a whim even though it is going to cost them over twenty thousand dollars on the price tag, thousands more in interest and hundreds more in tax. Not the kind of decision you do on a whim.

Improving your efficiency and skills as a car buyer is well worth the little time it takes to understand the basics. Buying the right car is all about knowing what car you really need, not always what you really want, knowing how much it is really worth and understanding what you should be able to get it for. Buying a car loan is not as intuitive. We all have a good idea if we need a V6, a diesel or a coupe but we are not all so sure what kind of interest rate we should choose or what our credit score is and what kind of car loan it allows us to punt for.

This brief article looks at the basics of credit reports and scores. These are only the basics of this complex but important industry. Having a working knowledge of finance and more specifically car loan finance will save you thousands of dollars, you have never made such a good investment of time.

1)    All credit report companies are not the same. There are three main credit report companies. Each one has marginally different methods and will offer slightly different credit reports. This is mainly because not all of your debtors or service providers will have contacted all three companies and they don’t always communicate fully with each other.

2)    Finding out what your credit report is free. What do you have to lose? Unlike many people believe finding out your credit report is not expensive and does not affect your credit score. What does cost money is to find out your credit score, slight difference. Potential lenders asking for your credit score does affect your credit report and score, you would do well to keep this credit score queries to a minimum.

3)    Mistakes happen, check for errors, they could cost you money.
A bank department could forget to record your last loan payment, a nasty landlord might have lied to the credit report or they might be a mistake related to a parking ticket or a credit card payment. You make mistakes at work so do finance workers, check your credit report regularly it is one of the most important tags to your name.

4)    Your past sticks, really hard. Any payments you fail to make will stick to your credit report for years. If you file bankruptcy you will have in on your record for up to 10 years. It is worth paying on time all the time.

The average new car is around $ 24,000 when including finance costs. This price is actually dropping as car manufacturers do their best to make their prices more attractive by lowering manufacturing costs and slashing the finance interest rates on their cars. However, lower costs for new cars when the price is still well in the mid twenty thousand is not that significant for the average Joe that cannot even think of spending that kind of money on a new car if he is going to be financially responsible.
The average price of a used car is around the $ 13,000, just over half the price for a new car. These figures beg the question, is it worth buying a new car? This is an interesting question that is best answered thinking about the pros and cons.
Buying a new car pretty much guarantees you will have no car problems for 3 to 5 years. Some car manufacturers like Toyota will actually guarantee your car for 5 years, an amazing guarantee for such a complex product as a car. On the flip side new cars devaluate faster, loosing up to 10% of their value just by driving them out of the dealer’s showroom.

Used cars are more likely to have mechanical problems and are therefore much less reliable. However their value tends to hold better and they are not such a substantial investment, much more amenable to the average budget.

Another advantage we will focus on is the excellent finance options of used cars. Banks are trying their best to soar over the current credit crisis and are opening up to new credit markets with gusto. The second hand car or used car market is massive. On average there has been 17 million new cars sold in the United States as opposed the 44 million used cars. Banks are opening to this massive market offering better deals to increasingly savvy buyers.

The fact is that the economic crisis we are living in has opened consumers’ eyes to savings even when they might not be going through especially challenging circumstances. It seems to be a sympathetic reaction which causes people to check their unnecessary spending and find ways to curb expenses and maximize on value.

If you buy second hand or used cars you can buy more car for less money. Estimates show that cars lose from 20 to 30 percent of their value in the first year which means you can get up to 30 per cent more car for the same dollar and still have a few years of manufacturer guarantee to play with.
If you have the right credit rating and a reliable source of income you can get the car deal of your dreams without having to pay top dollar for the privilege.

If you have a steady income and great credit rating you could hardly find yourself in a better time to finance a new car for yourself. The only problem for most of us is actually getting that “steady income and great credit rating”.

However let’s taste the good news for a little longer. The Comerica Bank has recently published a report that details just how cheaper it is to buy a car now. For instance buying a new “average-priced” vehicle now takes 21.5 weeks of an average family’s income. This is a significant drop of 1.3 weeks from the prior quarter, especially when one takes into account that the median family income has also dropped.

The same source also found that the total cost of manufacturing and financing a new car dropped by $1,700 dollars to $26,000 in the last quarter.
Comerica Bank found that the total vehicle cost of buying and financing a new car fell more sharply than income, reflecting sharply falling interest rates on car loans. The total cost of buying an average-priced light vehicle fell to $26,000 in the first quarter, down $1,700 from the prior quarter.

What does this mean for us, the “average consumer”. Well it could mean a great opportunity or nothing at all. As incomes fall and job security plummets many families do not feel it is the time to shop for a new car regardless of the great deals to be found.

However if you do have some savings, have a relatively secure job and your credit rating is healthy you could get yourself the deal of a lifetime with record low car loan rates.
If this is your case you can further reduce the cost of buying a car with these simple tips.

Having great credit rating gives you amazing leverage when dealing with your car loan finance provider. You are precisely the customer they are looking for and it is you they are trying to attract with their low car loan interest rates. The best thing you can do is find your own finance before you even start looking for a car. Once you know what budget you have and you have found yourself a good interest rate, go shopping for your dream car. Do not discuss finance with the car dealer just get the best price you can on the car. Once the price is settled and not before ask what deal they can offer on the finance, tell them what deal you already have and ask if they can improve it.

Buying a new car is not only an exciting and fun experience. Whoever has driven a brand new car from the dealer knows that the feeling of sitting behind the wheel of a new car, with perfect bodywork, the smell of new still in the upholstery, is very addictive. On the other hand buying a new car is a very practical option as opposed to buying a second hand vehicle. Although second hand cars are obviously cheaper, buying new offers you a long list of advantages:

1) One to three year guarantee. Even a five year guarantee has been offered by some brands. This guarantee will provide you free assistance for any fault that is not a direct result from an accident or bad maintenance and is independent from your car insurance. This will allow you to get cover in certain areas without having to give up your no claim bonus.

2) Less likelihood of breakdown, higher reliability. Driving a new car gives you a sense of confidence and peace of mind that second hand cars simply can’t provide. If a fault were to occur the manufacture’s guarantee will likely cover any expenses.

3) More finance options. Buying a new car opens a variety of different options that are rarely available to a second hand car. For instance car dealers are often willing to offer great finance deals in order to attract more customers. There are 0% finance options to mention but one advantage of buying online. Of course these excellent car loan deals are not easy to come by and you must provide other requirements in order to qualify.

What basic steps must you take to get new car loan?

1) You must choose a car loan option. The main ones are as following.

a) Personal loan. These loans are not linked to any specific security except that of the borrowers good name and signature. These loans tend to have higher interest rates due to the higher risk of lending an unsecured loan.

b) Secured loans. This type of new car loan is often much cheaper because it is secured with a large collateral. Generally the collateral is the value or equity of a home. This makes the loan a safe bet for the lender. If the borrower defaults on his payment, the lender is sure to be able to sell the house and get his investment back.

2) You must check your credit worthiness. This is a vital part of your lending system. Your credit worthiness is a result of obtaining a credit score, a three digit number, from a credit report. A credit report is an analysis of all your credit history, pending debts, driving history, and any number of data on your payments for services.

A good or bad credit score is one of the most important tools for lenders as it gives them some kind of security when lending to a new customer. The benefits therefore of having a good credit report and buying a new car are good reasons to buy your dream car now.

Free ride is a little bit of an exaggeration but they are certainly offered a sweet break on their monthly car loan payments. And as we all know, every little bit helps.

Maybe it is a marketing gimmick. Maybe the skeptic in you feels it is an empty display of public relations. And maybe you are right. Nevertheless banks giving green cars a loan incentive can’t be a bad idea. In a world where the finance is going down the shute paying a little less on cars that are fuel efficient makes a lot of sense. The fact that it helps give the Earth a chance is a beautiful bonus.

But what are green cars? What kind of incentives are banks and in this case the U.S Bank planning to provide? This article will help you understand these terms and give you some hints of how to make the most of this opportunity.

What is a green car?

This is a question that if taken out of the current context might help to drop your I.Q rating. Green cars are cars that pass a certain carbon based fuel efficiency rating or in extreme cases have a non carbon based energy source. Which cars qualify for the Green Car rating will depend on the country and ruling authority. In the United States you can check here for more details.

What are the benefits for taking on a car loan for a green car?

The exact benefits change from program to program. In the case of the U.S Bank scheme, all green cars will get an automatic 0.5% reduction on the interest rate. This will save you 100$ the first year on a 10,000$ loan and around 500$ throughout the loan. Better in my hands than the bank’s, that is all I have to say. Apart from these extra breaks provided by banks and finance companies you have the savings on gas when you get fuel efficient vehicles. The satisfaction of doing the right thing and not killing the environment for no good reason with gas guzzling SUV’s is of course, priceless.

How can you benefit from these schemes?

Although this is the first “large” bank that provides a break for green cars it is not the only one. If you are planning to buy a green car, or at least a fuel efficient car check out the link above and see if there is a green card that catches your fancy. This will spell out savings for you and the environment. Incentives for fuel efficient vehicles is a growing trend that is spilling to all kind of car related services like insurance and taxes.

Be smart and make the most of the current trend in promoting loans and green cars. It really doesn’t get much better when you get “paid” for doing the right thing.

We have all seen them. Straight after our favorite football loses, again, an enticing car advert that invariably includes at least five gorgeous women which provide added incentive to the bombshell, “You can get a 0% car loan if you buy this amazing car model”. Shouldn’t you race to the nearest dealer and take advantage of this must not miss deal? Maybe you should. This article is not out to bad mouth these and similar adverts. It is out to give you a fighting chance to understand the real story behind these kinds of loans, ah, and also to channel as much web traffic to our sponsored websites

So what is the real story the real deal behind 0% car dealer loans? Well like all types of loans of advertising they are a marketing tool to attract business for car dealers! Wow! What a steal of a story! The good news is that these marketing “tricks” often bring good deals for consumers, so this might still be good news for you. 0% car loans provide an attractive loan for customers who buy new cars, which are rather pricey. The car dealers are hoping to increase sales by saving customers on a rather unpalatable side of car buying, interest. However, and here comes the catch, these 0% finance deals are often weighed down with fine print. This fine print “controls” the 0% deal with two main conditions:

1) Your credit rating must be pretty much spotless. If you have a mediocre credit rating you will probably not qualify for 0% and for you it will just be a marketing gimmick. However this is the case with most low APR loans. If you have medium to low credit rating you will pay high APR whether at the car dealer or with your local bank, you are just going to have to get over it.

2) You are will have forfeit other marketing gimmicks. Generally when you buy a car you get juicy discounts or rebates from the car dealer. It is generally the case that when you qualify for 0% finance you don’t get the rebate or discount most buyers enjoy. You can’t really blame the car dealer, he wants to increase his client base and sell more cars but he still needs to make a profit or he might as well join Peace Corps if he is going to be in it for charity.

So what is the verdict? Are 0% car dealer loans too good to be true? Well, no. If you have great credit rating and the car model you like qualifies you could get 0% (they generally pile on the discounts on the less popular models) then it might be a good deal for you. That is where you need to do your homework, because it only might be a good deal. You need to work out what the rebate or discount on the same model is and work it against the saving of having a 0% loan.