How To Get Preapproved For Your Auto Loan

Before you ever go to look at any cars, you may want to get a preapproved auto loan. This is an excellent way to save some money when you go to get your next car - or even your first one. Here are some tips that will show you how to get a preapproved auto loan and some great savings.
The first thing that you want to do is to get a current copy of your credit report and look it over. Mistakes can be made on some of the information reported on it and you want to eliminate them before you apply. Take time to examine it carefully and take the necessary steps to have mistakes corrected properly. Remember that the lender will base the interest rate on your loan from the credit bureaus. Incorrect information could prevent you from even getting a loan, or could place you into a higher interest rate for your loan. Having too much debt in relation to your income could also place you into higher interest rates, too.
The next thing would be to shop around for your preapproved auto loan. This means getting quotes from a few lenders and choosing the one that is the best. To do this online, you will need to go to a broker's Web site - one where you will get back quotes from several lenders with one application. It won't take long to get back your quotes.
Once you accept a lender's quote, a blank check will then be sent to you. A credit limit will also be set, and you can write the check to the car dealer for the amount of the car. This check is good for a limited time - some may be good for two months. Even though you receive the check, there is no actual loan being given - until you use it.
Knowing just how much you have to be able to spend before you start looking for that car enables you to stay within your budget better. You will also know all the details about your loan that a car dealer may be less reluctant to share with you if you get financing through them.
Taking this preapproved auto loan check to the dealer will quickly give you an edge in your negotiations with them. Since there will be no question as to your real interest in buying a car, you can get better prices because they like money right away. They also know that you are serious about buying a car, too.
In order to use that preapproved auto loan check in the best way possible, though, you should not buy immediately. Once you find a car or two that you are interested in, take a little time to go online and find out both the value of the car, and how much you can get one for in your area. Someone may be selling it for less than the dealer. Having this knowledge will enable you to go back to the dealer, show him the better offer, and watch them bring their price down to match it, or make it even lower.
Don’t forget that you can sweeten your deal more by putting some money down or by trading in your old vehicle. Learn about how to make good deals with car dealers beforehand and you can be sure to drive away with one of those great deals – all with a preapproved auto loan.

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Car Loans Drive Down The Cost

Most car buyers spend hours researching the makes and models of car before deciding which to buy. Then four out of ten rush out to the showroom and sign up for the car within 30 minutes of stepping inside.

But will their painstaking research extend to sourcing the cheapest finance package? Probably not. Whilst around 50% of new cars bought privately are purchased on finance, nearly 20% sign up in the showroom for the finance deal offered by the manufacturer. Unfortunately that could turn out to be a costly decision. With typical manufacturers finance costing 13.7% per year over a 3 year and including a 10% deposit, they could be throwing some £1,800 down the drain.

Take someone buying a new Renault Megane Sport Saloon Privilege 1.6 and let's assume that it costs £16,000 on the road. Including 3 years interest that means the full cost will be £17,384. However, there is a much cheaper option. With a good credit history you could get a personal loan at only 5.5% and end up paying just £15,631 – that's a full saving of £1,753. This goes to prove the old adage that it pays to shop around. Rushing to accept the dealers finance package can hit your pocket hard – it's effectively giving back the discount we hope you negotiated!

OK, I can hear talking about the special finance offers that manufacturers are forever advertising. Yes, there are some really good deals - but always look closely. Some deals only relate to specific models with a set specification, often the cars that the manufacturers are having trouble shifting. A beware some deals have a sting in their tail. Take Volkswagens' current offer on the Polo E2. Their deal is advertised at 5.8% with a monthly repayment of £99 over 35 months – sounds a great deal but look more closely and you'll find there's a final balloon payment of £3,750 or alternatively you can trade in your E2 for another Volkswagen.

The car manufacturers use these deals to promote brand loyalty and encourage another purchase in 3 years time. They know that most cars will be traded in after 3 years rather than pay the large balloon payment.

Of course, personal loans and manufacturer's finance are not the only way you could finance your car.

The traditional way to pay for your car is through hire purchase. With HP you pay a deposit, usually of at least 10%, or trade in your existing car for at least the same value, and then use HP for the balance of the price. The loan is then effectively secured on your car. So in practice, your car still belongs to the HP company until you have made your last monthly payment.

Then if you want to sell your car before you've completed the HP agreement, there will almost always be an early redemption penalty – often up to three months interest. The HP company will also register its financial interest in your car with HPI the finance tracking agency. This effectively means that you will be unable to sell your car until you have paid off the HP loan.

Another alternative is Personal Contract Purchase, PCP for short, and in recent years PCP has become very popular. Here you also agree the mileage you expect your car to clock up each year. You then pay a deposit and part of the purchase price is deferred until the end of the agreed payback period. Your monthly repayments then repay the balance and the interest. These schemes are highly flexible as you can select the length of the loan and the size of the deposit but you'll find that interest rates vary considerably between lenders. The current average is about 12.8% - still well above the 5.5% rate for a cheap personal loan.

At the end of the PCP contract you'll have three options: -

Pay off the deferred balance and keep the car

Trade in the car using the trade in value to help pay off the deferred sum and hopefully leaving a balance towards a new car

Hand in the car and walk away with nothing more to pay.

This last option is always subject to your cars' condition reflecting normal wear and tear and its mileage is in line with the annual mileage you agreed when you purchased it. If the recorded mileage exceeds the forecast mileage, then you'll have an excess mileage charge to pay. The cost per excess mile will always be specified in the PCP agreement.

One of the big advantages of PCP is that the guaranteed buy back option effectively protects customers against excessive depreciation of their car.

As you would expect, car dealers take a commission for selling PCP contracts and to encourage you, you may find they'll agree a bigger discount on your car if you take their PCP deal. If your lucky, they may even throw in a low cost servicing package or low cost insurance. But take care. You'll need to do some homework to ensure that these extra goodies are truly worth the extra interest charged on the PCP contract.

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