Posts tagged ‘Car Payment’

When it comes to getting the best car loan, you need to do a four-step process. You need to first determine you financial situation, shop for a car, do some research, and then go back to the dealership. When you go through the buying process without skipping a step, you will surely get the best loan that you will ever find.

First, you need to determine your finances. You need to know how much you can spend before you go for a loan. You need to make sure that you can afford the car financed and live comfortably. What you need to do is sit down and think about all the extra money that you have at the end of the month.

You will want to subtract gas money, car maintenance, and then you will find a reasonable amount for a car payment. You need to be able to subtract all your bills and expenses from your income to get your disposable income. This will give you an idea of what kind of money you can throw around. You will want to make sure that you leave a percent in your account for costs that pop up every now and then.

When you go to the dealer to find out what you can afford. You take your estimated purchasing power and tell your dealer. Clearly, state that you can pay whatever, however, makes sure that includes all the fees of purchasing a vehicle. You may need plates, registration fees, taxes, interest rates, and so on.

Once you have looked over some cars, you can them jot down some pin numbers to get a car report to make sure that you are getting the most for your loan. Then come back to the dealership and haggle if you must. This is the time when you go home and you research everything. You need to research creditors, you need to research the car, and you need to ask around about the dealership.

You should go home and compare interest rates. You can get many of the quotes for free, and then you can find out whom you want to file with. You want the lowest rate possible so that you don’t end up over paying too much for a vehicle.

Then when you go back, try to ask the dealer to lower your payment or your monthly payments. This is when you need to take full advantage of discounts and sales or rebates. You should also ask your dealer if there is anyway that they can get you a loan with a lower interest rate. They may go back and crunch the numbers and you’ll find it to be a great experience, but then some times you have to settle for an interest rate less than desirable because of your credit rating.

When it comes to getting the best car loan, you need to do a four-step process. You need to first determine you financial situation, shop for a car, do some research, and then go back to the dealership. When you go through the buying process without skipping a step, you will surely get the best loan that you will ever find.

First, you need to determine your finances. You need to know how much you can spend before you go for a loan. You need to make sure that you can afford the car financed and live comfortably. What you need to do is sit down and think about all the extra money that you have at the end of the month.

You will want to subtract gas money, car maintenance, and then you will find a reasonable amount for a car payment. You need to be able to subtract all your bills and expenses from your income to get your disposable income. This will give you an idea of what kind of money you can throw around. You will want to make sure that you leave a percent in your account for costs that pop up every now and then.

When you go to the dealer to find out what you can afford. You take your estimated purchasing power and tell your dealer. Clearly, state that you can pay whatever, however, makes sure that includes all the fees of purchasing a vehicle. You may need plates, registration fees, taxes, interest rates, and so on.

Once you have looked over some cars, you can them jot down some pin numbers to get a car report to make sure that you are getting the most for your loan. Then come back to the dealership and haggle if you must. This is the time when you go home and you research everything. You need to research creditors, you need to research the car, and you need to ask around about the dealership.

You should go home and compare interest rates. You can get many of the quotes for free, and then you can find out whom you want to file with. You want the lowest rate possible so that you don’t end up over paying too much for a vehicle.

Then when you go back, try to ask the dealer to lower your payment or your monthly payments. This is when you need to take full advantage of discounts and sales or rebates. You should also ask your dealer if there is anyway that they can get you a loan with a lower interest rate. They may go back and crunch the numbers and you’ll find it to be a great experience, but then some times you have to settle for an interest rate less than desirable because of your credit rating.

Its generally a good idea to only take out a loan for no more than 48 months (4 years). Most people choose the 60 month (5 year) option because their payments will be lower.
However, vehicle ownership entails more than just the car payment. You need to add in insurance, gas, repairs, etc. when considering what you can afford in a car. You dont want to spend the next 5 or 6 years paying off a car that will depreciate in value the moment you drive it. You run the risk of ending up in a situation where youll owe more than what the car is worth.
Another solution to car financing is to find a co-signer to apply for the loan with you. Most often, this would be a parent or spouse, but anyone can co-sign for you. Of course, you will want them to have good credit to improve your chances of securing the loan.
A co-signer will sign the credit application basically saying that they are willing to back you in the purchase of this car. They are agreeing that if, for some reason, you dont make the payments, they will be responsible for re-payment of the loan.
This is a big deal for your co-signer because they are putting their credit score on the line for you. Its important for you to realize that if you dont make your payments, you are not only jeopardizing your credit, but theirs as well. Plus, if you dont make the payments, the car will be repossessed and future liens could be put on their income.
When you ask someone to co-sign for you, be very conscientious about what you are asking them to do. Some people just arent willing to take the risk, so dont be offended if they say no.
Since their name will be on the loan, it will appear on their credit report as an additional item. This could affect their borrowing ability in the future since most lending companies look closely at debt-to-income ratio before they give out money. Carrying too much debt including your car loan could cause them to be turned down when applying for credit.
When you apply with a co-signer, your name and their name will be on the loan. This means the loan is really in the names of two parties at once, but it does benefit you by establishing credit in your name, as it is also in your name.
Having a co-signer is a risky and delicate matter for many people as it is a gamble for them to trust you completely to fulfill the loan commitment. However, if you are serious about establishing your credit or rebuilding your credit, theres no reason why it has to be such a risk.
One warning about co-sign loans is there are some real unscrupulous car dealers out there, who lie to you and say you are getting a co-sign loan. Then they trick the cosigner into signing the wrong line of the loan papers and the loan ends up in their name alone, instead of both of your names together. This is known as a Straw Purchase.
They pull this scam because they know you would never get approved, and they just want to sell the car, and it happens ALL the time. The law requires both people to be present and sign at the same time, and you need to make sure the correct names go on the correct lines of the application, identifying you as the borrower, and the co-signer as the co-signer.
There is one other option you may want to look at when it comes to buying a car. You can try and take over payments from an individual seller who is no longer able to afford their car.
A few years ago an industry emerged that served the needs of individuals who have had past credit problems, but can now afford monthly car payments. These companies help people with past credit problems. They will find vehicle owners who can no longer afford their monthly payments and match them up with people who can afford to make car payments but have trouble getting financing.
These owners would gladly allow someone to take over payments on their vehicle in order to save their credit, with no credit check. These companies charge the buyer between $1,500.00 and $3,000.00 for their services just to put these two parties together, without doing a credit check. However, you CAN do this on your own with a little know-how.
Start by looking in the local newspaper for newer model cars with a higher asking price over $9,000 is a good starting point. Most people will not own a newer model car outright and be asking a higher price, so chances are good that they still have a lien on the car.
The easiest owner to work with is one who is considering letting his car go back to the lien holder for repossession. You can find these owners in your local newspaper or local car magazine.
Best results are obtained in aging these issues for two or three weeks before calling. The owners will always become more flexible the longer they try to sell their vehicles if you focus on ads proclaiming “Take over payments” or “Down and take over payments”. These are individuals who realize that they are in a negative equity situation and can’t sell their vehicle outright.
Even though their ad might request a down payment, they will almost always waive it. Most lenders who recommend to the seller that he finds someone to take over his payments will still hold this individual liable for the payments if there is a default.
Many of these lenders will request an application to be submitted from the assignee. If the seller has been making his payments on time, the lien holder may want to keep him in this vehicle. They will want the buyer to have a stronger credit rating than the seller, before they will give their approval at all.