Should I Arrange My Car Loan Before Visiting a Dealership? A vehicle is the second most expensive purchase that most people make in their lifetime next to a new house. So the payment and interest rate can matter quite a lot. When buying a new or used car, many people focus on finding the vehicle first and then fitting it into their budget. How? By shopping around at dealerships and among private sellers for the vehicle, they love the most. Getting a new vehicle fresh from the dealership is thrilling, and paying for it with dealer finance can be easy and cheap. However, arranging a car loan before visiting a dealership leaves you in an even better position.
Letting the dealer arrange car finance is convenient, but it’s not a given that you can always get the best deal. Pre-approved finance doesn’t cost anything. Thus, having it to compare to the dealership’s best offer will leave you with peace of mind knowing you are paying for your new wheels in the best way possible. Shopping for a new or used car doesn’t have to be sucha a huge stress. Here, we will outline reasons you should walk into the dealership with a pre-approved finance and how to do it.
Reasons to Arrange a Car Loan Before Visiting a Dealership
You can avoid credit score issues or surprises.
Just about everyone has a credit score. Typically the better your credit score, the better the interest rate you can get, but its not written in stone. Shopping around for the ideal car loan enables you to find the best loan and rate based on your score. If there are some issues with your credit rating or score, you can possibly address and fix those issues these before getting your car loan.
You can find the best loan.
Getting your car loan pre approved before visiting a dealership gives you time to check all your options, and find the very best car loan for your personal needs, budjet and financial situation. Check out our car loan calculator, to compare differents interest rates, payment terms, cash down payment and even trade in values. With a little reseach on vehicles prices you can adjust to see how that affects your monthly payment and pesonal budget. Since you know your budget best, you’ll know what monthly payment you can afford. Try adjusting different loan lengths, down payments and interest rate until you roughly find what fits. Doing calculations in a relaxed setting at home or office, instead of at the dealership where you might feel more pressure can help you set a budget range and also help you make make better auto financing decisions.
You’ll be taken more seriously.
Setting up financing first shows the car salesperson you are serious and ready to buy a car and that you’ve thought through the process. The sales staff will give you more attention and make more effort to meet your buying needs.
Simplified negotiations.
With a pre-approved loan amount, you’re in a better position to negotiate the overall cost of the vehicle, instead of trying to fit your monthly payment needs into a vehicle that may not fit. Shopping just by payment may give you the desired payment, but could also increase the costs significantyly over the life of the loan. A pre approved car loan puts you in the same category as a cash buyer.
Better selection
Because you come with your financing already pre-approved, you’re not dependent on purchasing from any dealer, and can even look at privately owned vehicles as an option. You are free to choose a vehicle from any dealership or even private seller.
You are not reliant on the dealer.
Buying a car and using a dealer who may not have a lot of finance options means relying on the dealer to get the deal completed and delivered. You are at more at the mercy of that dealer. Having your finance pre approved and ready to go gives you more power to dictate the terms of the deal.
Less paperwork
Complete the pre approval process before going to the dealership means less time and paperwork to fill in once you’re ready because you have already done much of the work!
You’ll avoid hidden fees or charges.
While some dealer finance may appear great on the surface, hidden fees or charges might come back to bite you and involve a significant amount of money. These may include administration fees, late fees, early payout penalties, and other costs.
How to Arrange Car Loan in Advance
Shop Around
Start by shopping around. You can go online to check rates or call several lenders and ask for quotes. The more quotes you request, the more likely you’ll get a competitive rate. Try to get a few quotes from a few good trusted sources.
Check Dealership Rates
Some dealerships are very clear about their financing options. Therefore, once you have a quote in hand, you can check the website of any dealership you are interested in and see the rates they offer. If the dealership offers a rate lower than what your lenders offer, you can go back to the lender you are working with to see if they can beat that rate.
Get Pre-Approved
The next step to arranging a car loan before visiting a dealership is to get fully pre-approved by the lender offering the best rate and terms for your needs and situation. This will enable you to walk into a dealership with an offer in hand, giving you even more power in negotiating.
Negotiate for the best deal.
After you’ve been approved for financing, you can finally shop around and negotiate for the best deal. Visit multiple dealerships with your pre-approval documents. If you feel the dealership is too pushy, you can walk out. And go to the next one. You can use the fact that you already have financing to work around common high-pressure sales tactics.
Should I Get Pre Approved for a Car Loans before Visiting a Dealership?
Well, it’s a good option, but it depends on your decision. With the information stated above, we hope it can help you with your decision-making. We have different opinions regarding this. If you think it’s the best thing to do, go for it. After all, it’s your decision that matters.
Get Pre-Approved with Edmonton Auto Loans
Getting pre-approved for a car loan is easy nowadays. With just a few clicks away, you can get pre-approval in minutes. Are you looking to finance a vehicle? Edmonton Auto Loans can be your best option. Get pre-approved here! We specialize in this field of business. Thus, you can be at ease. Rest assured that we can get you the best financing option suitable to your needs. For immediate assistance, you can call us here at 1-855-227-1669.
To estimate and calculate your car loan payments for free. Check out our car loan payment calculator here.