Look Before You Buy ? Auto Loan Quotes

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 29th, 2010

When you are in the market for a new car, do you walk onto the lot and buy the first thing that is shown to you? Do you agree to the financing they offer without checking other sources? Have you ever been burned by not investigating what you are getting? In today?s society, it pays to be an educated consumer. You should not walk into an unknown world without arming yourself with a little bit of knowledge up front. Before buying a vehicle, educate yourself with a few auto loan quotes so you know what your options are.

Auto loan quotes are available from several sources, as many sources as there are financing. However, you may not be cognizant of the many choices you have. First, the retailer is not the only entity to help finance your vehicle, although this is the primary source people rely on. Many people blindly accept this financing without ever looking at other auto loan quotes. Other financing options are banks, credit unions, and finance companies. Each of these will offer something that is not available with retail financing.

The first option listed for auto loan quotes is banks. Banks are a good source for financing because you probably already have one, if not several, checking, savings, and other accounts with your bank. Because you already have a relationship with them, your bank will be more likely to give you a good deal on interest and loan terms. Banks look at customer loyalty very highly and they will want to keep your business.

Credit unions, on the other hand, will typically have better interest rates than banks. The reason for this is because credit unions are based around membership, which takes customer loyalty to a whole new level. They also tend to have better terms than some of their counterparts.

The final option is finance companies. These are usually not the best choice as far as interest rates go, but they are often the easiest as far as loan qualification. Finance companies usually have more lenient credit requirements and other criteria than banks, credit unions, or retailers.

Depending on what you are looking for, all of these options should be utilized for auto loan quotes. You should find out what terms they offer as far as interest and payment term. As part of your research, you should also check online for brokerage websites that offer several auto loan quotes at one time.