Best Car Loans

Comparing the best car loans can easily be done in a few steps. Get your personal financial information together and remember that your main objective is to get the lowest interest rate regardless of whether it comes from a bank, credit union, dealership or online. So take your time and find the best deal.

1) Set Your Budget:
First determine how much money you have available for car expenses. Then factor in car insurance, fuel and a reserve for repairs. Whatever amount you have leftover is the car loan payment that you and your family can afford.

2) See how Much You Can Afford
Use a car loan calculator to determine the dollar loan amount you can support given the amount you can afford for a monthly payment. There are many reputable car loan calculator websites, so be sure to check out several. We recommend:

• CarsDirect Loan Calculator
• Bankrate.com
• LendingTree.com
• Yahoo.com

3) Choose Your Car
After you know how big of loan you can secure, find several cars that match your budget and loan amount. Pay attention to see if there are any current manufacturer incentives, discounts or rates.

4) Compare the Best Car Loans
Armed with the knowledge of how much you want to spend, what you can afford and what cars meet that budget, get several loan quotes from banks, credit unions and online lenders. To get a loan quote from a bank or credit union, simply call them up or visit their website. To get an online quote, search online for best car loan quotes or visit our car loan quote page.

5) Get Pre-qualified For a Loan
After you have chosen your best car loan option, contact that company to get pre-qualified for a loan. The lender will send you a letter if you accept their pre-qualified loan offer. This letter does not guarantee a loan. Lenders have a right to retract the offer if they discover falsified loan information.