Auto loans
New, used, and the refinance nobody thinks to ask about.
Most people finance a car at the dealership because that is where they are standing when they decide to buy one. That is understandable and it is usually not the cheapest way to do it. The dealer is a lender or a broker of lenders, and the markup on the rate is part of how the deal works.
Get approved before you shop
A preapproval from us does two things. It tells you what you can actually spend, which is not the same as what a dealer will let you spend. And it turns the financing conversation into a comparison instead of a negotiation — if the dealer beats our rate, take theirs, and you have still come out ahead by making them compete.
Refinancing a loan you already have
This is the one we wish more members asked about. If you financed at the dealership in the last couple of years, there is a real chance the rate has room in it, and refinancing does not require selling or changing anything about the car. It is paperwork, and then a smaller payment or a shorter term.
It is not always worth it. If you are near the end of the loan, most of the interest is already paid and there is little left to save. Bring the payoff amount and the remaining term and someone will tell you honestly whether it's worth the trouble.
The four numbers
- Price, after every fee — not the advertised number.
- Rate, as an APR, which includes the financing costs the plain rate leaves out.
- Term, in months.
- Total paid over the life of the loan. This is the one that tells you the truth, and the one nobody volunteers.
A longer term always makes the monthly payment look better. Ask for the total both ways before you agree to seventy-two months.
On the add-ons
Gap coverage and extended warranties are sold hard at the signing table and are sometimes genuinely worth buying — particularly gap coverage if you are putting little down on a new vehicle that will depreciate faster than you pay it off. What we would say is that you do not have to decide in that room, at that hour, from that menu. You can buy gap coverage from us later, usually for less.