Unsure of lease or financing, should I get pre-approval either way?

ricksastar

My wife and I have begun car shopping however we're unsure if we're buying or leasing. I was going to get a preapproval from my credit union before we started talking to dealers. Is it worth still getting a preapproval if we end up financing? Does that still give us an advantage in negotiating?

kyfdx

ricksastar said:

My wife and I have begun car shopping however we're unsure if we're buying or leasing. I was going to get a preapproval from my credit union before we started talking to dealers. Is it worth still getting a preapproval if we end up financing? Does that still give us an advantage in negotiating?

You should get pre-approval for a car loan, so you know what rate the CU is offering, and whether you qualify. This gives you options in the F&I office. You don't have to take the dealer's financing offer, if you have a better deal with your credit union.

A pre-approval can also help you discover any deficiencies in your credit report, instead of being surprised at the dealership.

nag2016

Pre approval from credit union and financing from dealer - Will that be a double credit hit?

stever

"[C]redit scoring systems allow people to shop for the best rates on car loans without having a negative impact on their credit scores. They do so by counting all inquiries for auto loans within a given period of time as a single inquiry.

That time period may vary slightly from one credit scoring system to another but typically is 14-days."

That's per Experian but I think that's the general rule of thumb.