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Questions About Financing New Vehicles

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  • paulnnaupaulnnau Member Posts: 14
    16 months ago I financed my first car. Since I had no prev car buying credit, the finance mgr said I should have a cosigner to have a lower interest rate. My dad signed and we got 7.9%. He said after 18 months then I could qualify for a more expensive veh (ended up with a 03 neon sxt as the dealer said I wouldn't qualify for anything else) on my own. Now that the time is coming up, I wonder if 18 mos is indeed enough time to build my credit, and since I owe $13k on a car worth $7k (had no idea neons depreciated that much so fast), I hate having a car I didn't really want in the first place, but worry about getting financed on my own and being so upside down. Any advice?
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    im sure someone can work something out for you, but here are the "smart" ways to do it:

    1. have enough cash to offset the negative.
    2. dont buy a car that is more than $15-20k.
    3. sell your car on your own when you have enough to pay the difference.
    4. dont get a chrysler product. ;-)

    if you cant do these things, then dont trade. you might be ABLE to, but it will put you in an even worse position in 2 more years.
  • paulnnaupaulnnau Member Posts: 14
    GREAT! So basically I'm S.O.L.! I get to come up with $5k to put down just to break even and start all over! Yes, I've definately learned my lesson about Chrysler. I guess it's staying with me for years to come :-(
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    it doesnt have to...retail-wise, you should be able to get $9k-$9.5k out of it rather quickly.

    if you REALLY need to get out of it, go to the bank and work out a personal loan for the balance and sell it retail. then go get what you want.

    you will have the personal loan as a second payment, but you will be able to get good terms on the car you buy that way.
  • cwpostcwpost Member Posts: 11
    Bowke28,

    Isn't taking out two loans, a car loan and a personal loan similar to applying negative equity to the new car loan. If you take out two separate loans on for $12K for car and yet another personal loan for $6k, you might as well buy a $12K car and attach the negative equity to make it a 18K loan. Personal I think this is the best time to buy if you have negative equity. Keep looking at the incentives and rebates between now and December. You may be surprised at which car mfr are offering rebates. A few weeks ago Nissan(which I am sure you are aware) have $2K rebates on the Sentra, which has been unheard of in past years. This rebate will likely lower the amount of cash you will have to put down given your neg. eq. problem and the sentra is a better car than the neon. Keep looking at the rebates. You likely won't be able to get a Honda or Toyota but you can get something else that you would like for at least five years. Good luck.
  • mfullmermfullmer Member Posts: 773
    You are going to talk to me about economics? Economics rely on facts:

    Firstly. Your views of "ownership" are elementary at best and certainly do not come from a legal view. The legal owner is whomover is listed on the title/deed. A vehicle owner OWNS their car regardless of who is listed as a lienholder. A leased vehicle is owned by the leasing company - the vehicle driver (lessee) is listed nowhere on the title. Even if someone stops making payments on a purchased car, the lienholder doesn't OWN the car until they repossess it and TAKE OVER THE TITLE legally. Likewise, I own my home - My name is on the deed. Whether or not I have a mortgage has nothing to do with ownership.

    Legally, No one can claim "ownership" of anything, regardless of what lien they have, until they transfer the title or deed into their name.

    Point in case: I have a $2,500 lien on a contractors house from a judgement. That lien is second only to his mortgage. Saying that I "own" his house would be an ignorant statement.

    Secondly, You're preaching to the choir when you talk about lease vs. buy. I am very positive about leasing because I couldn't care less who owns my cars, emotionally. There were many pros/cons that led me to leasing, I have recently decided I want to purchase because I just don't like being a party to a contract that says I'm going to keep the car for xx months.

    Thirdly, Your investment argument sounds really ignorant. You buy investments for a return on value. Stocks are an investment. A house is an investment. Anyone who looks at a car as an investment is very ignorant. It's an expense that is just part of life.

    Bowke, you make really uneducated arguments and really need to look into contract law and title law before you start arguing that a "lienholder owns the product". It's wrong by any legal definition.
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    im going to end this quickly. re-read my post, and look specifically at the EXACT wording. i said you "have the same RIGHTS of ownership". i never said "you own it".

    having the rights and owning it are 2 seperate issues.

    as far as my investment analogy, it IS valid. because of the amount of money you shell out ($20k+++), it is usually the 2nd largest purchase a person makes. therefore, it should be dealt with more seriously than $2k CDs, or $500 stock purchases.

    my analogy was to illustrate that for the same reason one should buy a home, one should avoid buying a car.
  • paulnnaupaulnnau Member Posts: 14
    Thanks for all the advice. Between now and the end of the year I am hoping that with the 05's coming out prices will drop a little bit, plus the rebates are always nice. Hopefully some good one's for the smaller SUV's as that's what I'm in the market for.
  • cwpostcwpost Member Posts: 11
    Paulnnau, you should be able to get a good rebate by the end of the year. Ford Escape and Jeep Liberty's normally have rebates of $2 to $3 K sometimes more. Good luck with you research and purchasing. Please let us know how it works out once you make that purchase.
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    do your research first...the 2004 escapes were gone months ago, and the 2005s are at $1000 only. they are literally the hottest thing on the lot right now.
  • sandman46sandman46 Member Posts: 1,798
    Bowke28 and Terry had this same "discussion" going on in another forum awhile back, and let's just say, I would listen to Terry about this whole situation. I'm not saying that Bowke28 is wrong, I'm just saying that Terry seems to be a more credible source about "most" things automotive here on Edmunds. This is not a slam on Bowke, and I hope it is not taken that way, but I'd talk to Terry first!
    Just my humble opinion!

    The Sandman :-)
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    i understand the reaction, and i agree, terry has FAR more knowledge of the car business in general. but in this case, ive been running lease departments for almost 4 years, and doing it every day. the manufacturer contracts include language that authorizes the lessee to sell the vehicle at any time, subject to full payment to the lessor. there is no difference there than in a conventional finance contract.
  • paulnnaupaulnnau Member Posts: 14
    I've heard it's better to go into the dealership pre approved for a loan with a bank, even with a check in hand from the bank and I'd get a lower interest rate. I've also heard there is a website to go to that will find the cheapest rate available to me from several different banks. Is this true? Will they want to look at the fact that I'm so upside down on my trade-in? And lastly, I've found alot of info regarding the scion xb, but haven't been to see one, does anyone know if the drivers seat is higher more like a van/suv or on the ground like a car?
  • mfullmermfullmer Member Posts: 773
    Well I'm going to end this quickly because I am going through this "ownership rights" real time, at this very moment.

    My Tahoe lease is supposed to be up in January. My new car is on its way to I put it up for sale. Found a buyer. At this point in time I HAVE NO RIGHTS TO SELL THE CAR. This is not only from my own knowledge about owning but was confirmed both by GMAC and credit union the buyer is going through. I have to purchase the Tahoe from GMAC. GMAC sends the title to me and I have go to the DMV and have the title changed into my name. Then and only then can I sell the vehicle.

    We've had this discussion before and not only Car_man but most others who are actually in the business and/or lease vehicles agreed that I was correct. The tahoe was my 5th leased vehicle and I know what I'm talking about. This is the 2nd that I've purchased and then sold before the lease was up.

    Tell me again about what "rights" I have as a lessee. I don't own the car. You cannot LEGALLY sell a vehicle with which you do not hold the title.
  • mfullmermfullmer Member Posts: 773
    Actually that was between Bowke and me and the Terry and Car_Man chimed in.

    Terry has been in the business a long time.
    I was in the business for a long time and have leased many times. I also minored in Contract Law.
    I'm not sure what Car_man's credentials are but it's obvious he has them.

    We all say the same thing about ownership rights and renters rights.

    This whole conversation brings up so many scenarios. I guess Bowke things that because you have a "lease" on office space you have the same rights of ownership of the office space (or building?). You could sell, destroy, etc. it.

    I just don't understand where he comes up with this stuff.
  • mfullmermfullmer Member Posts: 773
    No it doesn't. I've read all of my leases in completion. What they GIVE is the opportunity for the lesse to buy out the lease at any time by paying for the Residual, Taxes and any unmade payments. Then, and only then, can the lessee sell the car.
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,242
    Hi paulnnau - your question seems to have gotten lost in this "lessee right to sell" debate, so I'll try to help you out.

    You're probably thinking of web sites like eloan.com and lendingtree.com. I am a big advocate for checking around to locate your best loan terms, so it doesn't hurt to check there. Even if you are approved for a loan and they send you a check, you aren't locked into using that loan until you hand over the check to the dealership. However, we recently got an even better rate through the manufacturer lending, so we went with that. The best advice I can give you is to explore all options and NOT close any doors.

    The trade-in negative equity will be a factor, but depending on the value of the vehicle you purchase, and any incentives used as downpayment, it may not be awful. Again, in my experience the best thing to do is to check out loan options on your own, and also let the dealership help you.

    And finally, check out our Scion xB discussion to see if you can get info on the seating. We don't have a lot of owners yet, but some shoppers have already posted in the Scion xB Pricing discussion.

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  • cjones88cjones88 Member Posts: 23
    I was planning on doing the Capital One financing with blank check and using that as a bargaining piece to see if Honda will give me a lower rate. However, once my wife and I applied online with Capone this weekend, they came back to us with a 9.25% interest rate for 5 years. We are doing $0 down with a joint application. My wife has FICO in the range of 705-710 and I'm in the 720-725 range (we just pulled credit scores yesterday for all 3 bureaus). I guess you must have to have 750+ FICO to get CapitalOne's advertised low rates (current 4.59% for 60 months).

    Does anyone have any recent experience with Honda financing? What "tier" will I most likely be in and what do current rates look like? I'm hesitant to preapply online at hondacars.com because I don't want to mark up my scores even more with multiple credit apps. Does anyone have other online recommendations for auto loans? I'm guessing E-Loan will be similar to Capital One.

    Any advice on these issues is greatly appreciated
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    if you are having difficulty with it, have your buyer meet you at the dealer. they have all the proper paperwork to do a 1-stop transfer to your buyer...or they SHOULD, anyway.

    the dealer will usually only charge the license/doc fees, and normally will charge them to the buyer, unless you specify otherwise.

    we do this quite often, actually. the dealer then gets to report a sold unit, and depending on how your buyer pays for it, they can make a little money on the financing end of it too.

    i agree that its not EASY to sell it and finish the transfer, but there are tools at your disposal to expedite the process if you want to use them.
  • blueiedgodblueiedgod Member Posts: 2,798
    I don't think FICO score plays the only major role. If you are making $60K and have a $200k mortgage they will look at it and say that you can not afford the payments. The amount of money you have in savings accounts helps too. I have enough to pay off the car, but the interest I earn is higher than interest Honda charges. So, I went with finaning, it is cheap money.
    You can check out honda specials on Hondacars.com, click on "special offers." Try putting $1000 down, to cover taxes and they will most likely approve you.
    I don't think Honda does tiers, their offers are simple, you are either qualified or not. If you are not, then dealer will find financing on the side, but not through AHFC.
  • anonymouspostsanonymousposts Member Posts: 3,802
    With a beacon of 700+ you should be able to get Honda's lowest rates as long as your debt-to-income is in line. The actual rate depends on the model you are looking at though.

    As for the whole leasing debate. You do not have the same rights when you lease as you do when you purchase. The main difference is the mileage and condition requirements. You can paint your purchased car pink and put 50,000 miles on it in the first year if you want. If you lease and paint your car pink and put 50,000 miles on it you will have to pay the leasing company a huge sum of money or buy the car at lease end for the residual.

    However, it has been my experience that a third party can pay off a leased vehicle as long as the lessee authorizes this to happen.

    The most important thing is to put $0 down when you lease. You are getting gap insurance so a large downpayment is unnecessary. It will lower your payments but you can always put the planned down payment into an account and let it draw interest until you need to use it.
  • cjones88cjones88 Member Posts: 23
    Thanks for the replies. My wife and I make $140k+ combined and have a mortgage payment of $2000 each month. That should put me in what I think are acceptable income to debt ratios. That leads me to believe the $0 down is hurting things. Probably I will put money down and see if that helps.
  • mfullmermfullmer Member Posts: 773
    It's going well on our own. If we did that then he would have to pay tax (buying used car from a dealer) and still would not be able to transfer it into his name until he got the title.

    We met Friday at his credit union. Signed a bill of sale with me agreeing to pay GMAC off within x number of days. They gave me a cashiers check for the sale amount. I sent a cashiers check today to GMAC and when I get the title from them (signing it over to me as the owner) then I will go and get it legally transferred into my name. I will then sign it over to the new owners and send it to them. Not to big of a deal really. That's just one of the things you deal with if you want to make a little money on a lease!
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    my point was that selling a vehicle with a lien on it is no different. you have to pay off the lienholder before you can transfer the title to your buyer.
  • mfullmermfullmer Member Posts: 773
    The only difference is the extra step of the title.

    Selling a vehicle you own with a lien:
    The lienholder signs off on the title and you sign off on the title so that it can be transferred into the sellers name.

    Selling a leased vehicle:
    The Lessor (owner) signs off on the title. The Lessee (me) transfers the title into my name. I sign off on the new title (as the owner) so that it can be transferred into the sellers name.

    The only ugly step is that I have to go the DMV to get the title transferred into my name from GMAC but I guess that's not so bad as I made over $1,500 on the deal.
  • jkwtradejkwtrade Member Posts: 18
    I financed a new 04 Honda Accord through Honda on July 17, 2004. My FICO was 660 Experian, 664 Equifax and 642 with TransUnion. Needless to say Honda uses TransUnion.

    Initially the F&I guy quoted 9.95%. I told him I had a quote to refi the 4 year old car that was being traded in for 8.1% from Household Bank. He said he could probably do 7.59%. I told him if I was being quoted 8.1% on a 4 year old car with 80,000 miles from Household, that surely they would lower the rate by at least 1.5% for a new car.

    I told him I would go home, apply online at LendingTree, have a check sent overnight and come back the day after next to pay for the car. He went to speak with the sales manager and asked me if I would accept 6.59%. I said yes, he told me they would need to call Honda for approval. He continued to complete the loan documents and told me the loan was approved.

    The sales manager never came over but he may have given him a thumbs up or sent an email. I don't know if they actually had to call for approval at that rate or if I was approved all along and they were simply looking for extra profit.

    I included $2,439 negative equity, from the trade-in, in the loan. The only money I put down was for the sales tax, title, licensing fees, and the $89 doc fee/service fee, totaling $800.

    I would certainly hope you would get a better rate than my 6.59% from Amer Honda Finance. I'm sure Honda will beat Cap One's rate. You may want to apply at LendingTree prior to going to the dealership.

    Don't worry about your score dropping due to multiple inquires. The algorithm used to calculate FICO discounts inquires within a time frame equalling less than a month provided they are not for revolving credit. Myfico.com explains this to a larger degree.

    Sorry for the length, good luck.
  • mzchemzche Member Posts: 6
    Hi All,
         I wrote a few days back about wanting a mini van, but having some credit card debt to pay off with the money we save from not having a car note. Well, on Friday my Sable went out and cost $400 to fix then hubby's 89 Buick Century went out and we found out that it will cost 400-450 to fix. I am done putting money in that car. The fuel injectors are bad and the guy says that the transmission is going. It would seem that we must have another vehicle.
         Here is my issue, my transunion score is 580 and his is 552. We both have bk, but in the past 7 years I have only had 2 late payments! I can't understand why my score is so low. Anyway, do we stand a chance of getting financed at a decent rate? I refuse to repeat the 5 year rape we just finished with the Sable at 21%. Any advice would be appreciated!
      Also, what does F/I mean?
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Hi mzche. "F & I" stands for a dealer's finance department. The "I" actually stands for insurance, but people rarely purchase any sort of insurance through dealers. I notice that you know your credit scores. Have you taken a close look at your actual credit report? If you believe that your scores are lower than they should be, there might be some sort of problem with your report. You should definitely check it out. As far as the actual rate that you qualify for goes, you may want to check out the Edmunds.com True Market Value® Finance Rate Estimator that appears on the following page: Edmunds.com Finance & Leasing Center. You should be bale to get a decent idea of what sort of rate to expect by using this calculator.

    Car_man
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  • mzchemzche Member Posts: 6
    I think part of the problem is that I have a lot of credit cards, but they have such small limits. I have 4 cap one accounts, but 3 of them are under $500. I am going to call and see if they can consolodate them into one card. Is it advisable to buy another late model car that will be paid for and work on raising my credit score. How easy is it to refinance a car later? I own my house, been at my job for 7 years and have paid off on vehicle. I deeply appreciate any advice!

    Hugs,
    Michelle

    PS. If I apply to cap one or lending tree do I have to have a vehicle picked out already? Do I still need a down payment?
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Were the BK's? these will stay on your report for many years and they will severly hold down your score.

    Also, the more credit cards you have, the lower your score will be.
  • djaxdjax Member Posts: 3
    My FICOs are 723/727/749. One credit card at 55% of available credit; never a ding on credit. But, my employment status has just changed; I was pre-approved (their solicitation of me) by my large dealer lender 2 months ago and now told that is still in effect. Last time I leased with same dealer/finance arm, I know they did not check employment. Do they routinely NOT check when scores are this high and customer is returning. Have been with this finance arm 13 years with flawless payment history. Home owner. Lease with the vehicle expires in 7 weeks, so have to do something even though not the most opportune time for me.
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    usually, each lending institution gives the dealer a "quick-credit" score. some are 680, some are 750, and most are somewhere in between. this target number is where the dealer doesnt submit it to the lender, they just "write it up" and its automatic.

    SHOULD they check employment? sure. but with that kind of credit history, they trust that you are prepared to make the payment somehow.
  • mzchemzche Member Posts: 6
    My BK was almost 7 years ago. I did apply with Cap One and was approved with a 14.9% interest rate. Realistically, is this the best I can hope for. Enterprise called today and wants us to come in, but they are not on Cap One's list. Should I see what they are offering? This is all so confusing! I can say this, once those BK's come off, I will never allow this to happen again. AND I VOW to teach my son the value of good credit!!

    ~Michelle
  • jkwtradejkwtrade Member Posts: 18
    1 year after my Chpt 7 was discharged my fico was 620. I purchased a used car that was two years old with 40,000 miles. I received financing via Arcadia Financial at 12.95%. However, I made a down payment of $4,000. This was almost exactly 2 years ago.

    A year after the purchase I was approved by Capital One to refinance at 10.95%. I don't recall what my FICO was at that time.

    I'm certainly not an expert, these are only my personal experiences. Hope you can use them to your advantage.
  • cjones88cjones88 Member Posts: 23
    Thanks again for reply. I just finalized my deal for '04 Pilot, financing through the dealership (although I don't think it is through American Honda, I think instead it is through a bank that the dealership uses). Rate of 4.9% for 60 months. That is more along the lines of what I expected and is acceptable. I'm still shocked at Capital One's rate. I guess they just lost decent business on a $30k+ loan.
  • cwpostcwpost Member Posts: 11
    Does anybody know whether Capital one pays any attention to how long you have been on a job. I am changing jobs in September, fo more money and was going to apply for a car loan in October. Will they charge me a higher interest rate because I will only have been employed with this organization for one month? Does anybody know whether they will finance 110% of MSRP?
  • danf1danf1 Member Posts: 897
    They require one year at current employer or three years history of previous employers. Same requirements for address. As long as you can prove the income as stated on your application, and can remember where you worked for the last three years, you should be ok. Of course thats assuming your credit is acceptable.
  • atmatm Member Posts: 1
    Hello. My wife just purchased an Audi and used the AUDI USA finance arm. Her finance agreement has a very low monthly payment for 4 years with a large balloon note at the end of term. Additionally, she is limited to 12,000 miles per year, else she will pay .25/mile in excess. I've never heard of this type of financing for new cars and am trying to analyze it. I'm sure someone else out there has experience with this type of financing and would be grateful to hear about your experience or your insight. Very curious and appreciative of your response(s).

    [Ford has a similar plan called the Customer Option Plan.]

    Regards,

    ATM
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    its a long-term lease. the ford thing is what the dealer calls it.

    ford actually named their program the RED CARPET LEASE.
  • steine13steine13 Member Posts: 2,825
    If it's a lease, buy your wife dinner... low monthly payment, and walk away at the end. Audis don't hold their value all that well, and they are a bear to fix.... wonderful cars, though, when they run.

    If it's a balloon, your wife should probably get a wedgie... but I doubt it is, because a balloon loan does not put any mileage restrictions on the owner. Mostly since they *own* it and do not have the option to walk away from it at the end of the payments.

    Methinks you need to look through the paperwork...

    -Mathias
  • justjoe2justjoe2 Member Posts: 1
    my girlfriend and i are looking to secure an auto loan(about 17k) however, my fico is <730 and hers is >600(with some charge offs and late pays a few years ago).
    we would like to have our combined incomes considered by the lender but will her score hurt our chances for a decent rate?
    are we better off with just having my name on a loan application?

    thanks
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Hi ATM. If your wife did not sign up for a lease of this car, and you seem to have indicated in your post that this is not one, then she signed up for what is known in the industry as a balloon note. There is absolutely nothing wrong with balloon notes. In fact, they are very similar to leases in that they provide consumers with low monthly payments with an option to purchase their vehicle at the end of a predetermined period of time. Leases and balloon notes even have the same mileage restrictions. The main difference between these two types of loans is that with leases the bank's name is on the title of your vehicle, while with balloon notes your name is. As a result, tax is calculated differently on balloon notes than on leases in some states. The bottom line is if your wife negotiated an attractive selling price on this car then you are probably getting a good deal, assuming that the dealer did not significantly mark up the interest rate on your balloon note.

    Car_man
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  • mfullmermfullmer Member Posts: 773
    Not true. Balloon Notes do have mileage restrictions on them. Balloon Notes are essentially leases with the only difference being that the buyer is the owner of the car instead of the leasing company. I looked into these a while back and they even have the same penalties for early termination that leases have.
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    if you guys dont share a last name yet, then dont share a car note. i got burned that way.

    if you split, she can get the car. if she gets the car, what happens if she is late on a payment or two??? bye-bye 730...hello 545.

    put it in your name. if you split, then you can sell her the car and she can get her own loan.

    i know this is depressing to think about, but its real life.
  • anonymouspostsanonymousposts Member Posts: 3,802
    I actually agree with bowke. My husband works for a pretty large auto finance company and you would be surprised how many people get burned this way. We were together for 8 years, married, and about to have a baby before both of our names went on a car loan.
  • bowke28bowke28 Member Posts: 2,185
    you say that like its a rare occurrence...

    ;-)
  • which_brandwhich_brand Member Posts: 2
    My lease ends 2/05. I've been unemployed since June & still not working. Mid 500 credit when I checked mid-July. I'm 32, paying off our home w/SO, have a 3 year old son (don't know if that will factor), and do not have a great work history the past 3 years.

    How do dealerships, banks, etc. look at people needing an automobile who are not currently working? My father said he would co-sign if I need his help (after all, this is his grandson I drive around) but I don't know if that would help me. He thinks my owning a home will help, but I would not know.

    I looked through old discussions on this board and read a few on cosigners, bad credit, etc. so I understand more than I did an hour ago. But, I guess I'm curious how realistic I need to be, in terms of getting a 2003+ model SUV or minivan w/a decent monthly payment. My current pmts are @ $350. 5/3 has been GREAT about working w/me the past few years (behind on pmts but no repo).

    I am also aware that I may have to "bite the bullet" and buy an older car, pay it off, then get better car later. I hope to not have to go this route, but we do what we have to, right?

    Thank you for any and all advice. I'm open-minded and appreciate hearing different opinions, even if it's not "what I want to hear"!
  • bobotheclownbobotheclown Member Posts: 53
    If your dad has terrific credit, you can have him co-sign with you. Just make sure he is the primary on the loan.

    A variety of factors affects which rate you will get. Your credit score, how many open lines of credit you have, what your revolving credit is like, your debt-to-equity ratio, work history, and length of employment at current job, will affect your loan rate.

    You might want to check with you local credit unions to check what kind of rates they are offering people in your tier. They offer better rates then most banks. Just make sure you qualify for their field of membership.

    Since you own your house, you may also consider getting a HELOC if you really, really need the money to buy a car fast.

    Hope that helps.
  • pjonkheerpjonkheer Member Posts: 22
    Could someone please explain the pros and cons of balloon financing? I was at a dealer yesterday and they were trying to get to take this type of loan in order to get a more expensive car I cannot afford. Any and all information is greatly appreciated.

    Thanks,

    PJ
  • steine13steine13 Member Posts: 2,825
    "[..] in order to get a more expensive car I cannot afford."

    Sounds like you got a pretty good handle on the concept :-)

    Seriously, it's a loan whereby the monthly payments are kept low, but at the end of the agreed-upon time period, you have to come up with a lump sum to keep the car.

    Sometimes (or maybe always, I dunno), there is a clause that you can just turn in the car and walk away owing and owning nothing.

    It's a gimmick; if you need to do it, it's too much car. If you're really strapped, take a 6-year loan if you have to and buy a Toyota or Honda with an extended warranty. That's not good, but better than these shenanigans.

    -Mathias
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