https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 27 Apr 2026 05:44:16 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263621 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 12:08:52 +0000 HLK208 2263621@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We were pre-approved through our credit union which has super low interest rates so we just used that while negotiating with the dealer. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263618 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 11:59:00 +0000 GoGoSnoGirl 2263618@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@runnerd: I bank with a credit union &amp; they actually have a department that can help purchase a vehicle. They provide a letter to the dealership to guarantee financing (&amp; I believe the amount you qualify for/are comfortable spending). Then they can help negotiate on your behalf. They also had better rates than the dealership. I haven't bought a car in 8yrs, though, so not sure how this compares these days. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263615 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 11:57:53 +0000 lawbee11 2263615@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We're planning to buy a car in the next month or two. We'll go to our credit union first for pre-approval. If the dealer can beat the credit union we'll go with them. I'd definitely shop around for rates beforehand and not just go with what the dealer offers. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263610 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 11:48:50 +0000 dc yoga bee 2263610@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Down payment, pre-approval from credit union for 2.25% which is the best rate they offer, then dealer offered 1.9%. This was for a 2015 car we bought in March. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263579 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 11:13:52 +0000 Rainbow Sprinkles 2263579@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Down payment + finance the rest through our credit union. Our interest rates are around 1.9%. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263571 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 11:09:53 +0000 youboots 2263571@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We went thru our credit union. Just call in and get pre qualified. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263490 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 10:04:11 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2263490@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@runnerd: Yes, when negotiating with a dealer just tell them you have financing covered and you want to only negotiate the out the door price. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263487 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 10:01:48 +0000 2PeasinaPod 2263487@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@runnerd: I hate the "what do you want your car payment to be" line too. I tell them I'm far more interested in the price of the car than what my car payment will be. It doesn't hurt to check out the options at your bank prior to going, but we got a 1.9% interest rate from the dealership. We could either choose 0% financing or an extra $1,000 off the price of the car. We did the math of what would cost us more, and the 1.9% financing was actually cheaper over the course of our loan. Make sure you also have an idea of how much you want to put down on the car as well as how much your insurance will increase due to you upgrading your car. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263480 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 09:57:11 +0000 cookiemomster 2263480@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We qualified for 0% interest through the dealership. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263477 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 09:54:42 +0000 runnerd 2263477@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Alivoo01: oh I hate the "what payment are you looking for" line so much!!! There are infinite ways to get the monthly payment you want, but that doesn't mean I want the lump sum! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263459 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 09:37:49 +0000 snowjewelz 2263459@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We went through dealership since the rate was better. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263331 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 07:54:03 +0000 Alivoo01 2263331@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd definitely shop around for interest rates before going to the dealership to buy the car. They'll try to finance it through them also, but just be mindful of their rates and what all is included in your bottom line (like GAP insurance, road side assistance, etc.).</p> <p>I wouldn't go by "this the payment we'd like to stick to" because we did that and got screwed over. I was able to obtain a really low interest rate due to my credit score which would have made my payments really low, but since I said I was comfortable with payments of X dollars, they tagged in a bunch of unnecessary stuff to inflate their bottom line, but still met my payment requirement. Never again! I was young when that happened, but dirty! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263297 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 07:21:11 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2263297@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We went to our credit union and they gave us a pre qual/pre approval first. They said once we negotiated the deal with the dealership, they would be in contact to send the money over. </p> <p>Once we finalized the dealership, they asked if they could run our credit again to see if they could get us a better deal and they could so we financed through their CU. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263237 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 06:07:56 +0000 looch 2263237@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We financed through Toyota Motor Credit, we got a 0% loan, so it didn't make sense to finance it anywhere else. We purchased our car in December, buying that year's model. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263234 Fri, 14 Aug 2015 06:03:55 +0000 hellobeeboston 2263234@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@runnerd: I would shop rates first, makes a huge difference. We have found that local banks offer best deals in our area, at least this last time we shopped rates. (And you get a better rate on new vs used). We found the good deals at the auto dealerships to run out after a certain time and then it was high. </p> <p>Also - definitely haggle on price! Shop the same car at 2-3 locations of you can. And never buy same day! My husband is the master at this, it takes forever but we have gotten great deals on new cars! There also may be Labor Day Sales coming up.... And we recently bought a 2015 model just before the 2016 was released and got additional good deals as they wanted to clear the older models off the lot. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263159 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 22:53:44 +0000 78h2o 2263159@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My husband recently was pre-approved by his credit union at 2.25% for a used car. A dealership we visited the other day said they could do 1.99. His credit score is 850. Were any of you who got lower rates buying a used car? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263158 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 22:48:20 +0000 FannyMae 2263158@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I tacked it onto my home loan, I was already paying it ahead so I figured whats the point in pulling out another seperate loan when I can just refinance my existing loan. that being said, I still haven't purchased my car, I just have the money sitting in an offset account waiting to be used. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263157 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 22:41:57 +0000 jetsa 2263157@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We also got 0.9% through our dealership </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263155 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 22:35:58 +0000 Mrs.Pinecone316 2263155@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My car is new and usually dealerships have great financing on new cars if you have good credit so that is what we did for mine. My husbands is a used car and the rate was really high with the dealership but my credit union bank had a 1.9% for used cars so we financed through them. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2263040 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 20:22:12 +0000 Mamasig 2263040@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've always used the dealership. Traditional banks don't always have the best rates. I've gotten better rates through credit unions or the manufacturer's finance company. When you go into a bank and apply for a car loan it will go through their consumer department. While if you go to a dealership, they send the request to several banks/credit unions, etc they have agreements with. Financing with a bank that way is through their dealer services area which will often have better rates than their consumer area. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2262895 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 17:52:33 +0000 yoursilverlining 2262895@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would see what your bank offers and tell the dealership to beat it if they want your business. My credit union approved me for 2%, i told the dealer, he said he would beat it and got me 0.9% financing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2262888 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 17:31:34 +0000 sunny 2262888@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I got a pre-approval amount and rate from my credit union. The dealer was able to work out the exact amount and push it through their system. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2262873 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 16:54:03 +0000 MaryM 2262873@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I did a 0% deal at the dealership because I didn't need the latest model (it was new, just the previous year). </p> <p>DH has financed through his (now our) credit union on a used car. </p> <p>I think the best deal depends on what you're looking for. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2262869 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 16:46:58 +0000 runnerd 2262869@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@NorCalWayfarer: well my car is just old as dirt now, so it's time for an upgrade. But I sent my husband a link to an article with Cars with the biggest backseat room, and he told me that was a very mom thing for me to be searching online :-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2262867 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 16:45:14 +0000 runnerd 2262867@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs.KMM: forgot sometimes the dealerships run 0% deals</p> <p>@Eko: good points!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2262866 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 16:44:55 +0000 mauxie 2262866@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We got pre-approval from our credit union first. It was I think 1.7%?</p> <p>Then we went to the dealer and they tried to get us to through their financing so they beat our pre-approval rate (not by much), but it was all easy-peasy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2262865 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 16:44:37 +0000 NorCalWayfarer 2262865@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't remember doing any research when we bought a car 5 years ago (maybe my husband did at the time but I'm not sure), but we got a 0.9% loan from the car dealership. I honestly wouldn't go with anything much over 1% because I feel like they shouldn't charge that much if you have good credit.</p> <p>Also, we looked into leasing but we drive WAY more than the standard 12,000 miles a year so it was not an option for us.</p> <p>@runnerd: Are you getting a "mom" car?! :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2262861 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 16:38:10 +0000 Eko 2262861@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would get a pre-approval from your bank first. They are more likely to offer you the best interest rate up front. Car dealerships make the most amount of money through their finance department by upselling add on items (extended warranties, etc.) and jacking up the interest rate.</p> <p>When I bought my car, I brought my pre-approval with me car shopping, they tried selling me a loan with an interest rate that was double my pre-approval rate, and they ended up finding a loan that matched the pre-approval rate. Because of that we did finance through the dealership to avoid the hassle of going back to the bank to get a check, etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2262857 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 16:35:24 +0000 Mrs.KMM 2262857@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We financed through the auto dealership both times. Our first interest rate was 3.??% and our current is 1.74% (we qualified for 0% interest on a 2015, but decided to buy a 2016 and they were not offering 0% interest there).</p> <p>ETA: the 1.74% on our current vehicle is actually from an outside bank. But we didn't get the rate beforehand. It was all done at the dealership. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-did-your-finance-your-vehicle-purchase#post-2262849 Thu, 13 Aug 2015 16:16:10 +0000 runnerd 2262849@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm clueless. We have only had an auto loan once, and it was very small amount that we paid off in 6 months so we went ahead got the check from the bank to pay before going to dealership. We are considering a new car purchase and will likely involve more price haggling and uncertainty about final price.</p> <p>I'm clueless about financing. Should we get pre-approved by bank for max we would like to spend? (does it even work like that for cars?) How would that work logistically? Is it easier to do financing through auto dealership, or will that mean an awful interest rate? </p>