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.

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?