Interest rates and annual percentage rates on loan contracts can be confusing. Even more so, when under the pressure of negotiating the purchase of a car. Here are a few tips that will help you to save money with a lower interest rate on your next auto loan.
1) Ask. It’s simple, yet many never do. By simply asking for a lower interest rate, you can cause the finance manager or loan officer to see if there is a lower rate available to entice you to into accepting their loan offer. That’s something to remember… it is an “offer” and if you don’t accept, the loan officer doesn’t make a commission on your contract! Keep that in mind.
2) Compare. The biggest benefit and advantage of comparing offers from multiple loan companies and lenders is that it puts pressure on each to bring the best offer they can to the table. Sometimes by simply telling the dealer finance department that you’re interested in comparing offers from multiple sources, you can have a powerful advantage when negotiating. This is especially true when buying a car with bad credit. Dealers are in the business of selling cars and if you go elsewhere for your financing, you’re probably going elsewhere to buy your vehicle. If at a dealership, once you get into the finance office, simply tell the dealer that you would like to compare what they can offer you with what other dealers can do. This can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.
3) Be patient. Salesman by nature have a type “A” personality. This means that they are impatient and want you to “do business now”. Use this to your advantage by being willing to wait! Tell the dealer to give you a call if they find a way that you can save more money.
By simply asking, comparing and being patient, you can save quite a bit of money on your next auto loan by getting a lower auto loan interest rate. Especially so when buying a car with bad credit.
Thank you for reading!
Jenny Alamari