We just paid off one, our Saturn with 142k. We have another car, a 1990 Honda Civic which is literally a beater, very basic, no power steering, no a/c, just a stick and wheel. The thing is a rust bucket and is slowly dieing and summer is coming. I live in the South.

Where is the best place to get an auto loan? My bank, BOA, has the worst rates and we would be using my wife's credit history to secure this loan since she has a score over 700. We are only looking to spend 10-12k on the vehicle and we would like to put 2-3k down, so the amount to finance would be 7-10k. Anyone have any suggestions?

See if you can join a credit union and get a loan through them. They typically have very good rates.

Do not use Crapital One Auto.

Credit union is always a good way to go. Also check online. Bankrate.com is a good place to start.

See if you can join a credit union and get a loan through them. They typically have very good rates.

Do not use Crapital One Auto.

Any reason why? They are the first ones listed on bankrate.com

PM me and I'll email you a credit union application to my credit union. They are outstanding! Oh, and I don't get anything for referrals - just trying to help.

Dave Ramsey would tell you to save your money until you can pay cash for your car.

alm99 - What's your city/state/zip?

Make sure to check out www.autotrader.com and www.cars.com for used car listings

Also, before you purchase this car, talk with family/friends and find a good mechanic. My mechanic is trustworthy, he's tried to fix an issue in the past and if he couldn't, he didn't charge for the work that was done and reccomended where to get it done. He didn't change some other random part with a long explanation to get us to believe it. We know of at least 2 other situations where family friends of our's did not have to pay at all because the issue wasn't fixed.

Most mechanics would have claimed some other issue and charged you anyway.

Sorry about getting off topic, but this is the other half of a new car besides the loan.

Also, before you purchase, plan out how long you want to keep it at minimum. Also be prepared to keep it longer incase your financial situation later down the road isn't so good. You don't want to get a car that will have issues after 4-5 years only to find yourself having economic issues at the same time.

I didn't reccomend a specific car yet, but once you decide how long you want to keep it and what type of car you want (suv, sedan, etc.) I can give you my input.

Also, be prepared to pay $3-$4 for gas in the next few years, other countries are already doing this, it's only a matter of time. In my history class we literally spent all 90 minutes discussing this issue, I think it's going to happen for sure.

Again, sorry about being off topic, but these are some issues you should keep in mind :)

alm99 - What's your city/state/zip?

Alpharetta, GA 30004

AgaBoogaBoo,
What my wife wants is a Jeep Cherokee. I have tried to sway her towards a Honda CR-V, but she is just not having it. The Jeep has the Inline 6 motor which is supposed to be very dependable. Gas mileage isn't great 16/21, but what SUV does have good mileage? We plan on keeping the car until it dies, I don't buy cars to trade in, I buy and drive until the wheels fall off. We will also be moving back to Central NY within the next year, so that means snow and four wheel or all wheel drive is a bonus.

alm99, I would consider a Subaru in that case. They have the Japanese quality and refinement along with the AWD you want. If you plan on keeping a car for life it's been proven over and over that a Japanese car like Honda/Toyota/Subaru will last you much longer. I can say American cars are getting better, but it's much more common to see a Honda/Toyota with 150k+ miles than it is to see an American car like that.

I'd strongly consider a Subaru, their station wagons are pretty nice and have nice engines too.

As I reccomened a Subaru, don't get me wrong. We have a swedish car that I drive many times, but even though it's the 96 model year, we've put much more into upkeep/maintenence on that than we have in our 91 Accord with 170k miles. Both cars were bought new and probably won't ever be sold.

Also, with gas prices rising, SUV values will be falling quite a bit as soon as prices slowly crawl towards $2.50/gallon so in terms of resale value, a Subaru might be a better choice. One more thing, in many reports it's seen that station wagons have more useable space than SUV's.

My opinion may be biased a little and probably is, but just for the record of our past 4 cars, two have been swedish/german and other two have been japanese. After having those, I would go with a Honda/Toyota/Subaru myself :)

Suburu's are very nice cars. I'm still trying to convince the dealership to just let me text drive one of those WRX STI's. It's not going over to well.

I'd recommend looking into something like a 1998-2002 Grand Prix. With the new model out, the older styles have dropped in price big time. They're great cars. In fact, a friend and I once tested out the handling, engine performance and crash/rollover tests in one corner. I came out alive.

Also, be prepared to pay $3-$4 for gas in the next few years, other countries are already doing this, it's only a matter of time. In my history class we literally spent all 90 minutes discussing this issue, I think it's going to happen for sure.
If I'm firing on all cylinders I believe they pay $5 per Litre. One litre is something like 3.3 Gallons, so doing the quick math in my head, we're almost paying about the same right now. With China & India becoming more domesticated and their fuel consumption rises though, prices will go up. Right now due to the lack of refineries, there is really a cap on how much gasoline can be produced, unfortunately we've already reached that limit.

Back to the topic though. As many others have suggest, Credit Unions are probably your best bet. They not only usually have lower rates, but they're 1.) More likely to work with you, if you do run into problems. 2.) If you've previously had problems, they're still more likely to work with you.

SWTerry, do you plan on getting an STi? I think it's an awesome car :D

If I'm firing on all cylinders I believe they pay $5 per Litre. One litre is something like 3.3 Gallons, so doing the quick math in my head, we're almost paying about the same right now.

Time to get a tuneup. ;)

There are 3.7854 liters per gallon. A liter of gas (petrol) in Britian is running around 85 pence (last I heard)... At an exchange rate of 1 british pound ~ $1.92, that works out to ~$6.19/gallon... We've got a *long* way to go to catch up to that...

SWTerry, do you plan on getting an STi? I think it's an awesome car :D
I dream of that car. They want 40k for the one up at the dealership, but it is so nice.

Time to get a tuneup. ;)

There are 3.7854 liters per gallon. A liter of gas (petrol) in Britian is running around 85 pence (last I heard)... At an exchange rate of 1 british pound ~ $1.92, that works out to ~$6.19/gallon... We've got a *long* way to go to catch up to that...
Ohhh yeah I forgot about the exchange rate. Otherwise I would've been good though. I'll cry if I ever pay $6 a gallon.

Ohhh yeah I forgot about the exchange rate. Otherwise I would've been good though. I'll cry if I ever pay $6 a gallon.
I think we will be in about 10 years unless car makers either really push hybrid setups or come up with something that sells and performs well.

Maybe I should get lots of land in Mexico or Texas at a low price and store away tons of gasoline? I could setup my very own track right next to it and then I'd be the only person racing on it 20 years from now since no one else would have the gas to do it :D

<--- Dreamer

Alpharetta, GA 30004

AgaBoogaBoo,
What my wife wants is a Jeep Cherokee. I have tried to sway her towards a Honda CR-V, but she is just not having it. The Jeep has the Inline 6 motor which is supposed to be very dependable. Gas mileage isn't great 16/21, but what SUV does have good mileage? We plan on keeping the car until it dies, I don't buy cars to trade in, I buy and drive until the wheels fall off. We will also be moving back to Central NY within the next year, so that means snow and four wheel or all wheel drive is a bonus.

how old of one are you getting? i have the consumer reports magazine that rated all the cars and the jeep cherokee has frightening reliability issues. the newer model isn't as bad. that might be good ammunition in persuading her to get a honda - the reliability is great. same with toyotas. but go figure, right? hehe.

how old of one are you getting? i have the consumer reports magazine that rated all the cars and the jeep cherokee has frightening reliability issues. the newer model isn't as bad. that might be good ammunition in persuading her to get a honda - the reliability is great. same with toyotas. but go figure, right? hehe.
Exactly, my 91 Honda Accord has ~170k miles and is still on the origional clutch!

I haven't done anything special either, I just get the oil changed every 3-4k miles since that's what the manual reccomends.

Im 18 and trying to finance a used car I need for work, but i probably dont have enough credit.I have a good paying Job and still in high school need a good reliable car I can finance,can anyone help?

You need to get someone, probably a parent or relative, to cosign with you. It will help you establish good credit, assuming you pay it off without any trouble.

PM me and I'll email you a credit union application to my credit union. They are outstanding! Oh, and I don't get anything for referrals - just trying to help.

Dave Ramsey would tell you to save your money until you can pay cash for your car.

I agree, cash only. Unless it's a business lease.

i'm in search of a used car loan as well now. looking to buy a 17.5k car, 2005 car. all in all i have 6k on a down. so roughly 13-14k car after tax, title and all that stuff.

so far the best rate i can get is 6.5% @<hidden> 60 month thats thru bankrate.co listing a company. How does that fair in the general market? credit score of 730+,

6.5% is OK. do you have a decent credit history? or at least a semi established one? rates can be higher if you don't have a very long credit history.

have you tried local credit unions? they usually have the best rates.

i'm in search of a used car loan as well now. looking to buy a 17.5k car, 2005 car. all in all i have 6k on a down. so roughly 13-14k car after tax, title and all that stuff.

so far the best rate i can get is 6.5% @<hidden> 60 month thats thru bankrate.co listing a company. How does that fair in the general market? credit score of 730+,

my CU has 60 month at 5.99 now... for comparison sake.

Im 18 and trying to finance a used car I need for work, but i probably dont have enough credit.I have a good paying Job and still in high school need a good reliable car I can finance,can anyone help?

at 18, with no credit, this is hard. AS PP stated a co-signer will help. Be careful owever, as you will have this persons credit rating in your hands...

Is your good paying job going to be around this summer? Are you going to college? will you still have the income and be able to make the payments?

I paid cash for my first car. Avoided the credit issue all together.

How much can you afford? Don't forget to include the following costs: Tax, Title & Registration, Insurance, gas, maintenance (oil changes, wipers, tires and the bigger stuff, too). Make sure you do not stretch yourself on car payments and find you have no funds for the other.

Do not use Crapital One Auto.

I had mediocre credit when I went through them - they gave me 7.5% interest (lower than anywhere else I could find). There were no fees, the process was amazingly simple, and I have had zero issues with them.

Go with the best rate you can find - but Capitol One is a good choice if the interest is competitive.

We went to lendingtree.com We had 4 offers in 24 hours. We went with the best one, got a blank check in 48 hours! We searched used cars online, found a few we were interested in, emailed them to give us their best out the door price, then went and picked up our car. The best part wasm the dealer didn't know we had a blank check, so they were pretty peeved because they didn't make much $ off our deal!
By the way, you can use lendingtree with bad credit too, my sis got a car loan @<hidden> 17% and her credit score was in the 500's. I know 17% is high but other places wanted to charge her as much as 33%!!

We went to lendingtree.com We had 4 offers in 24 hours. We went with the best one, got a blank check in 48 hours! We searched used cars online, found a few we were interested in, emailed them to give us their best out the door price, then went and picked up our car. The best part wasm the dealer didn't know we had a blank check, so they were pretty peeved because they didn't make much $ off our deal!
By the way, you can use lendingtree with bad credit too, my sis got a car loan @<hidden> 17% and her credit score was in the 500's. I know 17% is high but other places wanted to charge her as much as 33%!!

I would never give lendingtree my info again. I gave some info to them about 2 years ago when were thinking about refinancing our home and I swear I got calls every 5 minutes from someone new offering me a mortgage. It was a nightmare! As soon as I hung up with one the phone would ring again. Never again :mad:. They were like vultures and it lasted for at least 2 months with the constant calling. It did slow down but was still getting calls for a long time.

I would never give lendingtree my info again. I gave some info to them about 2 years ago when were thinking about refinancing our home and I swear I got calls every 5 minutes from someone new offering me a mortgage. It was a nightmare! As soon as I hung up with one the phone would ring again. Never again :mad:. They were like vultures and it lasted for at least 2 months with the constant calling. It did slow down but was still getting calls for a long time.

Really? That's awful! I think now they have a contact by email only option. That's how we were contacted. Although I did have a lot of emails, but after I replied to them that we already purchased, they've stopped.

We went through lending tree for a car loan. We have excellent credit and the dealer was trying to get us to go for a 9.5 rate on a 2004 Durango last year. We went through LT and I think it was less that 7. We haven't had any issues with Spam or calls.

alm99, I would consider a Subaru in that case. They have the Japanese quality and refinement along with the AWD you want. If you plan on keeping a car for life it's been proven over and over that a Japanese car like Honda/Toyota/Subaru will last you much longer. I can say American cars are getting better, but it's much more common to see a Honda/Toyota with 150k+ miles than it is to see an American car like that.

I'd strongly consider a Subaru, their station wagons are pretty nice and have nice engines too.

As I reccomened a Subaru, don't get me wrong. We have a swedish car that I drive many times, but even though it's the 96 model year, we've put much more into upkeep/maintenence on that than we have in our 91 Accord with 170k miles. Both cars were bought new and probably won't ever be sold.

Also, with gas prices rising, SUV values will be falling quite a bit as soon as prices slowly crawl towards $2.50/gallon so in terms of resale value, a Subaru might be a better choice. One more thing, in many reports it's seen that station wagons have more useable space than SUV's.

My opinion may be biased a little and probably is, but just for the record of our past 4 cars, two have been swedish/german and other two have been japanese. After having those, I would go with a Honda/Toyota/Subaru myself :)

I work in the quality department for the automotive industry and I very much disagree with your statement based upon the factual data. In the last 5 years there is little difference between the quality of foreign automakers and american automakers. This I can back up with facts. But Chrysler is the dog of all of the automakers when it comes to quality.