Learn me: sub $10k car loans

I’ll throw in another vote for penfed, and thank those here who recommended them!

Ah yes, forgot to throw in a vote for Penfed myself.

NGTD said:

She owns her house? Line of Credit then. That's what I did and paid 1/2% over prime. Way cheaper than a car loan and no lien or anything like that.

I’m sorry but using your home equity to finance a car is foolish.  While you might get a cheap rate you put your home at risk.  

Life is not predictable stuff happens. Including loss of job and loss of spouse.  Losing a car because you can’t keep up the payments is a setback. Having a home foreclosed is much much worse.  

old_ said:

Look into lightstream as well

Lightstream tends to want 700+ credit scores for best rates. (I used to work for SunTrust, right around the time they launched it.)  That said, they will finance darn near anything so might be worth looking into.

nutherjrfan said:

I used to work for a credit union that took maybe a half or full % off the loan if you put 50% principle down.  I'm not much into loans either as I weirdly like roadworthy but could do with minor fixes cars and am always aware that I could lose my job with every table I wait on. 

I have a $3700 loan for teh R through a credit union.  The interest rate was something like 1% for a Car Loan (they have the title) or 3% for a general purpose loan, over 36 months.  The difference in monthly payments was less than ten bucks, so I have the title.  I think my monthly payment is supposed to be around $130 but I just throw $150-200 every month at them since they have no early pay penalties.  

If I lost my job, i could sell it for way more than $3700.  So no risk to me or them.

Travisty said:

Up in Canada, there is an app called carbeeza that can trawl all the major financial institutions for financing offers so you could compare and contrast. It can do the same for dealerships and their vehicles as well. Could be better than going to banks or Credit Unions or dealerships individually. Take a look if you want, it will be awhile before they come south to the US though.   Carbeeza.

Outside of Carbeeza, down stateside, its been awhile since I've had to buy a vehicle, but for my car, I searched for one in my cash-only price range, to avoid financing entirely. For the truck, I was young at the time, so my father paid for that, and I paid monthly to him, it worked but that is definitely not available for everyone, nor does it really build your credit which as a young person, I had no care about, but now I might have done it differently. For boots on the ground, I'd likely avoid dealerships, they're already getting money for my vehicle and I suspect the rates aren't that favorable most times.  For banks, I'd go with a CU first, on paper at least CUs are to work for the benefit of their union members rather than profit margins for brokerages.

I noticed you joined today to post that sage advice but on a 4 year old thread. Hopefully they paid off the sub $10k car loan in the time since 2018. Are you aware if Carbeeza finances canoes?

Definitely shop around the credit unions to make sure you get the best rate.

I belong to 2 credit unions, and one is much more relaxed on their credit score requirements and as long as you are approved you get the published rate. The other one has better rates if you have good/excellent credit, but the rates go up quickly for lower credit scores. 
 

On edit: I really need to look at the dates to avoid commenting on zombie threads. 

You need to have a good or excellent credit rating and a decent income to get a car loan under $10,000. You should definitely apply for a car loan before visiting a dealership as the interest rates you get on a car loan can be much better than those on a car loan. You could also try the "spam link moved" option where you fill out the loan application online and then get a credit approval. If you have a poor credit rating, then you need to pay down your credit card debt, miss payments, and default loans, etc. to improve your rating. You can also apply for a "secured auto loan" and use the equity in your home as your collateral for that loan.

szeis4cookie said:

old_ said:

Look into lightstream as well

Lightstream tends to want 700+ credit scores for best rates. (I used to work for SunTrust, right around the time they launched it.)  That said, they will finance darn near anything so might be worth looking into.

Yeah--they are great if you have good credit.  They don't put a lien on the title either--you simply have the funds wired over and start making payments in 30 days.  Available rates and terms are as good as a credit union--and probably better if the car is older.  I used them for a 22 year old MR2 Spyder and got what amounted to new car rate/term.

it makes me smile when i see the phrase "spam link removed" in place of a spam link in a canoe post.  thanks, admins!