How to buy a car?

Question

I’m a little confused as how to buy one. If I have the down payment already, would I need to finance through the dealership? Or would I take a loan out from the bank? Would I only take a loan out for how much is leftover AFTER the down payment ? I’m looking at some cars that are around $12-13k. Any advice is welcome. Also how much do y’all think the apr is going to be if my credit score is 651 and it’s going to be my first car? Do y’all think I should wait until my score is higher?
Edit: I know the ones who already commented won’t see this edit but one more question. My TransUnion score is 651 but how do I build the other two or check it?  Right now I’m with capitol one for my credit card but I use Whitney for my checking account

Answer

Definitely go through your bank, with that credit score the dealership is gonna screw you with a high interest rate. And do try waiting to raise your score to 700+ if you can.  What you would do is apply for a loan then the bank will give you some sort of certificate of approval which could be in print or electronic,  then you take that with you when you purchase your car. The dealer's finance people will use that to complete your paperwork. Also dont forget about cost of temporary plates, pay for those in cash dont add it to the final loan total.

Answer

I used to be a car saleswoman.. I suggest getting a loan through the bank and purchasing that way.. normally if you finance through a buy here pay here or any other finance places it doesn’t really help your credit.. going through a bank does

Answer

Okay so first, you can choose where to get your loan. If you have a bank that you go through that offers auto loans then you could do that. I go through Chase Bank so that’s where I got mine. The only difference is if you go through the dealership they ask multiple different banks to loan you the money. And they don’t really know you or your finances like your personal bank would so they are a little more strict. Hit or miss really. And yes with your down payment you would still ask for the loan in the full amount of the car, once you’re at the dealership and in the finance department they will then subtract the down payment from the lease amount, because they need proof you have it. There is really no telling what your interest rate would be. Depends on how old you are, what all 3 of your credit scores look like. You have 3 not just one. And how big your down payment is. If I were to guess probably somewhere around 9-11%. Don’t let them give you an interest rate over 11% . They will just be trying to screw you over, tell them either get that down or I’m going somewhere else. They will try to suck you in and get you to buy all these packages and cleaning services and all crap they’re just trying to make money off of you. Read EVERYTHING you sign. It’s fun getting a new car but you can get screwed over by a dealership without even noticing. Good luck!

Answer

You can do either to get financing. You go to the dealer, do all the paperwork and you can have them apply to banks for you, or you can have them get you the paperwork so you can go to banks yourself and apply.

How to buy a car?

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