The time between deciding you want a new car and actually being handed the keys may be only a matter of days. If you need finance that is really not a problem. The only delay should be the time you take to pick up the car that you want and the days that the dealer needs to get it ready for you.
The High Street
You may have been a loyal account holder at a High Street bank for all your working life but that bank may have become as impersonal as the rest in today’s economic climate. If you had any problems at all during the recent financial crisis and your credit rating has been affected such banks are reluctant to advance significant money. Your loyalty can count for little because you are just a number and there is no longer any friendly branch manager who used to be able to make his own decisions.
There are other alternatives these days that are both competitive and willing to listen. They are quality companies regulated in the same way as everyone else. Their development has been a direct result of the growth of the World Wide Web and the reluctance of retail banks to lend money as before.
The Internet
There’s no such thing as 100% guaranteed car finance but there are Internet companies that come fairly close. There will always be an adviser there to help whether it’s asking for clarification of some details or advising on the figure that would be the most likely to be approved.
You can find such lenders by doing an online search that will give you a list of company websites offering car loans. You can look through them at your leisure and contact any that seem to be offering what you want. There will be a number of things you will want to see before making your decision.
Certainly you want a competitive interest rate and a simple application procedure. Loan requirements should be fairly standard. They will want to know who you are and your financial circumstances, both in terms of employment and salary and your current commitments. Those are the things that will allow them to make a decision. If what you provide is a complete picture you should get a very quick answer.
Cash buyer with preapproval
Once approved, you can choose where to go to buy your car. If you want to buy privately you are likely to need to talk to your lender because the procedure is that the money goes directly to the seller after the paperwork is completed. If you have preapproval you will effectively be a cash buyer and that means you may be able to negotiate a significant discount from the listed price of any car.
If you are spending a significant amount of money, a discount is well worth having; it will certainly cover your annual insurance premium for example. Incidentally, you are likely to find an insurance option available from your lender; it costs you nothing to get a quotation and is never a precondition to loan approval.
