Car loans

[Juddog]

I know people have mentioned in here that they have received loans from their credit union or some such, but I'm not part of a credit union and do all my banking through HSBC, which I don't think they have an auto-loan program (or I think they used to but canceled the program).

What's the best way to get an alternate loan rate on a used car?

 

[ElFenix]

lendingtree
join a credit union
look on bankrate

 

[Pantoot]

I don't know what an alternate loan rate is, but my advice is:

Join penfed, pay 2.49% for up to 60 months.

 

[jlee]

Why can't you join a credit union? My last loan (CU) was less than 3.7% on a used car.

 

[bryanW1995]

You can get just as good of rates from a dealer as long as you know what to expect. If you're buying from a dealer and just want to get a good rate then pm me. If you're buying from an individual and need to get a loan from a bank then el fenix's suggestions look good. Also, you can go into a local bank and apply for a regular loan if you don't like the terms that the online companies offer.

 

[vshah]

my CU rate is 1.99% for 36 months currently

 

[Doppel]

I don't know what an alternate loan rate is, but my advice is:

Join penfed, pay 2.49% for up to 60 months.

Joined penfed last week for their 5% gas card (the only reward card I've found that matters) and noticed their auto rates even on used cars, very low!

 

[Vic Vega]

A bank that doesn't do auto loans? Call and ask them. Banks make money lending money (your money). Seems crazy they wouldn't do auto loans.

 

[Juddog]

Ok thanks for the heads up. The stealership was offering a loan at 8.5% which was a bit ridiculous. At that rate I'd be better off just buying a new car with 0% APR, which is what I did last time.

 

[bruceb]

Just so you know, a car loan interest is not tax deductible on your IRS return. But the sales tax would be. If you must take out a loan, a short home equity loan would be best, as you can deduct the interest you pay on that.

 

[joutlaw]

Just so you know, a car loan interest is not tax deductible on your IRS return. But the sales tax would be. If you must take out a loan, a short home equity loan would be best, as you can deduct the interest you pay on that.

Sales tax was deductible in 2009, but not in 2010.

 

[vi edit]

You can get just as good of rates from a dealer as long as you know what to expect.

Every car I bought I was able to get better rates at the dealer than I could from a local place. And the local rates were already pretty competitive. If you have good credit you can get some pretty crazy rates.

 

[ViviTheMage]

my CU rate is 1.99% for 36 months currently

sweet ... totally useless information!

 

[Engineer]

PSECU ($20 to join) has 36 month loans @ 1.49%

With that said, it's just as easy to join Penfed (also $20 to get started total) and get their 60 month 2.49% rates. They also have other great products and very good support staff. The fill in the blank check for auto loans is also a huge plus to me (get check and then buy whatever car (within limits you set) from whatever dealer that you want).

 

[hydroponik]

Sales tax was deductible in 2009, but not in 2010.

You can still deduct the sales tax instead of taking the state income tax...