Let’s face it. There are some of us out there who have less than a stellar credit score. With the economy the way it is these days it is easy to overextend ourselves on things such as credit cards and home loans. If this sounds familiar it does not mean that you are a bad person or have done something wrong. It simply means that you are doing what is necessary to get by. Also, it does not mean that you can’t get a loan on a new car. It simply means that you may just have to be patient, do your homework and wait for the right deal to come along.

If you find yourself with a poor credit score and in need of a new car it may be a wise idea to search out a car dealership that specializes with working with people who don’t have the best credit. These dealerships are used to working with people that need some extra consideration and are usually pretty good at fitting the buyer with a loan that is fair. This does not mean that you will get financed for a huge loan that will allow you to buy the car of your dreams, it just means that you can get financing to buy a car that fits your needs. That being said, there are a few things that you can do in order to ensure that you are getting a good deal on a car loan. Understanding the process of getting a good loan on that used Chevy Cobalt will give you peace of mind that you are not getting ripped off.

Figure Out the Loan Before You Negotiate the Car Purchase

One of the best ways to figure out whether or not you can buy that used car or truck from your local dealer is to work out the terms of your loan first before you work out the sale price of the car. While this is the opposite of how a typical deal works, it will help to save you time in the long run. If you cannot get a good enough loan for the car you want then you know you will have to look at less expensive options. A good strategy might be to try to get a car loan worked out with the dealer before you let them know you are interested in one of their vehicles. When you find out what you were approved for you can then start asking them to work the price of the new car so that it will fit into the terms of your loan. If they are unable to do this you may simply have to play a bit of hard ball. Whether you have good or bad credit doesn’t matter. Walking out of a car dealership can sometimes result in them giving in to your demands. This is especially true if the salesman needs to move a vehicle in order to make his monthly quota or is in need of some additional commission.

If you cannot get a dealership to give you the terms you are looking for on a car loan then you may want to try to work with your personal bank or another third party lender. If you are in good standing with your bank they may be able to get you the loan you are looking for. If you have a history of paying all of your previous loan payments with the bank in time then they will be much more likely to approve you for a reasonable car loan regardless of your credit score. In addition, if you have been a customer of a certain bank for a long time they will be able to browse through your past finances and make a determination on whether or not they think you can handle such a loan.

If your bank won’t help too much then you can try non-dependent third party lender. You can find these types of businesses online or even in your own hometown. An example would be a credit union. Visit your local credit union and inquire about an auto loan. Be upfront with them and let them know your credit score is far from perfect. Oftentimes a credit union will be able to beat the interest rate that you were quoted by a dealership. In addition, many credit unions like dealing with local customers that are in constant need of their services.

For more credit information visit Automotive.com. They have many articles and tips for potential car buyers as well as calculators and tools to research and help you figure out various aspects of the purchase.

Shailesh Kumar

Shailesh Kumar

Shailesh Kumar is an Entrepreneur, investor and blogger. He writes about value investing at Value Stock Guide. Learn about the stock market and discover the techniques proven to work best for long term investors for finding appropriate stocks to buy in their portfolio to get superior risk adjusted returns.