Car loan financing can get expensive quickly even when you have good credit — and even more so when you have bruised or bad credit.
Luckily, there are steps you can take to find an affordable car loan with bad credit. The key is being prepared.
Step 1: Secure Your Financing
This may seem counter-intuitive, but you will actually save money by securing your bad credit car financing before shopping for a vehicle.
Because car loan financing can be pricy, it’s important that you know your budget going in. Protect yourself in the marketplace by having your financing organized before you’ve even started looking.
When you shop before looking at financing, you can end up falling in love with something you really can’t afford. But if you know that you are approved for $5,000 in financing, for example, you will only consider cars that fall into this range.
This way you can be sure that you’re picking a vehicle that will work with your budget — not one that will make your budget work for it.
Step 2: Choose Shorter Financing
While you are looking at vehicles, you may find financing terms of 84 or even 96 months. Proceed with caution here!
If the only way you can afford the vehicle, you’re looking at is to pick the longer term, you probably can’t afford that vehicle. A car is a depreciating asset, so the longer you own a car, the less value you will get for it when you do re-sell it. While this is a given, if you are picking a longer-term financing option, you may still be paying off the loan by the time you are ready to sell!
Another thing to consider with longer-term financing is the warranty. If you have a five-year warranty, for example, but are carrying a 96-month (eight years) financing term, you’ll still be paying off your vehicle for three years after it’s out of warranty!
The better rule of thumb is to look for shorter financing terms that you can pay off as quickly as possible.
Step 3: Look for a vehicle.
Now that you’re readt to shop for cars, keep in mind this recipe for success:
- Look for used cars that are five years or newer, with less than 100,000 kms.
- Look for a company that goes the distance on safety. For instance, at Prudent Value Cars we use the highest safety standards. Our president, Gary Stern, says: “I tell our mechanic I want every vehicle we sell to be good enough and safe enough for my mother to drive.”
- Know what you can afford monthly – arrange your financing first.
- Work with a dealer who offers vehicles and financing.
- On this note, ensure the dealer you choose is organized and reports to the Canadian credit bureaus.
At Prudent Value Cars, we offer same-day financing up for $25,000 and have the lowest rates for bad credit used car loans in Toronto and the GTA.
Contact us today for a free consultation. Call 1.888.852.7647 or visit www.prudentvaluecars.com.