Thinking of car finance option

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brickleback

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Joined
Jan 30, 2018
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I have this dream car, and I’m craving to have it. Of course, it is expensive as hell! I have a somewhat stable job that pays well but, it will take me a year to save for that car that is why I am considering applying for a car loan. Which is better, a credit union or a bank?
 
Whichever will give you the best terms for the loan. My current loan (taken out 3/2015) is 1.99% through a credit union. At the time, the banks wanted between 2.9% and 3.2% for the same loan.
 
Sometimes car manufacturers will offer 0% financing, or at least a rate that is lower than you would normally be able to get, in order to move more cars. There may be caveats to that such as it's only available for specific models/trims, or require minimum credit scores, or require minimum down payment percentages, etc..

Credit Unions traditionally offered better terms on both the interest-earning and the interest-saving side, but that is not always the case anymore. For example, while it's not a loan, I am getting far better rates from Ally on even regular passbook savings than I am with an identical product through my credit union.

On my last car loan (not lease) my CU only beat the manufacturer's in-house APR by 0.5%. I ended up going with the CU anyway because they take 1/2 of the payment 2x a month, making it a little easier to budget, but if it weren't for that I would likely have just stayed with the manufacturer's financing which was only $5/month more.
 
Thank you all for all the responses.

I am now working with an agent to get my car load approved. Hopefully I will get to drive my own car soon.
 
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