If you’re in the market for a car but don’t have the necessary cash on hand to make the purchase, then you are likely looking at getting an auto loan. LendingTree helps you compare auto loan rates from multiple lenders. It’s fast, easy, and best of all, free.
Many car buyers start the car financing process at the dealership, but that’s not the only way to find an auto loan. A better way is to compare your own offers with ones the dealer provides. As the middleman, a dealer could raise your APR and take the difference as profit. By getting auto loan offers directly from lenders before going to the dealership, you know the rate you deserve, one without a markup. A car loan offer or preapproval from a lender may give you a huge leg up in getting your best auto loan.
When you fill out an online form on LendingTree, you’ll receive up to five car loan offers from lenders at once, depending on your creditworthiness.
Auto loans are usually simple interest loans, which means that the interest on the loan is determined based only on the principal balance of the loan. Auto financing may be used to purchase cars and other vehicles, such as boats, RVs, motorcycles and ATVs.
Use this Auto Loan Calculator to see your monthly payments on your loan amount, interest rate, and loan term.
Whether you’re just starting out and have no credit history, or you don’t have the best credit score, it’s still possible to get an auto loan. You could consider a cosigner, putting a large down payment toward your car purchase or both. Once you have a car loan, making on-time payments can help improve your credit score. You may be able to later refinance your loan at an even better rate.
Your credit score may take a slight hit when you apply for an auto loan, but the benefits of comparison shopping outweigh any temporary drops in your score. It doesn’t hurt your credit to apply to multiple lenders any more than it does to apply to one, as long as you do all applications within a two-week window.
