Question on getting a car loan

[White Castle]

I'm in Dallas and I've gone the route of using my own bank and been pre-approved on a used car loan for 60 months with a rate of 4.91%. A buddy told me a couple of credit unions in Austin were offering rates at under 4%.

Any suggestions on how to find the best rate at an institution that you don't already do business with? Can you get loan approvals at local credit unions even if you don't live in that city? My brother lives in Austin so I don't know if there is a way I could use his address for an approval. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[HornBud]

I wouldn't, under any circumstance, use someone else's addy on a loan. Call the credit union and ask the terms of membership and terms of the loan. It's possible that you may only need a library card in the area to qualify. Used car loans are always higher than new car loans, so you want to make sure that what they are offering would apply for the used car.

 

[brntorng]

If you're purchasing through a dealer, see what they are offering. Sometimes they have pretty good deals although more so on new vehicles.

 

[210-816-Horn]

Just saw one credit union in North SA with 3.7% on car loans!! I need to re-fi my loan.

 

[bradford702]

White,

What bank gave you that rate?

 

[White Castle]

I ended up getting 4.6% for 60 months on a pre-owned (love how they dress up 'used') 2007 car through Bank of America (which is my bank). Although I plan on making extra payments to shorten it to 48 when it's all said and done.