ABCs/Advice on getting a car loan?

[___SK___]

So i am in the market for my first car loan and basically first loan outside of college. My experiences from college loans really havent helped me since they were more automatic and readily available.

I have the money to pay for the car i want in cash. What i'd like to do is build my credit by getting a loan. I neglected my student loans in the past and have rehab those and been paying payments for 2 years now. My credit score is 660 as of last month.

I am looking for a used car in the 20K range. So any combination of loan and down payment would work for me.

So i come to the BFI forum for some guidance and help. i am currently googling and reading a ton of info, but i am sure theres more they dont tell you. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[pig4bill]

Look for a credit union first. If you work for a big company, they usually have a credit union affiliation. You can get screaming cheap loans on new cars but not so much on used cars. Sometimes a local bank may surprise you though, so at least stop by and ask them about it.

Have a car picked out first. If not a specific car then at least a year and model.

[wdcbooks]

I have had tremendously positive experiences with ELoan. Eloan has a simple process of application and approval that is independent of the dealership. You apply and are approved within 24 hours, but almost always much more quickly and with no hassle. They FedEx you a check that you write out to the dealership.

The advantages are:

Competitive rates to a credit union.
Check in hand.
It is very easy to pay off or refinance if you want to.

One of the few companies I have had a uniformly positive experience with. The only unknown is how well they deal with people of varying levels of credit. I have good, well established credit, so I don't know how competitive they are for people with a more limited credit history.