 | Tim Woeppel has been in the Finance & Insurance industry for five years. He is currently the Finance Director at Saturn
of Wichita. If you have any questions
you may contact Tim via e-mail at TimWoeppel@SaturnofWichita.com, or visit Tim at Saturn of Wichita- East, located at the corner of West Central and Greenwich Rd. |
Cars, Trucks, Vans & Automotive
2004-12-01 10:32:00
Who should finance my car?
: In financing an auto, should I finance at my own bank or should I accept the dealership's financing?
ANSWER: It's always a good idea to know what interest rate your local bank is charging. However, most dealerships can beat the interest rate you may get at your own bank. There are two reasons for this. First, the volume of business that an auto dealership does with any given bank will almost allow the dealership to get better rates than any customer walking into the bank. The banks do not want to lose $200,000 or $300,000, or even $500,000 in loan business per month. The second reason for this is more subjective. Most Finance & Insurance professionals have developed relationships with the banks they do business with. This relationship allows the loan officers at the banks to be more flexible in their terms. Since many car buyers are "upside-down" on their trade-ins, they will have to carry the excess loan balance to their new loan. As a customer walking into the bank, the loan officer will tell you "I can only finance the retail value of the vehicle" (or wholesale value, trade-in value, etc.). The relationship the F&I professionals have with the bank will allow the loan to proceed while financing as much as 25% over the value of the new vehicle purchase. Bottom line-do your homework, and give the dealership an opportunity, you may be pleasantly surprised.
