About Fianace at Credit Union or Dealer?

Question

Hi; I have a question regarding choosing from either credit union or dealer to finance my future car(Toyota Corolla or Matrix). I knew some credit unions provided better APR than dealer, and I was wondering to buy a car on Sep.4; the Labor Day. My problem is, I got a experian score about 746, and I don 't know should I finance my car directly from dealer or credit union? furthermore, I knew that the credit union would have to collect my income information; however, my income seems a little low, but I got support from my mom who is in foreign country right now, will they really have to get such information from me because I am afraid my application will be decline, andI want to make sure is it better to finance from the dealer or credit union because I have heard my friends say that on Labor Day there will be big sale on autos... tks for answering my question.

Answer 1

With a credit score of 746, you should qualify for pretty decent rates at both the credit union and with Toyota Financial Services. I suggest going to your credit union first to find out if they approve you and at what APR. However, you may consider going with a credit union even if the APR is a little higher than TFS, because the credit union may calculate your loan as simple interest. Basically this means that if you can ever make extra payments on your loan, you can benefit from it by paying your loan off quicker and paying less interest in the long run. TFS has some interesting calculations where their lower APR resulted in higher monthly payments. You can pay off the loan ahead of time, but you don't save any money by doing this. And so, I have a credit union loan for my brand new baby, a Toyota Solara.

Answer 2

A credit union is ALWAYS going to give you a better deal. It is what they are all about.

Financing at the dealership or with one of their financing providers will have extras built in -- like 0% financing that means they could have sold you the car for less. You end up paying for the financing anyway by paying more for the car.

Get approved for a certain amount at the credit union and then go to the dealer and tell them you are paying cash and strike your best deal with them.

Buy the car and finance it at a credit union. Do that every time -- without exception.

Answer 3

Don't put your credit score on the Internet just because crazy people might try to invade on your privacy, but anyway I would try your local credit union first. Just because of the better rates and to if there is a problem you can just drive there instead of calling on the phone to some 1-800- number and listen to an answering machine. If that doesn't work out then go to the dealership, something the work with local banks and not outside financing companies.