It goes without saying that I’m going to need an auto loan to help finance a new car after my accident. Who has that kind of cash laying around or just sitting in your pocket? Well maybe you do, but who wants to see your bank account take that kind of hit, and besides, this is an opportunity to build some major credit and increase my credit score. So now for the next step in my car buying adventure: The pre-approval process.
I scheduled a meeting with my co-worker, Katie Kruger, Rimrock Road branch manager of Dane County Credit Union, to go over my options and questions about the auto loan process. And wow, did I get some great information! First of all, DCCU can give me an unbelievable auto loan rate of 2.99%APR!* That is outstanding, and already I’m going into this feeling a whole lot better. We discussed the length of the loan that would be most appropriate based on my monthly payment comfort level. I decided on a solid 60 month plan. My monthly payments will be affordable, but at the same time I won’t be paying on this vehicle forever, and ending up paying way more than the car is actually worth. Katie was able to provide several payment scenarios, based on the length of the loan and theoretical amount of the vehicle. She even gave me printouts of the details for me to take home and review. Very cool!
Katie then asked if I had some specific preliminary vehicles in mind after my initial research. I told her yes, and we looked them up together on an EXTREMELY handy resource that Katie has available to help out all members – the NADA website. It’s like getting a Blue Book report for the car, but she can enter a specific VIN (vehicle identification number) and get a price diagnostic for that particular vehicle! I will be sure to have her run the VIN before I commit to any purchase. This will be very handy when the negotiation process begins!
She made a few recommendations for car dealers based on her 15 years of helping members with their Madison area auto loans. Katie reminded me that I should feel free to walk away at any point during the negotiation process if I feel like the deal isn’t in MY best interest. She assured me that once I submitted my loan application, DCCU’s turnaround would be very quick so that I can get a check to the dealer right away and secure the deal. Our credit union will even help me take care of the transaction assuring that a car doesn’t get snatched out from under me.
I learned so much from Katie about buying a car! My loan pre-approval lasts for 30 days, so I need to get busy. Time to get out there, test drive, negotiate a price, and hopefully drive out in a new vehicle!
Contact Katie about your auto loan – [email protected] or 608 287-1806
Eric’s Auto Buying Adventure – Part 1 – How did I get here?
Eric’s Auto Buying Adventure – Part 2 – My Plan
Eric’s Auto Buying Adventure – Part 4 – Test Drives
