The BEST Point Of Contact When You Are Car Shopping

Car shopping is stressful. There is no way around it. Most people hate it. I hate it. While there are a lot of tools out there to make the process better and smoother there is one thing that you can do to make the process even better. Use your banker. I know it doesn’t sound sexy, but trust me, it works.Your banker is going to be the best point of contact when you are car shopping.

(1) What you NEED to Know Before Car Shopping?

When you are going to buy a car, you NEED to make sure that you have as much knowledge as possible.

Make sure that you know about the car:

1. The specific vehicle that you are going to purchase
2. The safety features
3. The gas mileage
4. The bells and whistles that you want (or don’t want)
5. The current average price for that vehicle

In order to find the answers to these questions, consider using Kelly Blue Book, Autotrader, Car Gurus, and Carvana.

These databases will give you a really good idea of the car market and what kinds of cars are available and what are not at a specific price point and with/without certain features.

Additionally, you need to know several things about yourself:

1. The maximum amount you are going to spend
2. The payment amount (if financing the vehicle)
3. The going interest rate range
4. The down payment that you will have (if not paying cash)
5. Your credit score
6. Your own personal financial situation

You can learn these things from sites like Credit Karma as well as your banker.

You NEED to know these things BEFORE you go car shopping.

Yes, that is a lot of things to know. But if you make a poor vehicle buying decision, that can set you behind THOUSANDS of dollars.

And if you are having a hard time with some of them like the going interest rate, your payment amount, etc. you can lean on your banker to help you out.

(2) Why Use a Banker When You Are Car Shopping?

A banker is a GREAT resource in car shopping.

They can get you pre approved which will likely result in a lower interest rate.

They can show you what your interest rate would be, how much you will need to put down on the car, your payment amount, and payment schedule.

Also, the main reason that I like to use a banker for a car loan is because they can help me to find out if the vehicle is actually worth what the dealership says it is.

Yes, you can go to Kelly Blue Book and find out the price range for a vehicle. But your banker will be able to tell you the EXACT value of that vehicle based on the VIN, mileage, and any features that it may have.

This is HUGE in determining if the vehicle you are wanting to purchase is actually worth as much as the dealership is asking for it. 

If you pay too much for the vehicle, it could take you months or YEARS to recover. 

Don’t overpay for a car.

Just because you use a banker for this information, doesn’t mean that you have to get a loan through them either.

Of course, be respectful of them and their time. But it is not required that you get a car loan. After all, I suggest that you do whatever you can to pay for your vehicles with cash. 

But if you can’t, here are my car buying guidelines. 🙂

And one more thing: Make sure that the banker does not run your credit until YOU are ready. If you are reasonably sure that you will pay for your car out of pocket but are just weighing your options, don’t let them run it. This can hurt your score.

And one more thing (again): If you are car shopping and you are going to get a loan on the vehicle. Get 3-4 quotes in a two-week period or so. This will only hurt your credit score one time if you do it within a couple weeks. 

Final Thoughts

As I said, car shopping is not fun. At least the process of car shopping isn’t. Driving off the lot in a new car is pretty exciting. 🙂

But make sure that you have as much knowledge in your corner as possible.

Use the internet and any resource that you can to make sure that you don’t pay too much for your car or even worse, get swindled.

And make sure to use a banker to help with that process. 

Just give them a call or email and tell them that you are not sure if you will be financing a car or paying in cash. You just want to know your options. 

You can do this!

I am here for you!

Until next time!