If you’re like most people, you don’t have a lot of time to futz around with getting a car loan. Luckily, there are quite a few things you can do to decrease the amount of time you’ll spend getting the loan you need.
Regardless of your credit score or credit history, here are some tips you can use to save time:
1) Get your paperwork together. To prove your income, you’ll need your most recent paystub. To prove your residence, you’ll need your most recent phone, electric, or cable bill. Finally, if you have any credit problems like collections, bankruptcy, or leftovers from a messy divorce, get that paperwork together too. Put everything in an envelope and bring it with you when you go to see your lender – that way you’ll only have to make one trip.
2) Get your list of personal references together. When you apply for an auto loan, you’re usually required to give the name, address, and phone number of three or more friends or relatives that don’t live with you. If you get this information together ahead of time, you won’t have to scramble to figure it out while you’re completing your application.
3) Talk to your boss, office manager, or human resources department. When you apply for an auto loan, most lenders will call and verify your employment. Let the person in charge of employment verification know that you’re expecting an auto lender to call about you – that way they’ll be ready to provide what the bank needs quickly and accurately.
4) If you have a trade-in, find out your exact payoff. Many times when people apply for an auto loan, they estimate their trade-in payoff. The trouble with estimating your payoff is that your new lender may use your estimate as an exact value. If your payoff is actually substantially higher than you estimated, your loan may need to be re-approved for a higher amount. If your payoff is lower than you estimated, your interest rate might be higher than it should be. Save everyone some time (and yourself some money) and find out your exact payoff before you apply for a new loan.
5) Make sure you’re as truthful and accurate as possible. When you complete your credit application, you may need to list former residences, former employers, etc. If you accurately list all this information, your application will be processed quickly. Also, if you lie about some aspect of your credit, there’s a good chance the auto lender will find out. At best, this will slow down your application considerably as the lender checks every aspect of your credit. At worst, your application will be turned-down.
Follow this five tips and your next car loan application will be processed quickly and efficiently, and you’ll get your loan as fast as possible.
