One of the first big purchases many people make is an automobile. Of course, those just starting out in the world aren’t liable to have much credit history. So how exactly do you go about getting yourself a good car loan?
Well, if you can’t cough up the cash (and most of us can’t, if you’re considering a fairly new vehicle, that is), the smartest thing you can do is to prepare yourself early. Get ready to line up your credit at least a year before you’re ready for that auto loan.
This doesn’t mean run out and get several credit cards and start charging. It does mean establishing yourself with a good solid history of being a financially responsible adult. When you go in for a loan on a new or used vehicle, you should know what kind of credit history the dealers will be looking for. This isn’t to say that if you don’t have good history, you won’t get a car loan. There are plenty of lenders more than ready to take advantage of those with poor credit by not turning them down, but instead slapping them with huge finance charges and impossibly tiny monthly payments that will let them collect interest on you for...