natloans – Finance & Leasing

Purchasing a new or used vehicle can be quite a disaster if you don’t do your research before you hit the dealerships! If you are seeking a private sale be sure to do thorough vehicles checks including investigating whether the car has been fully paid off and if it has been in any serious accidents.

If you are looking at purchasing a vehicle from a dealership, whether it is used or new keep an eye out that you are getting what you paid for! You may be getting scammed and not even knowing about it. Remember to be ready to negotiate a deal that you will be satisfied with! The dealer will more than likely begin with the highest price, so you do the opposite! Start low and work your way up to your budget. Don’t make an agreement because you feel pressured or feel sorry for the dealer, they are only doing their job!

When shopping for your car, keep in mind the following:

• Dealerships must inform the buyer if the car has been in any accidents, if odometer readings aren’t correct and whether the vehicle has been used as a rental vehicle in the past.
• A dealership cannot sell a vehicle for more than the advertised price. Do your homework, you don’t want to be ripped off.
• A “demo” car may be on the market at a new car “price”, negotiate a deal! This is not a new car if it has been driven!
• If you are getting your finance from a dealer be sure to sign one set of contracts! If your partner is going on the loan with you this must be apart of one document and the conditions must be clearly stated.
• If you do not understand English fluently an interpreter must be present who knows both languages to prevent miscommunication. The consumer must know what they are signing themselves up to.
• Dealers may charge you extra and add various products. This will inflate your monthly repayments! Be specific as to what you want and how much you will pay.

It is vital that you understand how dealerships work, at the end of the day you want to benefit in the long-run and get a deal with a good interest rate that you will be able to repay. If you do default this will minimize your chances of getting financed again. So before you hit the dealerships contact your car financier and get a professional opinion. For more information call Natloans on 1300 955 791.

Technorati Tags: Car Finance, car interest rate, finance deals

Happy new financial year! Now is a great time to start afresh by reviewing your financial goals and putting strategies into place to achieve them.  If you plan and take action, you could really hit the ground running for 2010/11.  You may have a tax return, or an end of financial year bonus or a new pay increase which can contribute to you achieving these goals.

This applies to whether you looking at upgrading or downsizing in a new car or even refinancing the residual at the end of your loan term. You can do this wisely and prudently if you have a proper strategy and stick to it.

Consider the following tips in getting the best deal possible on your next car:

Cash Up

Try saving your tax returns and bonus towards a deposit in your new wheels.  By doing this you reduce the amount of exposure you have on the goods and make yourself more appealing to the lender. Lenders are conservative and want to know that their risk is reduced if in case the loan goes ‘pear shaped’. By saving a good deposit, you give the lender more of a reason to say ‘approved’.  It shows thought and planning has gone into the process of purchasing the car.  With refinancing of residuals, don’t just accept what the current financier is offering you.  Seeing a broker may add a few extra steps to the process, but it could work out to be a very worthwhile exercise.

Match the loan repayments to your budget

Before you go out looking for a new car, determine what you want to spend in accordance with your monthly budget.  There is no use falling in love with a car that will cost you repayments of $700 per month if you only feel comfortable paying $500.  Be realistic and factor in a “buffer”, that way if your circumstances change, it is still easy to meet the minimum repayments.  Use a budget calculator, spend some time analyzing your circumstances and then make your decision.  There are great deals on all the time, you won’t miss out.

Think outside the interest rate

When you do get the car loan, make a promise to make additional repayments where ever possible.  You may be finding that the loan you are going for may not reward you for extra payments but sting you with fees instead.  Try to get a loan product which enables you to make these additional payments so that when next financial years comes around and you have some extra cash, you can place this on your loan and effectively reduce the amount of interest you pay in the long run for the car loan. Choosing the best car loan requires more than finding the best interest rate.  Features such as the ability to make additional repayments can save you hundreds or even thousands.

Technorati Tags: car interest rate, car loan, new years resolutions