A friend of mine is thinking about getting a used Prius (something in the 30,000-mile range). She probably won't get a very good loan rate from the dealership or her bank because she doesn't have a great credit score. Not terrible, just "meh". So let's say your main bank doesn't offer a very good rate. Are there places to go online to get something better? Reputable, of course. FYI -- This has nothing to do with not being able to afford the car, that's not an issue. It's just that there are some black marks from a few years ago. And this is not secretly about me, it really is about a friend.
i'm against the idea of people taking out car loans with poor credit. i've done it with my crappy credit (had a co signer)... it's going to end up costing me 42k dollars when all said and done. (that's ridiculous ) so i always recommend people to have really good credit.. or toss down the largest down payment possible. there are online banks.... i'd recommend going to a local... (what is it called?...) credit union? their rates tend to be much better than most banks.
My advice is for your friend to buy a car she can afford. IMO nobody is going to offer a good rate to a poor risk. Used car loan rates are higher than new.
We just got a used Prius with 'MEH' credit. We have a high intrest rate and thus big payment. (MEH credit is common in lower enlisted due to low pay and getting taken advantage of, which we were prey to in our Private days.) However!! My husband deploys again in Dec-ish so double payment here we come!! (The army has a habit of changing date/months thus the -ish) and he re-ups in Oct of 2011 in a critical MOS. Then he is going to drop a Warrent packet, which his MOS has a bonus for. So we are going to get $$$ to pay off the loan in a little over a year.
You can look for auto loan calculator to assess if the credit history can affect or if there are other financing options.
