Car loan shopping like I'm 5

[niq]

Has anybody done this recently? Realistically I have a choice between the dealer (Kia), my credit union, and BofA which has the account for our fancy CC (Alaska Signature VISA). Is it worth it to apply with all 3? If I'm not applying for any other loans in the near future, do I need to care about how it affects my credit rating? What paperwork do I need these days?

[chilerellanos]

I’m pretty sure that if you’re applying to multiple loans for a car within a certain time period it’s the impact of one inquiry, but I might be wrong

[ellipses84]

Are the bank and credit union advertising an interest rate? In the past I’ve taken in a credit union offer without applying and the dealership found financing to match it. My recommendation is to get pre-approved through the credit union (or bank if it’s a lower rate but usually it’s not). Then use that for negotiating leverage and see if the dealership can beat it or throw in any extras if you finance with them.

FWIW I only negotiate one item at a time. Sometimes there’s not much wiggle room on price but if you have prices of similar local cars from the internet you may get them to match it.
Don’t negotiate trade ins or interest rates until you have negotiated sticker price. Don’t offer up info and if they ask early you can be noncommittal, like we might be interested in trading in our car depending on the offer.

[puppyluv]

I was surprised at how this worked when we bought our car last month. The dealer we worked with had partnerships with all the local banks and credit unions. Our credit union that has our mortgage had the best advertised rate on the web. I told the dealer that I was going to use them, and the dealership set up the loan with them. We didnt have to go to the credit union to do anything. A couple days after we bought the car, the loan showed up in our CU online account.

[mich1]

What I do is that I set up financing with my bank before car shopping. Once I decide on a car, I tell the dealership that I have financing, but they are welcome to try to beat it. I do not tell them the rate I’m financing the car at. So far, the last 2 times I have done this the dealership was able to beat my bank’s rate by at least 3%.