Use This Checklist Before You Buy A New Car

hardly watch anything on TV or listen to a radiothe options that are not going to work out for you,
station anymore without hearing about the latestand avoid spending any amount of your time on
offers for new cars. They all sound too good to bethose particular non-options.
true, and for the most part, they actually are. TheTo avoid being taken for a ride and to get the best
purpose of those ads is to get you into the mindsetdeal possible, do your homework and keep in mind
of thinking about buying a new car and to actuallythe following credit checklist:
get you into the dealership to start a discussion of1. Check your credit reports regularly. There are
how affordable it is and how you are losing moneythree of them, one from each of the major credit
every day that you don't go ahead with thatbureaus, and they are almost guaranteed to be
purchase.different. Studies have shown that most credit
But for the vast majority of people, reality sets inreports contain errors, and the only way to correct
real quick. Those TV commercials and newspaper adsthose errors is to dispute them with the credit
for 0% interest, no down payment required, hugebureaus. Do this at least 2 months prior to shopping
discounts that make you think that the dealershipto allow the disputes time enough to clear and report
would actually be losing money on the deal, free tirescorrect credit data on you.
and oil changes for the life of the car, and sometimes2. Understand that if you have good credit, the
even airfare to Hawaii with your purchase, what islending institutions will put fewer restrictions on your
there to even think about?loan, therefore allowing the dealer to charge you
The reality of it is that these offers are real, as longmore. Make sure you fully understand your lender's
as you understand the fine print, and have a creditloan plan, interest rate and pre-payment penalties, as
rating high enough to qualify you to also buy anwell as what the dealer gets out of it.
aircraft carrier. The problem is that buying a new car3. If you have bad credit, the dealer has less room
or even a used car is not something that mostfor expensive add-ons and options because you may
people do on a regular basis, so they don'tnot get approved for more money. But you can still
understand how the industry works and where theynegotiate a great deal on some extras and add-ons if
have room to haggle even further on a minor pointthe dealer is willing to work with you on them.
where the dealer is making big bucks.4. Your best option for giving you the most
Your credit report plays a tremendously large role innegotiation room possible with the dealer is to get
the kind of deal you are going to be able to get.pre-approved for financing before you even visit the
Logic would dictate that those with the best creditdealership. Many lenders will qualify you for a loan for
are going to get the best deals, but believe it or not,a certain amount of money, and it does not have to
some studies actually contradict this. In fact, there isbe on a particular car or even a specific dealer. If you
a faction that says that people with bad credit getcan walk in and be pre-approved for say $30,000,
the best deals, because dealers can make up thekeep that information in your back pocket until you
profits lost on a bad credit sale by making largerhave almost finalized the deal, and then indicate how
profits on those with good credit.XM radio or leather interior is big on your list but you
Whether or not you believe that or if your chosenmay have to shop elsewhere if they can't fit that
car dealership works this way is almost immaterial.into the $30,000 that you're pre-approved for.
You want the best deal possible, and like any otherRemember, it's your money and the more of it you
major purchase, you need to do your homeworkcan keep in your pocket, the better off you are.
before you start shopping, so you can easily eliminate