Used car financing...bring my own?

I'm about to buy a car from a local, respectable used car lot (not buy here pay here crap). I'm going to have to finance a small amount of the purchase, say sub $6k. Should I call up my bank to get my own financing or let them source a bank. They say they have a long list of banks, and can get me a range of rates. My credit is great.

Are they benefitting from me financing through their suggested bank? Never gone this route before.

Gotta do the math. Shop some yourself, and let the dealer shop some for you.

But make a spreadsheet of all the numbers- many good rates have other things with them.

The dealership will make a "commission ' from the bank if they help to get you signed on the line of the loan.

Best advice, shop both ways.

keep it with your local bank, even if it costs a little more. easier to deal with that way.

Credit union. I joined and bought the same day. Rates beat even my bank.

I've heard a great strategy is to bring your own financing and then challenge them to beat your rates.

I'm no expert, but understand that there is more to compare than just the interest rate.

Meh, of all the cars I've purchased from dealers (new and used), they've always been able to match anything available from a local bank or credit union.

Then I only have to do paperwork in one place.

I've done it both ways. It took a bit of cutting through bs at the dealer to get the good rate ( they played the "how much do you want your payment to be" game)

When I bought my wife's car, I already had it approved, showed up with a check and signed a few papers and went on my way. Smooth and no bs

So both ways worked, but there was less bs going with my credit union ahead of time

Getting financing an your own makes you a cash customer. You can then just go after the best price. Gives you a leg up on the negotiations.

I have always got better financing through my local credit union. Less bs no fees and no penalty for early payoffs.

In the past I've always gone through my credit union. I get pre-approved for an amount, say $20k, and I'm good to shop/deal for anything up to that amount and within whatever year range the pre-approval is good for. That way you can go in knowing you're good to go with a deal you like and not get sucked into dealer financing games. Good luck to you.

I guess what I ment is the dealer does not have any of the paper work associated with financing. But ya it I not that huge a difference. I always found dealers seemed to take you more serious when you have cash or financing all in order.

We ran into one dealer who jacked the price $1000 when we said we were paying cash. They claimed the online price was only if you financed through them, we walked out and never went back. We went home and scoured their ad - it was nowhere to be found. This was Bernardi Toyota in Framingham, MA - not a small roadside outfit. Be careful of that.

My bank had limits on used car loans - years of car age + mileage.

I went in with a buddy paying cash for a new truck. They offered a better deal if he let them finance it so they could make the money off the bank on the back end. Deal did not have a pre-payment clause and all they asked was he make 2 payments to make it legit on their end.

He got a better deal, made 2 payments and closed it out afterwards. Might be worth the discussion. I also no at larger places they will often have a minimum you have to finance.