Hey guys, I've got a quick question about Credit Unions...

[nUcLeArEnVoY]

Hey guys!

So okay, anybody who's ever read my posts often knows that I am one of the 'save OHMYGODWTF massive down payment over an extended period' guys. Got 17K now and a credit score of around 710-720 and I plan to go for a 1SS with only RS and Boston Acoustics when I get around 20-21K...

But college comes first, which'll slice into my savings (since I'm paying for it whole) by a potential 4K-5K at the end of two years. So I am being conservative in saying that I still might not have this car till' around this time next year, despite how close I am 20K right now.

By that time, I could be eligible for two types of discounts, ASSUMING that the car's hype isn't settled down enough yet that dealers are actively selling for invoice or below MSRP, because I doubt that'll be happening for a loooong time. ANYWAY, I will be eligible for the College Discount and I could be eligible for the Credit Union Discount, same exact discount, but for some reason the latter of the two seems a little more foolproof for me.

So my question is, what's the difference between joining a Credit Union and a normal bank? I bank with Wachovia right now and am for the most part pleased with the service and I have all my money in a Free Checking account.
Is a Credit Union any different? I have two Credit Unions near me - People's Credit Union and Power Financial Credit Union and I go to their websites and they seem no different as far as banking is concerned. My banking process is very spartan, all I do is deposit money and withdraw from the account when I need to (pay credit card bills, basically).

Are there any rules for Credit Unions, any stringent regulations or join-up requirements that normal banks don't entail? For those of you who are in Credit Unions, gimme some pep talk! I'd like to be eligible for this discount!

[Nezacant]

Credit Unions are (typically) non profit. Any profit made goes into giving you better loan rates (and paying their employees of course). Credit unions typically offer lower rates than banks. They are easier to deal with than banks IMO because they have no reason to try to screw you over.