3rd party financing- what do I need to know

[SS_Matt]

Hi guys!
My car should be coming in this week and financing is starting to be my focus.
Initially we planned on leasing the car as I tend to get new cars every couple years out of boredom. However my gut is telling me I won't want a new car so quickly in this one- plus I want to mod it a bit etc. ANYWAY

My dealer offered me a pretty high lease offer- it made almost no sense in any way to lease for that price. The money factor equated to over 7% interest rate and I didn't even get the residual number back yet. I was also offered 4.9% for 60 or 72 months. Not horrible, but I know our credit is very good so I shopped a bit.

I applied for Bank of America last night and got approved for 2.98%.

I've never financed a car- only paid cash or leased through the dealers bank.

What do I need to know about this process? I know when financing (leasing) through the dealers banks they have all the forms there for you. With BOA their branches don't do auto loans- it's all done online and over the phone from what I've been told. Any idea how they will get documents to me? (email, fax, fedex?)

Anyway SUPER excited that this car will be MINE and I can drive it and mod it however the hell I want, unlike if it were a lease.

[v6sonoma]

My suggestion is to check out AAA also. Most of the time that's where I have gotten my loan's because they offered the best rate. As far as BOA they will probably send documents via fax to a branch for you to review and sign and they will cut you a cashiers check for the car which you bring with you to the dealer when you fill out the paperwork.

[PatsRS]

2.98 is a great rate. The business manager at the dealer ship should be able to walk you through the process. You will need the contract that shows what you will owe (loan amount). I did this for my Camaro also. I got a better rate from my bank and even lower for automatic withdrawal. It was easier than I thought just took one trip to the bank to sign the paperwork and pick up the check.

[MiracleAces]

It's pretty simple. BOA will give you a check that you simply give to the dealer. It's possible the dealership will get you a better rate once they see you've got financing taken care of.

Lease rates right now (especially on a Camaro) are awful. You have to remember the bank takes all the risk on a lease and on a vehicle like th Camaro the risk is quite high. That's why the rate is so high - although the dealership is probably holding between 1 and 1 1/2 points.

[justa25thTA]

I financed through BOA through the dealership. I bet the finance manager will be able to take care of it no problem.

[SS_Matt]

I emailed my salesman last night and told him I wasn't too thrilled with the rates he gave me and asked to see if he could get anything better.
I also told him BOA had great rates and I was going to apply for the loan to see what I'm approved for. (I figured this could work out as leverage as well)

When should I tell him I was approved for 2.98%?

Thanks guys!

[MiracleAces]

Originally Posted by SS_Matt

When should I tell him I was approved for 2.98%?

Thanks guys!

Anytime. You've got nothing to gain by not telling him.

[Carver1]

After he comes back with the rate, ask him how many points he is holding. They always try to add to the rate to get more profit. It's up to you to have it removed. Under 3% is great. If he can match or beat it, I'd go with the dealer. They treat you a little better if you let them finance it.

[SS_Matt]

Originally Posted by Carver1

They treat you a little better if you let them finance it.

I suppose I'll email him this morning and let him know lease is out of the picture- and to try and get me a better finance rate.

[Baba]

2.98 is pretty darned good. Just know the payment terms (sounds like it should be 60-72 months with 100% financing). Make sure and opt for the GAP coverage!

If you're military / former military or a family member, you may want to check out USAA - plus - you might even be able to utilize their "car buying service" to receive a pre-negotiated sale price (which may not necessarily be better than what you might be able to negotiate, given that we have the 2012 price lists available). See the 2012 Camaro price lists I attached (got these from our own Camaro5 forum).

[Rip]

Originally Posted by justa25thTA

I financed through BOA through the dealership. I bet the finance manager will be able to take care of it no problem.

This. The finance manager at my dealership had no issues. As a matter of fact, I had secured financing through my credit union prior to purchase, and he was able to get me a better rate from an entirely different bank altogether. I guess it depends on the dealership, but the one I use doesn't care where you get financed and will shop around with all of the local/national banks to get you the best rate. They get their check regardless.

[cab2g]

It's pretty simple... BoA will send you a check, you give the check to the dealer with your purchase price minus down payment filled in by you, and he calls a special number to verify that you are approved for that amount. Takes about 10 minutes of his time.

Capital One also had low rates if I remember correctly. I got lower than their advertised rates on their website. So if you have stellar credit, Capital One will automatically offer you a lower rate than what is advertised after you're approved.

[BLACKCAMARO2SS]

Matt penfed has a great rate of 1.99 for 48 months and 2.49 for 60 months.

[SS_Matt]

Got an email reply:

Thanks for the info, we do B&A here at the dealership so you won't have to make the extra trip to the bank. In the mean time we will try to beat their deal.

I'm not entirely sure what he means they do B&A (I assume he means BOA) and that I won't need to make an extra trip to the bank?

I don't know if he's implying them being the middle man, or if he's saying they can handle it... If he's being the middle man is that just trying to get more money out of it?

Sorry folks- I'm new to financing, and honestly I didn't research my prior leases much- just took a payment I was happy with. This time around I want to be sure I'm making a good investment.