Comparing Bank Car Loans

By Author: Tom Cruise
Total Articles: 1
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For many people cars are a big emotional weakness, and while we may skimp and save on every other aspect of our lives, often a new car seems like an opportunity to treat ourselves to something fancy. This is for many reasons - because we will be spending a lot of time in our new vehicle, because we see it as a sign of status, and because we've had experiences with cheap and old cars before and found them to be more hassle than they're worth.

Often then, looking into a way to finance a car outside of our budget can be a sensible option and a way to treat ourselves without feeling that pang of guilt. In this case there are many different options available and many ways to get a vehicle that you pay for over time.

One option is to rent a car. However this means paying a monthly sum that we won't ever see again with nothing to show for it at the end. On the one hand it involves savings on tax and insurance, though on the other you will not get to own the car making it a bad investment over a long period of time.

Another option is a finance lease, often provided by the retailer or manufacturers, which allows ...
... you to pay back the price of the car over a set period of time. In most cases you pay more (except in rare cases of 0% finance, though this is rare), but with it split over that time it will feel like less and be more affordable. A similar option however would be a bank loan which is both more flexible and usually offers a lower interest rate (unless you do find 0% finance).

When choosing your bank loan you need to take several things into account and should shop around and compare deals before you sign a contract. The first thing you need to do is decide how much of the cost you want to pay upfront and how much you want to pay in instalments. You also need to decide how big you want the instalments to be and how long you're willing to pay them for. In other words, you should decide on the type of loan you want before you go looking for one so that you can choose the bank car loan that best matches your plans - if you go in without a plan you may find yourself coming unstuck several months down the line.

This will already cut down the number of bank car loans to choose from. Next you need to find out which one offers the lowest percent finance. You can do this on price comparison websites, which will allow you to enter your details and terms and then calculate the cost of the loan.

Be careful to look out for hidden costs however such as loan repayment insurance which some banks include in the price of their loan (and often don't include in the quote). These can be expensive and cover only a small variety of cases, so make sure you can opt out of the insurance and go private if you want to save extra money.

Of course the bank also needs to be willing to accept you and so if you have a bad credit rating you may need to try several options and look for slightly worse deals. In this scenario you may stand a slightly better chance going with the bank that currently handles your accounts. Good luck and happy motoring!