Sometimes choosing a finance company can feel like something of a lottery. You look at all the deals available, choose the one you like the sound of and hope that it is a good deal and that the company offering it are sound.
But by applying a few set criteria you can actually shop around and reduce the risk of going with a company that isn’t what you are looking for in a car finance company. But what criteria should you be using?
5 Things To Look For in a Car Finance Company
- Price. No matter what you read about choosing companies for finance, price has to be an important aspect of your consideration. It is a simple fact of life that no matter how good the approved auto loan offers are, we have a budget that we can’t afford to break. Stick to your budget and you’re avoid problems. So shop around and make sure that you are only dealing with companies that can give you approved car finance deals that are within your budget. Getting a good car is important, and applying for credit may help you get a better car today, instead of saving money gradually. Still you don’t want to break the bank.
- Trust? Can you trust the company that are offering you approved car finance? And before you answer yes or no have you looked around and compared the deals? Every company develops a reputation, whether good or bad, so it is important that you find out what that reputation is. Ask people that you know, ask on car forums, Google their name (and remember that all companies get some complaints – and what’s even worse, many companies get fake negative ratings from competitors).
- Age. You want to know that a company that is offering you approved car finance is not some shifty company that will end up going bust next month and forcing you to repay all the money you borrowed over night. So make sure that they are a company in it for the long haul… and a good indicator of this is how long they have been around.
- People. Can you get in touch with actual people? It’s all well and good being offered a good deal by a company but if you can’t speak to anyone when you have a problem then that can be a huge issue. Make sure that there are REAL people involved in the company. A tell-tale sign is the presence (or a lack) of a phone number on their website.
- The Fine Print. It is amazing how few people read the fine print after they sign their documents. They get too excited about the money and the car. But the fine print can be vital to any deal.
Such things as changing interest rates, fines for late payment, what control they have over the deal etc can make a massive difference to what you thought was a basic auto loan offer. So apply your due diligence and check out what they are really offering you by reading the fine print and asking questions.