4 Reasons to Get Pre-Approved Before Car Shopping

Budget drives each and every car search because the car purchase is just the first step on the journey of car ownership. Understanding what you can afford in terms of your budget is incredibly important because there’s nothing worse than falling in love with a vehicle you can’t afford. Here are four reasons to get pre-approved before you start shopping for a car.

Gives You Greater Control Over the Purchase

Buying a car is a process and if you’re not sure how much you’re able to spend, you might get caught up in it. Getting pre-approval for your car loan helps you keep your eyes on buying a car you can afford on terms you can live with. Part of the car buying process is also spent waiting for your dealer to obtain financing options. Being pre-approved cuts down on this part.

You Can Budget

Car ownership is a journey involving many steps. But it’s common for people to forget about this when car shopping. Getting pre-approved for a car loan allows you to budget for every aspect of owning your car. This first part involves looking at what you can borrow and finding a monthly payment that’s comfortable for you.

Next, make sure you factor in the other costs of car ownership (insurance, gas, maintenance, and repairs) and adjust your affordability as necessary. Understanding what a vehicle costs you as a whole may prevent you from purchasing a car that you truly can’t afford once other costs are accounted for.

Know What You Can Afford

Once you know how much your budget can handle in terms of cost, you can find the car that you want. If you aren’t pre-approved you might not get a vehicle that suits your needs because you’re worried about the payment. With pre-approval in hand, you can look at cars within the range of payment you’re comfortable with and make sure you get what you want from your car in terms of features.

You Have Negotiating Power

Negotiating the price of a car is another key aspect of car buying. With a pre-approval in hand, you will feel less pressure to take the vehicle deals presented to you simply because you need the car. Instead, you can take the time to figure out which deal is better for you overall because you already know what you can afford. This is true especially if you have more than one lender’s pre-approval. You may be able to get a lower interest rate or a better overall loan from your dealer if you know what you can spend going in.

Buying a car is a major purchase that you shouldn’t leave to chance. Start looking at car loans two to six weeks before going to the dealership in order to minimize the impact to your credit score. Have copies of your necessary paperwork on hand for the dealership so that they can give you all of your financing options too. If you have questions about car financing, call the knowledgeable staff at Jim McKay Chevrolet to help you take the next step towards car ownership.

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