What car loan to go for?

FrankGrimes

Mods: couldn't find a financial forum so I posted it here, feel free to move if necessary.

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I need to get a car loan for €5,500 and I’m looking for advice on the best way to go about it. Credit Union is not an option.

Is it just a case of looking round to find the cheapest APR and going with that? I bank with BoI and have my mortgage with them and a relative is a branch assistant manager so I reckon I could give it a shot to get them to match the best APR – anyone have any experiences of similar?

Any opinions on whether fixed or variable would be best?

Also what would the normal length of such a loan be? I bought a house with my girlfriend 5 months ago and have been renovating it since and living at home but will have no problems paying the mortgage and bills on my current salary and I’m getting a 10k rise at the end of the month so can afford the car, but I don’t want to cripple myself to get it paid in a year. Would 2 or 3 years be the norm in this case?

Or do people make small payments with a view to paying the remainder off in one lump when you sell the car in a couple of years for an upgrade and take out a new loan for that?

Thanks

deRanged

FrankGrimes wrote:

I bank with BoI and have my mortgage with them and a relative is a branch assistant manager so I reckon I could give it a shot to get them to match the best APR – anyone have any experiences of similar?

if you use the phone service with BOI (banking 365) they'll give up to a %
off the standard rate - then if you talk to the bank manager they may be able to give you another .5% off. I know I got 1.5% off my car loan by doing that. Best thing is to talk to your branch manager.

Borzoi

FrankGrimes wrote:

Mods: couldn't find a financial forum so I posted it here, feel free to move if necessary.

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I need to get a car loan for €5,500 and I’m looking for advice on the best way to go about it. Credit Union is not an option.

Ehm: Biz>> Business/Economy/Finance would do it.

To compare rates, have a look at askaboutmoney.com, they keep track of most lender rates.

As a homeowner, almost anyone will lend you for a car, over 2-5 years, your preference usually.

seamus

I reckon variable rate is probably best. Means you can pay a little more or pay it all off early, without penalty.

TBH, the term of the loan is really dependant on your own circumstances. Ultimately it's a case of short-term -v- long-term savings. That is, a shorter term loan will save you more money in the long term, because you don't have to pay back as much, but you will have higher repayments, leaving you with less money for the short-term.

A longer term loan means that your repayments are lower (more cash for the short-term), but in the end you pay back more. If I had a mortgage, I'd probably go for a longer term, to give me more elbow room should an unexpected cost arise - as they tend to do.

css

The credit union is the best option if you can avail of it..

blastman

I'd agree that the credit union is the best option for this type of loan, if there's any way it could be an option.

I wouldn't get a car loan either, as the banks put too many restrictions on car loans for my liking. They want you to borrow a larger amount and buy a newer car, which is not what you want to do going by your budget. Get a personal loan with flexible repayments so you can pay it off early if you want to.

ROVER

blastman wrote:

I'd agree that the credit union is the best option for this type of loan, if there's any way it could be an option.

I wouldn't get a car loan either, as the banks put too many restrictions on car loans for my liking. They want you to borrow a larger amount and buy a newer car, which is not what you want to do going by your budget. Get a personal loan with flexible repayments so you can pay it off early if you want to.

Tesco charge 7.9 % fixed I dont think that can be beaten