72 Month Auto Loan
by Nicole
(Atlanta,GA)
I really can't afford to have a huge car monthly payment. I'm trying to stay around 100 to 125 a month. I'm thinking of getting a used car, no more than 2 years old, for around 12,000.
My question is, will I be able to finance a car for 72 months on a 5,000 or less loan, maybe even 3,500, if I find a car for around 10,000.
My credit is not the greatest and my score is about 620, at last check. Even though I'm thinking of the 72 month auto loan, I'm planning to pay the whole loan off in January 2012.
Answer: Hi Nicole,
Most lenders will require a minimum amount financed of roughly 12,000 dollars in order to qualify for a 72 month auto loan (some a little less, some a little more).
In fact, many lenders have minimum amounts to finance before they'll even give a loan. This is often 7,500 dollars or more.
There are still lenders out there that will not have these rules and may be willing to give you a 72 month loan on a small amount like 5,000 dollars or less, but I would think that you'd have to find a credit union for something like this.
Take a look at Money Aisle to see what credit unions in your area they work with. They have somewhere near 200 lenders nationwide
Unfortunately, any credit problems you've had in the past or currently have will not make this process any easier for you.
Under the circumstances, even with excellent credit getting a 72 month auto loan with such a small amount financed would be challenging, but with any credit issues it becomes a bit more difficult. Not impossible, but simply more difficult.
You may need the help of a local dealer that works with credit unions in your area to make this process a bit easier.
I know at my dealership this would be hard to get done as we the only lenders that we work with that would do this are looking for excellent credit.
Your large down payment does help to some degree as it shows a big commitment on your part, but you may need to put a little less down and finance 7,500 dollars in order to make this happen.
This will all really depend on the lenders that service your area.
You may also be able to put the full 6-7,000 dollars down, but look to finance for a slightly shorter term, like 66 months.
A lot of this will also come down to what type of rate you are able to get. If you are approved for a 60 month auto loan and finance 5,000 dollars at a 12% rate, then your payments would only be $108 a month.
If this was the case, then you wouldn't even need to worry about a 72 month auto loan.
Hope this helps,
Justin
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