First, can you wait until the end of the month to purchase your car? You'll get a better deal on the overall cost of the car if you go on the last weekend of a month, as the sales pirahana's have quotas to make. It makes them more aggressive (I know, hard to believe), but it means if you can say "no" a lot, you can get a better price.
Next, do you have insurance? If so, call them. Some insurance companies loan money for cars, and if so they can a) tell you what cars will reduce your insurance and/or loan interest rates (insurance companies would like you to drive safe vehicles), b) sometimes give you a better rate than most places c) WILL give you a better rate than the dealer d) is someone with whom you are already doing business, so iffy credit might not count as much on the overall loan (but WILL at the dealer). It's always best to try to get a car loan through someone OTHER than the dealer if you can. So, if you have a bank or (even better!) credit union you like, talk to them; often even with bad credit they can accomodate you some and it will still be better than the dealer's rates.
(incidentally, if either of you are children of teachers or former military, and your parents are still alive and talking to you, you could join the teacher's credit union for the area where the parent worked or the military branch credit union. This is especially good for home and car loans, because their rates are actually LOWER than what most banks will provide, and, again, if you are already doing business with them it might be easier to secure a loan)
I suck at the "go away, I'm just looking" game, so I usualyl take David for these types of decisions, who is happy to tell them he'll give our sale to the nice person NOT bothering us if this one doesn't go away.
I will be trying to get a new car (according to the budget) somewhere between March and May of next year.
Finally, if you REALLY need a low monthly rate, and you are willing to take your risks with the finance company of the proposed dealership, you can look at leasing a car. Typically the monthly rate is lower than a car purchase, but you do have to, you know, RETURN the car (although you can try purchasing it at the end of the lease, you probably shouldn't...not enough value left in the thing, no matter what car you purchase).
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Next, do you have insurance? If so, call them. Some insurance companies loan money for cars, and if so they can a) tell you what cars will reduce your insurance and/or loan interest rates (insurance companies would like you to drive safe vehicles), b) sometimes give you a better rate than most places c) WILL give you a better rate than the dealer d) is someone with whom you are already doing business, so iffy credit might not count as much on the overall loan (but WILL at the dealer). It's always best to try to get a car loan through someone OTHER than the dealer if you can. So, if you have a bank or (even better!) credit union you like, talk to them; often even with bad credit they can accomodate you some and it will still be better than the dealer's rates.
(incidentally, if either of you are children of teachers or former military, and your parents are still alive and talking to you, you could join the teacher's credit union for the area where the parent worked or the military branch credit union. This is especially good for home and car loans, because their rates are actually LOWER than what most banks will provide, and, again, if you are already doing business with them it might be easier to secure a loan)
I suck at the "go away, I'm just looking" game, so I usualyl take David for these types of decisions, who is happy to tell them he'll give our sale to the nice person NOT bothering us if this one doesn't go away.
I will be trying to get a new car (according to the budget) somewhere between March and May of next year.
Finally, if you REALLY need a low monthly rate, and you are willing to take your risks with the finance company of the proposed dealership, you can look at leasing a car. Typically the monthly rate is lower than a car purchase, but you do have to, you know, RETURN the car (although you can try purchasing it at the end of the lease, you probably shouldn't...not enough value left in the thing, no matter what car you purchase).