Test Drive Tips!

The test drive is an important part of your car purchase. This is your chance to drive one or more used cars and decide which will be yours for the next several years. A test drive may only be 10 or 15 minutes per vehicles, but, there are several things you will want to remember to check when comparing these used cars.

Before you drive

1. Test the controls – Check things like the power windows and locks, power seats, power mirrors, Also make sure the air conditioner, heater, CD player, and window wipers are working correctly. Have someone sit behind the wheel and operate the headlights, brake lights, and turn signals as you verify that they work.
2. Open everything- Open and close all the doors and the trunk, glove compartment, and center consul, make sure everything is operating smoothly.  Also open the hood with the engine running and listen for knocks or ticks.
3. Exterior check- walk around the whole vehicle and check for damage, rust, check under the vehicle for fluid leaks, check the tires, and look for a cracked windshield.

As you drive

1. Driving comfort – take a moment to make sure the test drive vehicle is comfortable. Adjust the seat, steering wheel and mirrors to your comfort.  While it usually takes a bit of driving to become completely comfortable with your next car, on the test drive you will know if you can get comfortable with that vehicle or not.
2. Performance – be sure that during  your test drive you have a chance to accelerate to at least 60mph, break, and drive on a highway and city streets. Check for any vibration in the steering wheel, or if the vehicle pulls to one side. Also listen for any odd noises while moving or at a standstill, and check if the transmission shift smoothly.
3. Blind spots – while on your test drive be sure to check your blind spots carefully.  Sometimes when changing from a car to a wagon, a car to a large SUV or the like, there are more blind spots.  Most people can get used to them, but occasionally a customer will decide against a certain vehicle because of poor visibility.

Building Credit with an Auto Loan

Whether you’re working on improving your credit health after a bankruptcy or just getting started as a borrower, making car payments on an auto loan is an excellent way to establish or build your credit score.

Before you take out that big home mortgage loan, business loan or finance that designer furniture set, you need to prove to lenders that you’re creditworthy.

Car loans help you do just that for the following reasons.

Auto Loans are Installment Loans

When lenders and credit reporting bureaus look at your credit history, they want to see a good mix of installment loans and revolving credit. Revolving loans include credit cards and home equity loans. Installment loans include student loans, mortgages and auto loans. In most cases, it’s not feasible (or wise) to take out a student loan, home mortgage or home equity loan simply to build your credit. It’s much easier to qualify for and pay off an auto loan, which makes it the best option for improving your credit health.

Auto Loan Refinances are Easy

As a borrower with no credit history or bad credit, you’ll pay a premium for your first car loan. Don’t be surprised if you’re hit with a double digit car loan interest rate, especially if you’re emerging from bankruptcy. But the good news is that after one or two years of making your payments on time, you can refinance for a lower interest rate if your credit score has improved (which it will have, if you haven’t done anything else to negatively impact it).

You can refinance every few years and continue to get lower interest rates until you’re no longer paying the subprime rate. This is all made possible because, unlike home mortgage loans, the origination fees and other closing costs of a car loan are typically very low and the payback period is relatively short.

Car Payments are Somewhat Flexible

As long as you avoid loans with early payment penalties, car payments are very flexible. If you get a low monthly car payment, you can elect to make extra payments or double payments whenever you have extra cash. Paying off your loan early not only saves you money on interest, it reportedly boots your credit score faster as well.

You can also put down a larger down payment from the beginning or when you refinance to get a lower interest rate.

Overall, having an installment loan in good standing on your credit history is important to establishing or improving your credit health. A car loan is one of the easiest, most affordable and most flexible installment loans you can get. Keep this in mind as you embark on the road back to good credit.

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