Are You Ready to Get a Car Loan? Here are the Signs

Applying for a car loan can be both an exciting and scary process for those in search of the right loan, especially if you’re a first-time borrower. Buying a car can quickly become a much more complex process than the buyer originally anticipated, leading to some anxieties and stresses related to the shopping process if you go in unprepared. 

Things can be further complicated when a loan is involved, because adding financing to anything requires more work. Car loans are a relatively unique type of funding too, similar to mortgages in the sense that they get their own allocation of funds in comparison to general personal loans. 

Car loans should also be examined closely before electing to take on the repayment of one, because fine print misreading can lead to trouble down the road. Car repayments can add up quickly if you’re not careful, so be sure this isn’t overlooked.

If you’re planning to obtain financing for your next, or first, car purchase, it’s important to ensure you’re ready to undertake this responsibility. So, here are a few signs you’re ready for a car loan: 

You’ve Done Your Research

Buying a car is something that’s a big deal for most consumers. Unless you’re relatively wealthy or just purchasing a vehicle for novelty purposes to add to a collection, fronting the capital for a new car is not something to be scoffed at. 

When you’re making a purchase on something that exceeds thousands, and usually five figures, in value, this is a serious financial burden you’re taking on. Failing to make the payments can significantly damage your credit reputation, and also leave you without a reliable means of transportation as well.

This is why doing your research is important. On the car yes, but most importantly on the car loan. The car loan market can present a wide variety of options available to those buyers who are looking to finance. 

You can finance your car through an independent financial institution, or often times a dealer as well, with dealers sometimes offering unique caveats like “0% APR for the first 12 months” or something of the like. 

Different lenders will come with different rates, and different borrowers will get different rates based on their credit worthiness. It’s important to know your credit standing, and what type of interest rate you can expect to get on the loan because of it. 

You’ll need to do some independent research and compare the offers available to you for the vehicle you wish to buy. This way, you won’t just be walking into a dealership prepared to take whatever is placed in front of you. If you’ve taken this step and are fully aware of the best route to go, you may be ready for a car loan. 

The Rest of Your Finances are in Order 

This isn’t a personal finance class, but is it qualifying information in regards to whether or not you’re ready to take on a car loan. Because of that, it’s important that car buyers give themselves an honest audit on where they stand financially before proceeding. 

Taking out new loans with bad credit, a lot of outstanding balances, accounts sent to collections, insufficient income, or even sufficient income but strapped with a lot of other debt, could all easily turn your dream into a nightmare. Adding a car loan to an unstable stack of financial issues might just topple the tower, so it’s important to make sure you’re ready for this responsibility. 

Take an objective self-assessment of your financial situation before you consider purchasing a new vehicle, or taking out a car loan on one especially. This is easily accomplished by looking at your debt-to-income ratio, account balances, outstanding balances, monthly expenses, and so on. You know what you can afford and must act accordingly.

If you’ve taken it upon yourself to undergo this process and have determined that you’re financially prepared to handle it, then you are likely ready for a car loan. 

You Trust Yourself to Make Timely Payments

One of the worst things that can happen to an otherwise financially stable person is to forget to pay a bill on time. Imagine you’re just scrolling through social media before bed and suddenly, there’s no Wi-Fi. Oh, wait…you forgot to pay the bill this month. 

Yeah, forgetting to pay for things you can otherwise afford isn’t a financial literacy issue, but rather just something that must be remembered. The same goes with making payments on a car loan, with failure to pay eventually resulting in repossession of your car.

Now, in most cases you’ll probably be contacted by your lender if you’ve missed a payment at all, and repo not usually coming until after a couple. This isn’t always the case though, and it can depend heavily on who exactly you purchased the car from, and who you financed it with as well. 

You’re unlikely forget two or three times after being reminded, but if you purchased from a less lenient dealer or borrowed from a lender of the same cloth, one missed payment could be enough to do you in and damage your credit. 

The simplest way to avoid this ever even coming close to happening is to just authorize automatic payments each month. The money will be withdrawn from your account on a specified date each month to cover the payment. Just make sure the funds are there and it’s taken care of for you. It’s like direct deposit, but uh, in reverse. 

However, if this has never been an issue for you and you’re really on top of things, you’re definitely ready for a car loan. 

So, are You Ready for a Car Loan?

If you’ve read this far and are able to check all three of these boxes, you likely have nothing to worry about. You’re probably the kind of person who pays off the credit card balance as soon as it posts and only uses it to get cashback points anyway. You’re on top of things financially. 

If not, don’t worry. Even asking the question “am I ready for it” is a step in the right direction to financial responsibility, and eventually your dream car.