How to Shop for a Car... Without Actually Shopping for a Car

My lease is up soon and I want to be sure I get what I want... which usually means ordering the vehicle four months ahead of time. So a little advance planning is in order.

Of course, if you've just been discharged from your bankruptcy, or your FICO scores are low, you should have different priorities.

Your main concern should be just getting financed.

Then you should concentrate on working with a car manufacturer, bank or credit union that reports to all three credit reporting agencies.

And finally, you want to find a loan at a single-digit interest rate with little to no money down.

Is this even possible?

Yes... keep reading.

Most of the time, your best deal is going to be on a car the dealer has in stock. I started out getting cars this way. But now, with over 13 years after my bankruptcy, I have more options. As your FICO scores increase and more time passes it gets easier.

I wanted to make sure I was well prepared before I talked to a salesperson, so I went to the auto manufacturer's website. After reading about all the new features, I still had questions.

Rob Lied to Me

I decided to return to the dealership where I purchased my current SUV.

Rob, the salesman who sold me the truck two and a half years ago, was still working there.

Oh, joy.

And he remembered me...

How could he forget?

He lied to me the last time I purchased from him. And by the time I realized it-there was no turning back. (Sometimes you just need to pick your battles.)

You see, in 2003 he sold me an SUV with the promise that it came with DVD navigation.

All the sales literature was very vague so I made it very clear to Rob that this was one of my motivations for getting the SUV. To make a long story short... the SUV did NOT have DVD navigation.

My first clue came when I received a package from the navigation software company a week later with a letter saying...

"Congratulations on your new purchase. Enclosed are your navigation CDs... "

CDs?!

Crap. I knew I was in trouble.

So, to peacefully resolve the situation... I suggested a compromise. They would detail one of our cars once a month for free until the DVD navigation system

was upgraded... at cost (they never gave me the upgrade. It's been two and a half years so far, and our cars are very clean).

Why I Went Back to a Car Dealership where the Salesperson Lied to Me

I walked into the dealership with my, "car dealership attitude" in high gear. I met a young chap by the name of Rick and asked him for a brochure.

As he was stapling his business card to a color brochure I asked him if Amy, the finance manager, was still there.

Rick said she still worked there, and was in the building. He promptly rang her phone extension asking if he could bring by a visitor.

Amy helped me finance my current SUV, and is a talented finance manager... knows her stuff and takes pride in her work (rare talents these days). She's the reason I went back to the dealership.

So we began walking toward her office through the back hallway.

As we were walking, I started to think, "This will be really awkward if she doesn't remember me! After all, it's been a while and she's dealt with hundreds if not a thousand people since then."

And just before I had time to think of Plan B... we arrived at Amy's office door.

"... Hi, Stephen. I love the newsletters. I read them every chance I get. But could you change the name of the newsletter so people here don't think I filed bankruptcy?!... "

She remembered me!

Not only that, she's a reader of my newsletter!

Six important questions to ask a finance manager

I told Amy my lease was ending on my SUV in October. I then quickly went into my fact-finding mode... asking her important questions to get a better feel of what I could expect. These were my exact questions...

1. Do your lenders use the regular FICO credit scores or FICO Auto Industry Option scores?

2. Which local banks or credit unions are offering competitive financing?

3. Does the manufacturer offer a competitive rate and terms compared to other lenders?

4. Which credit reporting agency does your lender use to make a loan decision?

5. Can you dictate which score or which credit reporting agency they use to make a loan decision?

6. What minimum score is required to get the best interest rate and terms?

Amy answered all of my financing questions in a 10-minute conversation.

I said goodbye to Amy, gave Rick my card, chatted about my lingering questions, and left the dealership with a very clear game plan.

No credit reports were reviewed.

No unnecessary credit inquiries were made.

Just the right questions asked of someone in a position to answer them.

I had just shopped for a car without actually shopping for a car. You should do this as well. It will save you time, energy and credit inquiries.

Half the Battle is Going to the Right Car Dealer

As I said before, since my bankruptcy has been discharged for over 13 years, I have a lot of options with lenders. It also helps that my bankruptcy no longer appears on my credit reports.

Even if your bankruptcy still remains on your credit reports just knowing what dealer to go to and what to do when you get there can be the difference between getting financed at a normal interest rate on a car you want, or being offered high-interest financing by a crappy lender like Crapital One, AmeriCredit, WFS Financial, or HSBC Auto Finance on a crappy car you don't want.

Stephen Snyder is the founder of the After Bankruptcy Foundation a non-profit organization that helps people recover after bankruptcy. He has helped thousands of people obtain a credit card after bankruptcy with a fair interest rate.