Almost
all of us at some time or other will decide that we would like to buy a new
car, or would at least, like to upgrade to a newer model. Very often though,
when this happens, we are disappointed to find that we do not have sufficient
funds to finance this aspiration. So what are our choices for financing our car
purchase?
Well
there are actually four main possibilities; taking out a personal loan, car
finance, a re-mortgage and car leasing.
The personal loan
This
is probably one of the quickest and easiest options and is generally a matter
of going to your bank and filling out the appropriate forms; as long as you
have a good record with your bank and are putting up a proportion of the car’s
total cost yourself, there should be no problem obtaining this type of loan. As
with any loan, shop around first, for the best rate of interest (you don’t
necessarily have to use your own bank) and make sure that you can comfortably
afford the repayments.
Car Finance
When
purchasing a new car through a dealership, you may sometimes be offered
finance. The dealerships are generally very keen to offer such finance as
often, the actual amount repaid by you at the end of the finance agreement is
truly astounding! It is still worth considering though, as long as you do your
research, shop around and do some comparisons first. The important figure to
look for with car finance is the ‘total amount repaid’ figure. Car finance can
be worth opting for, as often you can negotiate a lower APR on specific cars or
models even if you can’t necessarily get a discount on the actual car.
Re-mortgage
A
re-mortgage can be a very useful way of releasing equity from your home and is
often used by people for such major purchases as cars and all manner of home
improvements. The advantage of using this type of finance is that you get
access to the required funds with just a relatively small increase in your
monthly mortgage repayments.
Car Leasing
If
you are the type of person who wants to drive a new car and will always want to
upgrade to a newer model regularly, then car leasing could be for you. At its
most basic, car leasing is a way of ‘crystallising’ the wear and tear /
depreciation / running costs of privately owning a car and converting that into
an ongoing monthly payment. The benefit to you is that you get to drive a new
car every 3, 6, 9, or 12 months without any running costs (except of course,
petrol). As
with all forms of finance, the secret to getting the best deal is to shop
around and to carefully compare products, prices and rates of interest. A
little homework before going into a deal could save you a great deal of money
and a whole lot of heartache in the future.
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Car Finance Advice