Buying a New Truck

Tips For Buying a New Light Duty Truck

When buying a new truck, an absolute necessity is a new truck loan. Many consumers don't realize that they do not have to get the truck loan from the dealership. Securing truck loan financing from an independent source is a great way to save on a new truck.

Buying a New Truck: Basics

One of the principal advantages of getting a truck loan over buying a new light duty truck outright is that if the truck is used for business purposes, the interest payments and depreciation costs can often be tax deductable. The standard period for the length of a new truck loan ranges from 12-36 months right through to 61-72 months. The sooner you pay your new truck loan off, the less total interest you will have paid. Some finance companies offer such arrangements as no down payments, no application fees and no prepayment penalties. These additional features make new truck loans a very attractive proposition. For further information on new truck loans, make sure you check out the truck loan offers from myAutoloan.com.

Buying a New Truck: Research

When buying a new light duty truck, always research Kelley Blue Book (can be found on the myAutoloan.com site under new and used pricing) for new truck prices. If the price you're getting isn't close to KBB (Kelly Blue Book) or lower, you're not getting a good deal.

Research the value of your trade-in and whatever amount you may still owe on it. This is one of the most important factors involved with buying a new truck. Equity that you have in your trade-in should add to your purchasing power. It's easy for truck dealers to confuse you when it comes to how your trade-in equity affects the buying process. Use online auto loan calculators to help you plan your budget before you shop around. Talk to dealers directly over the telephone when buying a new truck to make sure you're getting truly accurate competitive pricing information.

Buying a New Truck: Financing

An absolute necessity when buying a new truck is to secure financing by getting a new truck loan. Many consumers don't realize that they do not have to get their truck loan from the dealership. Securing truck loan financing from an independent source is a great way to save when buying a new truck.

Direct financing, meaning truck financing secured by you without the help of a dealer, is a great bargaining chip. What it usually means is that you can save up to $1,500 on average of the cost of your new truck loan. That's savings that goes directly into your pocket. The key is to get your truck financing prearranged before you ever step onto the dealer's lot. Walking on the lot with a guaranteed loan gives you more options and can help you avoid common surprise costs that seem to get added when dealing with truck dealerships.

Buying a New Truck: Financing Options

It's a great idea to apply for new light duty truck financing before you go truck shopping. At myAutoloan.com you get multiple loan offers direct from lenders, offering the lowest APR and costs that you can get. Financing direct provides many more, often better, financing options than from a dealership. Know your budget and loan terms ahead of time.

Online lenders offer competitive financing rates, flexible options and fast approvals. Again, myAutoloan.com provides you with multiple offers, for good, bad or no credit, accepting all applicants with their select group of direct lenders. Be ready when buying a new truck with pre-approved lender rates.

Buying a New Truck Online

Buying a new truck online opens up a world of possibilities. Finding a new truck online is like using a sophisticated version of auto classifieds. The major advantage of buying a new truck online is your ability to search, sort, and check the marketplace without leaving home. While convenient, you may find online truck options slim and located a long way from home. New trucks also aren't necessarily any cheaper online, but the Web does provide a great way to research new truck prices.

Problems we've noticed with buying a new truck online include the freshness of the information and the clutter of ads. Sellers must constantly update their Web offerings as truck inventories turnover frequently. That can make locating even common trucks a challenge. Always call before visiting any truck dealer to make sure the truck you're looking for is still in stock. No matter how much of the transaction you conduct by phone or e-mail, it's vital that you inspect the truck in person and take it for a test drive.

Buying a New Truck: Dealerships

We suggest going to a new truck dealership when actually buying a new light duty truck. There are also individual independent truck dealers that call themselves superstores. Whether they specialize in low-pressure, one-price selling or want you to bargain the old-fashioned way, their key advantage is the quantity and the variety of the stock of new trucks on hand. Still, caution is the watchword. Both price and quality tend to be lower than at a new truck dealership. Repair facilities tend to be less sophisticated, so expect to take the truck elsewhere for major servicing. Check local newspapers, weekly classified-ad publications, and specialized truck-sales-oriented publications. Limit your choices to trucks with a good history of reliability, and be sure to make a thorough inspection in broad daylight.

Buying a New Truck: Considerations

What should I consider before buying a new truck? Before you buy a new truck you'll probably want to take a look at your finances. I'm assuming here that you will be financing at least part of your purchase. Let your budget help guide your decision on which new truck you buy. It makes more sense than picking a new truck to buy and then forcing it into your budget. After you figure out what you can spend each month you need to think about how much you can use as a down payment on your new truck. These days it has become commonplace not to make a down payment. People are used to no money down or just trading-in. Unless you own your trade-in outright or have significant equity in it, you'll want to use at least some cash as a down payment on the new truck. Any amount is better than nothing. Down payments will lower your monthly payments, save you money on interest and can sometimes earn you better rates on the money that you do borrow.