ANCHOR: If you’re looking to buy and finance a car these days, your best resource may be the Internet.

ANCHOR: Our money and real estate expert Ilyce Glink is here with the details.

  • Good Morning

ANCHOR: If I decided I wanted to purchase and finance a new car, where would I start?

ILYCE: First, you have to figure out what kind of car your want to buy. Some people think they know what car is right for them, but others don’t. If you have a budget in mind, there are several websites that you can go to, like www.carsdirect.com, where you put in the price you want to pay, and a list of all the makes and models of cars that fit your budget will pop up onto the screen.

ANCHOR: Should you go to the dealer?

ILYCE: A dealership is a great place for initial research, and you’ll probably go back several times before you actually purchase your car – unless you buy it online, which we’ll get to in a moment. But the first time you go to a deal, it should be to get a first-hand look at the car models you’re considering and to take a test drive.

ANCHOR: And then what?

ILYCE: And then it’s back to the Internet for detailed research on the type and model of car that you’ve selected, the invoice price, the price for the options you want to have on that car, and the financing.

ANCHOR: What are some good sites on the Internet?

ILYCE: For pricing out your car, check out these sites:

CarsDirect.com
CarOrder.com
Cars.com
ConsumerReports.com

ILYCE: For financing your car, check out these sites:

BankRate.com
CarsDirect.com
PeopleFirst.com

ANCHOR: How do the financing packages compare?

ILYCE: It’s really interesting. If you have perfect credit, and of course, that’s what all of the sites show because it’s the lowest rate available, the difference in financing for the SAME TYPE OF LOAN, can be as much as $100 per month.

ANCHOR: So you’ll really want to shop around and see a bunch of different sites before you buy.

ILYCE: Absolutely, you’ll also want to check out your local bank and a mortgage broker, just to compare. And if you own your own home, and you’re responsible about paying your debt, a savvy way to go might be to get a home equity loan, which will usually be less expensive than a car loan and it’s tax deductible. There are plenty of ways to get home equity loans on the web, too.