4 Reasons to get Pre-Approved before Car Shopping
May 21, 2025
Simplify your car buying experience
Thinking about buying a car? Hold on! Before you even step into a dealership, there's one simple step that can save you big: get pre-approved for your auto loan.
What is a Pre-Approval?
An auto loan pre-approval is when a lender (like Adventure Credit Union) checks your finances and tells you:
- If you are approved as a borrower
- How much can you afford to borrow
- What your interest rate could be
- What your estimated monthly payment could be
You get all this info before you start car shopping. The last piece of the puzzle is finding the right vehicle to purchase. Factors related to the vehicle such as model year, mileage, and the loan-to-value ratio can influence your actual loan interest rate and monthly payment.
4 Big Wins of Getting Pre-Approved:
- Know Your Budget & Stick to It: Pre-approval tells you exactly how much you can spend on a vehicle while maintaining a comfortable monthly loan payment. This stops you from wasting time on cars you can't afford and keeps your search realistic.
- Snag the Best Interest Rate: Your pre-approval from the credit union helps you ensure you’re getting the best interest rate. Financing directly with the credit union also gives you access to member-exclusive rate discounts! Send us a message to learn more.
- Focus on the Car, Not the Vehicle Loan: With auto financing sorted, you can walk into the dealership and focus on finding the right vehicle without stressing about money.
- Dealers Take You Seriously: A pre-approval letter shows you are ready to buy, not just browse. Salespeople are more likely to give you good service when they know you mean business. Your pre-approval also gives you a stronger position for negotiating the sale price, because you can take your pre-approved loan elsewhere!
Quick Tips When Getting Pre-Approved:
- Good Credit Helps: A better credit score usually means a lower interest rate. If you want to check your credit score without damaging it, try our free Credit Sense tool within digital banking.
- Down Payment Power: Putting some money down means borrowing less and paying less interest. It can also earn you a lower interest rate on your loan; ask us how!
- Shop Online First: Starting your car search online first can help you narrow in on what type of vehicle you really want. It can also help you see all of the options at local dealership side-by-side without leaving home.
- GAP Protection: The price of GAP Protection can vary greatly from dealer-to-dealer, and lender-to-lender. Where you buy your auto coverage matters. Adventure Credit Union offers one of the lowest rates on GAP Protection!
How to Get Pre-Approved (The Fast Track):