* A longer, more comprehensive warranty. Of course, that discount special parked in front of Joe’s Bait and Easy-Pay Used Cars doesn’t have any warranty at all. But the best used cars — the lightly used former lease cars sold by new car dealers under factory “certification” programs — do come with warranties. While “certified” cars can offer good value, certification-program warranties are never as good as that manufacturer’s new-car warranty. Some new car warranties even cover oil changes and the like, for three or four years, or as many as 50,000 miles.
* The latest safety, convenience, and environmental features. This one speaks for itself. If you want the best airbags and electronic stability systems and super-deluxe seat-warmer doodads — and the cleanest engines — you’ve got to buy new.
* A car that lasts longer. Beyond the obvious — a new car should have two to three years’ more life in it than a two- or three-year-old one — there’s an additional advantage to buying new. Are you a stickler for maintenance? If you are, your car will last longer and deliver more value. But unless you’ve got access to a used car’s full service history, you don’t know whether its first owner changed the oil once every 3,000 miles, or once a year. Careless maintenance early in a car’s life can have long-term effects that might not show up until much later.
* Better financing terms. Unless you’re planning on paying cash for that new ride, financing costs will be a large chunk of what you pay to own your car over the first few years. Buying new entitles you to low-cost factory financing and (often) special deals, which can represent a considerable savings over a bank loan. And even if you do finance through your bank, you’ll often pay more on a used car loan. Rates on used car loans from major banks such as Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) are often a full percentage point higher — or more — than their new car loan rates.
* A simpler purchase process. Buying a new or used car is nobody’s idea of fun. But when you’re buying new, you know what’s available, you know where to go to get it, and most importantly, you know what it’s going to cost you. It’s easy to find a new car’s “invoice” price — the dealer’s cost — from sources such as Edmunds.com and Consumer Reports, and to learn the average selling price of your desired vehicle. The price you end up paying will vary from there depending on your negotiation skills and local supply and demand, but it won’t vary like used car prices do.

One last note: all of the above points assume that you’re planning to own the car for a long time, until it’s old and tired. If you’re the sort who likes to trade every two or three years, I urge you to consider used-car options carefully. You take a financial hit every time you trade in a car, and that hit gets bigger if you have to eat new-car depreciation every time around. Whatever you decide, add up the total costs before you buy, and make sure that your new purchase won’t get in the way of your long-term financial goals.

Auto loans for students are more flexible than other loans. Students can choose the loan features according to their convenience. Like other car loans these loans are also secured in nature. The loans are secured with the car and if the borrower cannot repay the loan, the lender sells the car to recover the loan amount. Bad credit students will have to pay high interest rate than the good credit students. There is no need of a co-signer. The loan rates can be lowered by searching for the suitable lender for you.

Student auto loans can go up to $36,000. If you need more money as the loan amount you will have to have a good credit rating. If you want to buy the car from preferred dealers it is fine. If you want to buy the car from anyone particularly, you will have to search for lenders who allow that. You can choose short term or long tenure to repay the loan. Before applying for these loans you must calculate the other expenses which come with a car. They are car insurance, car maintenance and fuel. You must plan your repayment period which will help you to repay the loan easily. You can enjoy driving and your studies without any tension.

Offline lenders, individual lenders and online lenders offer auto loans for students. Online loans can be available through the internet. You can do some research to get the cheaper loan. Online loans are approved quickly and are convenient for the borrowers. The loan amount is transferred to your bank account within few days of loan approval.

Is this the car I really want?

Once you’ve satisfied yourself that this car is The One, the rest of the questions are for the seller. Is this right style, in the right color, with the right engine, the right number of doors, and the right wear factor at the right price?

Has the Car Been in an Accident?

The first question for any seller is pretty straightforward and very important. Has this car ever been in an accident? If it has, determine what kind of accident it was and where the bulk of the damage occurred. Was an accident report filed? What was the insurance company? What body shop or dealership performed the repairs?

You want to make sure that the damages were properly repaired and there are no after-effects from that damage in terms of ride, steering, handling, or braking. Ask to see the paperwork involving any accidents to assess the extent of the damages and repairs.

Doing a Carfax check on the vehicle’s VIN number is always a good idea. Perhaps the seller already has one to show you.

Why Are You Selling It?

If there is no evidence of an accident or accidental damage, the next thing to ask the seller is: Why are you selling this car? It’s just comforting to know, whether it’s because of a growing and shrinking family size, or economic realities like a changing job situation and less-than-optimal fuel mileage for the seller’s economic circumstances (but not necessarily for yours).

How Has It Been Used?

Some of what you ask of the owner will naturally be specific to the vehicle in question. If it’s a pickup truck, you will want to know if it’s been used consistently for towing, and if so, what type. If you’re shopping at the low end for a second car, a high school or college car, or a commuter car, you’ll want to know more about fuel economy. If it’s a used sports car, you have every right to ask if it’s ever been raced, drag raced, used in gymkhana or autocross events, or taken on road rallies. If so, how competitive was it?

Do You Have Maintenance Records?

You should be persistent in asking to see as much of the paper trail behind the vehicle as possible, including the original bill of sale and all of the bills for its periodic maintenance and repairs. If the seller can’t prove to you that the vehicle has been regularly and properly maintained, with oil changes no more than 7,500 miles apart, perhaps you should move on to another seller.

Another important aspect of the paper trail is recalls. You can find out beforehand if the particular make and model under consideration was ever recalled for any safety-related manufacturing or assembly defect by contacting NHTSA. The follow-up would be to ask the owner if he complied with any and all recall letters he received from the manufacturer.

Is There a Warranty?

Still another aspect of the paper trail behind the car is the original manufacturer’s warranty. You will want to know the terms of the warranty for bumper-to-bumper coverage, power train coverage, corrosion coverage, how much time or mileage is still available under warranty coverage, and the terms of transfer of the warranty to the second owner, presuming that you’re buying from the original owner.

Has Anything Been Replaced?

How much of this vehicle, as it sits, is original equipment? What parts or equipment has the owner had to replace since he’s owned it, and why? A straight answer here will be another major clue to the car’s reliability and desirability.

If the car has a high-mileage, you might want to inquire as to the state and age of the tires that are on it. If they are obviously inexpensive replacements, you may want to lower your offer on the car simply because the tires are not necessarily trustworthy even though they appear new or newer.

How Does It Run?

Ongoing operating costs are going to be important to you as the buyer, so there are a couple of questions you might want to ask of the seller. What kind of fuel mileage has it been getting? What brand and grade of fuel do you generally use? How much oil does the engine burn at this point?

At the end of your intensive inquisition, you might pose another very important question, along the lines of, “If I leave you a deposit check, can I take the car overnight to my mechanic for a quick check-up and have it back here tomorrow to finalize the deal?”

“It’s a good idea to ask the seller if you can take the car for 24 hours to show your mechanic,” said Philip Reed, consumer advice editor for Edmunds.com. “That way, you can wash the car, feel all the surfaces, look at the finish in detail, and even find out if the windshield, windows or sunroof [are] leaking.”

Reed said another benefit of taking the car home is to “see if it will actually fit in your garage or carport comfortably enough to load and unload.” He says that by leaving the car at your house overnight, you’ll be able to see if any fluids leak out onto your driveway or garage floor overnight, and most importantly, that you’ll be able to start it up cold in the morning.

Reed says a cold start will indicate whether there are unhappy parts in the engine’s valve train, or whether the engine is burning oil. If there’s a problem with the radiator or either of the cooling hoses, it will surface when the engine has warmed up and the thermostat is fully open.

“It’s a lot different when the car is in your environment instead of at the seller’s house, with him standing there impatiently tapping his toes,” Reed said. “You don’t want your dream car to turn out to be a nightmare.”

Carfax recommends for used car loans:

A good rule of thumb: Your monthly auto loan payment should not be more than 20 percent of the money you have available each month after you pay for your usual living expenses - rent or mortgage, utilities, food, transportation, credit card payments, etc. When reviewing your budget, you should also take into consideration other associated costs, including fuel, license, registration, personal property taxes, and insurance. Call your insurance company before you purchase your car to determine what the monthly insurance cost will be.

If you’re taking out a car loan, figure on a down payment of at least 10 percent. Lenders might be skeptical otherwise. If you have enough cash available to boost that percentage, do so. Cutting the principal of your loan will do more to slash your payments than will getting a lower interest rate.

With reputed companies like E-Loan and Capital One Auto Finance (Formerly PeopleFirst) providing online auto loans, more and more companies, banks, and credit unions are now offering auto loans over the web. Now, many of the major banks, namely, Chase Manhattan, Wachovia, Wells Fargo, SunTrust, PNC Bank, and Union Bank of California are offering online auto loans. But all these offers of auto loans available on the net differ a lot from each other in terms of online applications, rates, and customer service. Thus, one needs to be careful while shopping for a loan.

The best part about these online auto loans is there low interest rates. On an average, auto loans for new cars are available at 7.54% for a period of 48 months and auto loans for used cars are available at 8.04% for 36 months. But when you shop for the same loans online, you get to see a marked difference. Online auto loans for new cars are available at 4.05%, while for old cars it’s 4.59%.

You can also get auto loans at these amazing rates. All you need to do is to apply online, and agree to make automatic, electronic loan payments. Instead of online application, if you apply for auto loans by phone, fax, or mail, then the interest rate increases around quarter percent. If you don’t agree to the automated loan payments, then your interest rate goes up another half percent.

But all online auto loans don’t guarantee low interest rates. There are several banks that offer their online customers the same interest rate on auto loans that they offer at the branch. So, simply logging on to the Internet doesn’t mean that you’re getting the lowest interest rates on auto loans. Apart from the low interest rates, what endears online auto loans the most is the quick response time. You can get an approval within minutes of applying for a loan.

Also, while applying online for auto loans, don’t overlook the fees. Various types of fees, such as application fees, paperwork fees, administrative fees, and many other fees, may be charged for auto loans. So make sure that you clarify about the types of fees to be charged before you apply for a loan.

You have to be careful that instead of saving money with online application for auto loans, you don’t end up paying more through various hidden costs. The best way to ensure that is to take some time off to shop around for the various types of auto loans available, there interest rates, as well as terms and conditions.

Visit all the websites that you can, and find out what all do they have to offer to a person having your credit score. After all, getting a quick approval for your loan is not the only factor. What really matters is the interest rate, and it won’t leave you any happier if you have to pay a few hundred dollars extra to get a quick approval.

In fact, there are several websites that don’t approve your loan instantly. They may take several hours, or even days, to process your application. They will go through your application thoroughly and verify all the details before reaching any decision.

So let me suggest you the best way out. Take enough time to shop around for auto loans. You might check out some offline options as well. Once you’ve gathered enough information, compare the interest rates and other details, and get going!