So you want to buy a new car, but your financial situation is not so great, and you my even have a bad credit history. Basically you would need to apply for a bad credit car loan. We will get to this in a moment.

The fact is buying a car for most people is one of the biggest purchases they will ever make. Owning a car is kind of like a right of passage for a lot of people, and definitely a sign of “coming of age” for most teenagers. Let face it , we all need a reliable car to get around, and most of us would rather drive a nice new or late car than an old bomb. But nice new or late model cars are obviously a lot more expensive than old cars, and that means that most of us will require some sort of finance. The problem is that if you have a poor credit history, or have not had time to establish a good credit record, then its going to feel like the whole financial system has it in for you. Unfortunately banks and most financial or lending businesses do not look favorably on people with no or bad credit history’s.

But before you decide to give up, bad credit finance is available, be it a bad credit personal loan, or in the case of buying a car, a bad credit auto loan.

The first choice is always to contact the bank you normally do business with, and always take a bit of time to prepare your case in writing before contacting your bank for an appointment. Make sure you have all the facts about the vehicle you would like to purchase, such as price , model, year , mileage etc. Also do a bit of research on repayment schedules, so that you have some idea of what the down payment and repayments are going to be, and how you intend to meet those repayments. On the subject of approaching your bank, it is a good idea to look respectable, wear some nice clothes and do your hair and in the case of men have a shave before going. Remember the old saying about “first impressions”. Another point to bear in mind, is that quite often the bank will be more inclined to grant you bad credit finance on a newer vehicle, due to it having more value if the bank should need to repossess it.

If your bank turns you down, it is not the end of the line.

There are lenders out there who specialize in bad credit finance, and who will be able to furnish you with a bad credit car loan. The fact is , some of the bigger motor car dealers would be willing to give you a bad credit auto loan. When considering bad credit financing, it is advisable to shop around and do your homework, because the interest rates offered can vary quite significantly between the various lenders. A good starting point for researching the various bad credit financing institutions is of course the internet. By using the search engines like Google, Yahoo etc, you will find many lending businesses where you can submit a loan application. From there it is a fairly simple matter of filling out and submitting an application form.

Things to keep in mind when buying a car include. If you are planning to buy a used car, get a friendly mechanic to give it a once over. Keep in mind additional costs such as insurance, registration etc. And most importantly, to enjoy the pride and freedom that owning your own car creates.