What is considered a prime rate for a new car loan? I just bought a car and was quoted 8.9 for 60 months through Nissan Acceptance and wonder if I should shop for a lower rate.
Be careful though. A 60 month car loan is rarely a good idea. Try not to do more than a 48 month loan if at all possible.
I did a 72 month car loan when I got mine. I did it so that my monthly debt to income ratio would be lower when I applied for a mortgage. I had the loan paid in less than 2 years, well before I applied for my mortgage anyways.
That is one of the few good reasons I can think of to do an extended loan like that. And then it was only good because you paid it off sooner. I've done one 60 month loan myself for the terrible reason of saving $45-$50 a month in payments. That was one of the costlier mistakes I've made -- especially when in the beginning of the fifth year of the loan I started having car problems. I wanted to get out of that loan very badly but I was upside-down the whole term of the loan and couldn't do it.
