Ok, for those of us who have financed cars whether being the Prius or another vehicle, I would like to know, what would be the best way to shop around when it comes to getting approved for a loan? Basically, I have read that getting online financing would be best like Cap One and E-Loan, alongside with the credit unions. But i'm not sure if E-Loan is accepted at some dealerships though. So when shopping for a loan and getting the best rate possible, is it like simply putting an app in at different places? The main thing I want to avoid is doing multiple inquiries when shopping for the best loan to where it could bring the score down. Though I heard that when shopping like this within a certain time frame it will only count as one inquiry, but I don't know how true that would be. Since I know the online lenders you have 45 days from initial approval, I want to work on getting that done so when my car comes in all I would have to do is write the check out and drive home. If anyone has any tips or clarifications on this would be great.
Pre approved through my credit union. Dealer was able to beat the rate the credit union had given me but my credit union had told me if that happened to let them know. I called them from the finance guy's office as I was signing papework and my credit union matched the dealer's rate
