If you've been thinking about buying a new car or truck the following tips and one secret will help you find and get the best deal on an auto loan. The companies that finance cars and trucks are very competitive. They try to offer the lowest rate knowing that customers will compare rates with other finance companies.

Because of this they try to undercut each other so they can offer you the best interest rate and terms. Take a look at the following tips and the little-known secret and you should find the best deal.

1. If possible get a copy of your most current credit report and check your FICO score. Look it over to make sure there aren't any errors. If so you'll want to take care of this right away by writing letters to the three credit bureaus. Make sure you have a copy of all three reports before you do this in case the error is on all three.

Annual credit reports are free online and you can download instantly. So much of the loan is going to be hinged on your credit history that you'll save yourself some money if you've done this ahead of time. Even just a few points can make the difference between just being fair or good and your corrections may elevate you to outstanding.

2. Make sure to sit down and figure out just how much you can afford to pay every month, rather than doing this in the auto dealer's office. Go over everything and make sure your payments will be comfortable and not stress the household budget. There are dozens of free loan calculators online and you can figure in the interest rate and term of the auto loan to easily figure out what your monthly payment will be.

3. If at all possible you may want to make a good down payment on the car or use a trade-in if it saves you money over selling the car yourself. Your interest rate may even be lower with the reduction.

4. Make sure to check the auto loan contract for any early payoff penalties. Check the wording carefully, if necessary, have someone else review the contract first before signing.

5. Here's a little-known secret - something that most people aren't aware of. Be aware that when you've picked out the car or truck you want that the finance officer at the auto dealership may call around to several auto loan companies to get you the best interest rate on your auto loan.

When the finance officer does this each company will count as a mark on your credit report and can result in a lowering of your FICO score. Try to borrow the money from your credit union or bank first where they know you. This would only count as one mark on your credit report.

With these tips you can start shopping for an auto loan. You should be able to get the best deal on an auto loan online or offline, if you know these secrets. These are just a few of the tips that you should know, there are many others - too much to go into in this short article.