First, you want to make sure you've done everything you can to increase your credit score. Once you've done that you're ready to start shopping for your car!

Here's a question for you: Is it better to get outside financing or get financing through the dealership when you are buying a car after bankruptcy. The answer is... drum roll please... it depends!

It's worthwhile to apply for outside financing when buying a car after bankruptcy. But make sure you do it through the right lender. If you don't, you could end up paying $100s or $1,000s more in extra interest. If you even get approved at all.

Now let's assume you've done your homework. You found the car you like, you know how much that make and model sells for, and you know how much your trade in is worth. It's time to visit the dealership...

Let's say you find the specific car you want to buy. Now you're going to need to negotiate the price.

If you lined up outside financing, then you're in a good position from a negotiating standpoint. But what if you could not get outside financing for a car after bankruptcy? What if you need to depend on the dealership to get you financed when buying the car after bankruptcy?

Many people think that since they had a bankruptcy they are at the mercy of the car dealership in this situation. THIS SIMPLY IS NOT TRUE!

Let me share a little secret with you: If the dealership has run your credit report and they start negotiating with you, then they're pretty sure they can finance you. After all, do you really think they would waste their time negotiating a price with someone they did not think they could finance? Of course not!

Here's where things get interesting. How many times a year does the dealership negotiate with buyers? Probably hundreds of times a year at a decent sized dealership. Now what about you - how many times do you negotiate for a car? If you are like most people, it's probably once every so many years.

Most people will thoroughly research the price of the car they want to buy. If it's new they'll take time to find out the dealership's cost and, if they have one, the value of their trade in.

...and they'll go back and forth with the dealership for two or three hours until everyone agrees on the numbers and a sale takes place.

Chances are the buyer still may have left a pile of money on the table - and didn't even know it. The reason the buyer probably left money on the table is that they more than likely made two critical mistakes without even being aware of it. One mistake was that they didn't negotiate all five parts of the sale separately. The price of the car is just one part.

On that note, another step you will want to take is to improve your car buying skills. How? Visit websites that provide car buying tips. Another way is to pick up a good book on how to buy a car - you can find quite a few of them out there. Unfortunately, I have not run across any that provide specific information on buying a car after bankruptcy. However, After Bankruptcy Credit Solutions does cover this topic in detail - so the information is out there.

Other than a home, buying a car is one of the bigger purchases you're going to make. You need to AVOID any mistakes that can cost you up to $100s or $1,000s of dollars in extra interest. In other words, you simply can't afford not to get things right when you're buying a car after bankruptcy.

This article covered some steps you can take which could help when buying a car after bankruptcy. Put them to use and they could save you from making some expensive mistakes!

Copyright © 2006 Innovative Solutions Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

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