Does anyone here have experience with getting a loan to buy a used car from a private party? Looking for best options without crazy interest rates...my credit is over 800.
I'm not sure if there are restrictions on the age and/or mileage of the car, I'm looking at 2003-2004
Check with your bank or a credit union. CUs will probably have better interest rates.
If you're getting an actual used auto loan, there may be restrictions on the mileage and age. Generally, most banks won't grant the loan if it's over 100K miles.
BUT...if you get a personal loan and use that to pay for the vehicle, then it won't matter. Of course, I believe the interest rate may be a little higher than for an actual auto loan.
I just did this back in the fall when I bought my '03 Explorer from a private party. It had 320K miles on it at the time and the bank said it wouldn't have been eligible for an auto loan. I just got a small personal loan and they were fine with that.
I've always found a personal line of credit to be the best option. No restrictions on how you spend the money, low interest rates and pretty near as long as you need to pay it back.
The only drawback is, you have to be vigilant at paying it off. Its tempting to just keep dipping and/or making minimum payments, but you've got to set a monthly payment for yourself and keep paying it off....otherwise you essentially just keep paying on it forever. Not only that, but a line of credit with an open balance can affect your credit score in the future, until its paid off. Keep that in mind.