You found the perfect car for you and are ready for the next step... Financing.  though sometimes it appears to be an easy task, it can get complicated.  Be sure you get the best rate you can to make your new purchase an affordable one.

The best strategy for finding a car loan is to shop around. Check out what deals are offered in the marketplace (rebates, low financing, etc.) before you decide to buy a specific car.

Find out your credit score and, if necessary, correct errors at the credit bureaus.

Compare interest rates at the dealers, banks and credit unions, and ask about fees and early payoff calculations. When you've found the best outside loan, apply and get preapproved. Then visit the car dealer with a check in hand to cover the purchase price of the car, plus any sales tax and registration fees. You can get help from dealers such as New Hampshire Ford and the Kansas city bad credit car lot both in and outside Cincinnati car lots.

Don't be afraid to investigate dealer financing and automakers' captive finance companies to see if they're offering lower interest rate incentives.

Be careful in the financing and insurance office at the dealership. Be sure to ask about extended warranties and try to negotiate them into your purchase price. Also, don't forget to inquire about service prices and consider the maintenance price before you commit as well.

Be sure you understand all the details of the contract before you sign. Don't rush through the process. If you realize after the fact that you can get a better rate elsewhere, don't fret. You can always refinance. But if you do, refinance your best bet is to refinance for the remainder of your term, and not its full original length. That way you won't be paying for it even longer than it's original term.  However if a longer term, lower payment works best for you at the present time, you can consider that option as well.

After the financing process is complete, you can take a deep breath, a sign of relief and hit the open road!

Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, Flex and Shelby GT500® – everybody wants these vehicles, including the editors of Edmunds Inside Line. For the 2010 Inside Line Editors Most Wanted Awards, F-150 SVT Raptor and Flex with EcoBoost™ snagged honors for Overall Excellence, and Shelby GT500 was named this year’s Instant Classic.

The awards are chosen, quite simply, as the name states – they’re the vehicles the editors of the magazine want the most. The only stipulation is that they must have been tested by the magazine before Nov. 1. Then the editors gather together to vote on which vehicles they would be willing to spend their own money on.

About the winners
The 2010 F-150 SVT Raptor was designed as a purpose-built, high-speed off-road truck ready for adventure, and it’s also versatile enough to handle the daily commute. Key enablers to Raptor’s exceptional performance are functional design cues and impressive suspension technology. Internal triple bypass shocks by FOX Racing Shox – the first on a production truck – provide position-sensitive damping and extra suspension travel for extreme high-speed off-roading and a smooth ride on the road.

Ford Flex turns heads with its distinctive design and its available twin-turbocharged direct-injected 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine. This all-new engine gives Flex the power and performance feel of a V-8 with the fuel economy of a standard V-6. It’s not just the room for seven and myriad interior storage options that have Flex owners raving. Flex is also packed with available innovative, class-leading technology solutions.

The 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 delivers the most power and refinement ever for a Ford SVT-tuned performance Mustang – and a few surprises, too. The more powerful 2010 Shelby GT500 has horsepower increased to 540 and torque increased to 510 ft.-lb., as well as downforce increased and drag reduced. New gearbox enhancements plus a standard 3.55:1 rear axle ratio mean the 2010 Shelby GT500 will deliver improved acceleration performance while providing better highway fuel efficiency – up to 2 mpg compared to the 2009 model.

Quotes
“Instead of awarding five sports cars every year, we award a mix of vehicles that people need every day. We feel that the Flex with EcoBoost and F-150 SVT Raptor are affordable vehicles that anyone would be proud to drive – they stand out amongst their peers for 2010. The Shelby GT500 is a vehicle with a certain timelessness to engineering and design that people will appreciate for decades to come. We think it’s the car we’ll be shopping for on eBay for years and years.”
– Scott Oldham, Editor-in-chief of Edmunds Inside Line
“We’re honored that three of our vehicles were chosen. These three vehicles are shining examples of our exciting lineup, and we’re always gratified when the media take notice.”
– Ken Czubay, Ford Vice President, Marketing

The 2010 Ford Taurus and the 2010 Ford F-Series Super Duty have earned Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com Best Resale Value Awards for the full-size car and full-size pickup categories respectively. The awards, announced Dec. 1 at the L.A. Auto Show, honor vehicles expected to maintain the greatest proportion of their original list price after five years of ownership and that are designed to help consumers make more informed car-buying decisions.

Editors of Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com say depreciation can be the largest expense faced in the first five years of driving a vehicle.

Best Resale Value: Full-Size Car Category
The 2010 Ford Taurus offers 10 class-exclusive technologies not available from any other manufacturer, such as Ford SYNC®, Voice-Activated Navigation System with SIRIUS Travel Link™, Easy Fuel® Capless Fuel-Filler System, Blind Spot Information System (BLIS®) with Cross Traffic Alert and MyKey™.

Learn more about the 2010 Taurus.

Best Resale Value: Full-Size Pickup Category
The 2010 Super Duty offers Ford Work Solutions™, a suite of productivity technologies developed for the commercial truck owner that was recently recognized as “Outstanding Feature” by the Texas Auto Writers Association.

Learn more about the 2010 Super Duty.

Quotes
“We think the 2010 Ford Taurus is an excellent redo of a venerable Ford nameplate. It’s the kind of vehicle that we believe will catch on in the marketplace, and therefore, its resale value should also do very well.”
– James Bell, Executive Market Analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com

“People today are buying pickup trucks for what they should be used for – which is for work, for getting jobs done and for playing with big toys. We feel that the Super Duty really captures that ‘Get the job done’ spirit and that it will certainly hold its value over time. Ford Work Solutions is something that’s definitely going to provide an advantage over time.”
– James Bell, Executive Market Analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com