Harrisonburg Auto Loans: Bank Loan or Dealer Financing?

When you’re ready to buy a new or newer car, truck, or SUV, financing rates are always a top concern. And it should be! 

Finding banks that offer Harrisonburg auto loans are easy enough to do. And you’ll find competitive rates.

But many of our customers are surprised to learn that dealer financing is competitive with local lending institutions. In fact, we can meet or beat most other financing rates.

Here at Joe Bowman Auto Plaza, we can offer competitive rates because of our large financing network of lenders. This allows us the advantage of shopping around to find the best auto loan rate that fits your budget.

What’s more, our car loans are simple interest loans with no pre-payment penalties. You can pay additional amounts on your loan, if you so choose, to pay it off early.

And, when it comes to the financial agreement, we always make sure that the terms of the loan are broken down so that they are easy for you to understand.

To get started, you can prequalify on our website. Then personalize the terms of the loan based on the purchase price of the vehicle, the down payment, and length of the loan.

Because Joe Bowman offers such competitive rates, many of our customers choose dealer financing.

However, we want to be clear that you don’t have to. We’ve been doing business in the Harrisonburg community for 60+ years; our reputation with local banks is outstanding.

If you want to use a particular local lending institution, we can work with them. So, what’s the difference between getting dealer financing and bank financing? Besides our competitive loan rates, we are quick!

With third party loans, we must abide by the paperwork requirements of that lending institution as well as our own. This adds time to finalizing the lending process.

With dealer financing, the loan application is handled in-house. That makes the process quicker and simpler.

Another distinction between dealer financing and local bank financing is the range of loans we can do that most banks won’t do.

For example, most banks steer clear of financing high mileage vehicles. We know that a late model car with higher mileage is better than an older vehicle with less miles.

Older cars with less mileage haven’t been driven as much which means they haven’t gotten as much lubrication. Plus, older car parts wear out.

Buying a higher mileage vehicle that’s also late model is not a bad decision at all, especially if you need the vehicle for a teen driver. Or you just need a second vehicle. 

We get it.

Joe Bowman Auto also offers Second Chance Credit financing program for those recovering from poor credit.

When you make the commitment to clean up your credit, it’s difficult to buy a vehicle without getting gouged with a very high interest rate.

To help you re-establish a good credit rating, we look for lenders that don’t charge outrageous interest rates. Yes, you will pay a higher rate, but it won’t be exorbitant, and you will be able to build equity.

Lastly, we offer extended loan terms allowing you to pay off the loan in 6-7 years.

Of course, the one thing a bank can’t do for you is offer auto service after the sale. At Joe Bowman Auto Plaza, we offer preferred service scheduling to those who buy from us.

Additionally, as long as you own your vehicle, we will give you FREE lifetime car inspections. And when your vehicle is getting maintenance work or repairs in our service department, we provide courtesy transportation.

When you’re shopping around for Harrisonburg auto loans, include our dealership as one of the possibilities for your auto loan. We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at just how easy it is to work with us.