My daughter has recently graduated and is gainfully employed, and ready to trade in her beater 2007 Camry for a new to her car. She'd like to have financing in her pocket before she starts shopping. Is there a site where she can apply and they check her credit and tell her "how much car she can buy" and essentially be ready to pull the trigger on the loan with them when she locates the car she wants?

For example, "you can be approved for up to $18,000." I had a friend who did this once but it was probably fifteen years ago and I'm not in touch with him anymore. I assume a lot has changed since then.

Even if she gives the dealership a shot at the financing, she'd like to know if she is likely to be approved before they start pulling credit.

Or if all of that is nuts, open to any other advice on the best way to proceed. I could co-sign if needed but I'd rather she get the satisfaction of doing it herself if she can.

Thanks in advance.

sts7049 said:

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why not sit down and understand your actual budget and finances to determine what she can afford? Just because she can get a loan for 50k doesn't mean she should

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Thanks, not looking for financial advice. We have already done all that. She is very practical and we are looking at a very reasonable vehicle well within her budget. She can more than afford the payment I am just looking for recommendations on lenders.

I havent used it, but I think nerdwallet will get you several quotes to comapre.

Navy Federal Credit union. first they had competitive rates. Second, when you apply for the loan you tell them up to what amount you want it. IF they approve you for the loan that is the max you can spend. They give you a check you can use where you buy the car from. You also get carfax as part of it. The check simply says not to exceed XXXX amount.
I did this recently and it was super easy. That way you know what your budget is, your rate, and can determine exactly monthly payment and shop for multiple car options. When I told the dealer I had the NFCU check and the instructions to follow they were so familiar with it they didn't need the instructions.

trip98 said:

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Navy Federal Credit union. first they had competitive rates. Second, when you apply for the loan you tell them up to what amount you want it. IF they approve you for the loan that is the max you can spend. They give you a check you can use where you buy the car from. You also get carfax as part of it. The check simply says not to exceed XXXX amount.
I did this recently and it was super easy. That way you know what your budget is, your rate, and can determine exactly monthly payment and shop for multiple car options. When I told the dealer I had the NFCU check and the instructions to follow they were so familiar with it they didn't need the instructions.

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Thanks, that's the type of situation I was looking for, but not sure she qualifies for NFCU. I'll check it out though.

Had a similar situation with my son. First, have them pull their credit score via Credit Karma. Turns out he had a very low score because he had no credit cards and no debt. My other son on the other hand had credit cards (and didn't carry a balance) in his name and therefore had a decent credit score. He qualified for a decent rate no problem. Not sure where your kid will fall, but rates are typically set by credit score. Dealer rates are the typical dealer shenanigans and you need to have all your ducks in a row before going in. Know your credit score, have alternative/backup financing ready and make them beat or match it.

Http://self.inc

Great present for any 18 year old in your life.

agracer said:

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Tailgate88 said:

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sts7049 said:

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why not sit down and understand your actual budget and finances to determine what she can afford? Just because she can get a loan for 50k doesn't mean she should

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Thanks, not looking for financial advice. We have already done all that. She is very practical and we are looking at a very reasonable vehicle well within her budget. She can more than afford the payment I am just looking for recommendations on lenders.

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that 2007 Camry will last another 5 years.

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Yup, I get it - I drive a 2001 Sequoia and our other vehicles are 2003 Tacoma and a 2015 Lexus RX350.

Unfortunately the paint job on the Camry has been gone for five years already and honestly, it's a little embarrassing driving it around. I'm all about high school and college kids driving beater cars, not Brodozers or Vettes, but It's time for someone else to get those five more years out of this Camry. It's been a great car for us for the past fifteen years. (We drove it first before we passed it down to her.)

For those of you who think I'm criticizing financing a car, I sort of am, sort of am not.

Car market is so crazy these days, seems like used cars are stupid expensive. We may still be working through the "cash for clunkers" idiocy. And getting a car worked on takes a lot of time and money...if you can find a mechanic you trust.

And while I still do a lot of my car maintenance myself, its getting more and more complex.

Bottom line, finding a "beater" you can trust is getting harder, and you're in a bigger bind when it breaks than in the old days when duct tape and baling wire would get you by.

So yeah, I like the Dave Ramsey "pay cash" philosophy, I think it is good financial advice for most.

But I'm well aware that even cheap cars aren't cheap. And I don't want my daughter broke down on the side of the road.

Depending on what she's looking for, there really aren't many great deals to be had with used cars, especially when dealerships sometimes offer great financing on new vehicles.

My son graduated college in May 2025 and wanted his own car instead of our 11-year-old vehicle he was using. By January, he had saved enough of his own money to put $7k towards a vehicle purchase and started looking around with the mindset that he didn't want to finance more than $25k. To stay within that budget he was primarily looking at a Camry or Corolla Cross (we are primarily a Toyota family). He ended up getting a 0% finance deal on a new Camry. He was originally focused on used, but the cost difference between a 2-3 year old used Camry and a brand new one was only a couple thousand $. 0% financing made it a no brainer.

Is a Camry his dream car? Absolutely not. But it got him into a brand-new vehicle with a reasonable payment and an opportunity to build credit history. Plus, we got the vehicle he was using back and now my 16-year-old daughter drives it. It's a 2014 Highlander with about 100k miles on it so it has plenty of years left in the tank.

Tailgate88 said:

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agracer said:

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Tailgate88 said:

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sts7049 said:

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why not sit down and understand your actual budget and finances to determine what she can afford? Just because she can get a loan for 50k doesn't mean she should

---

Thanks, not looking for financial advice. We have already done all that. She is very practical and we are looking at a very reasonable vehicle well within her budget. She can more than afford the payment I am just looking for recommendations on lenders.

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that 2007 Camry will last another 5 years.

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Yup, I get it - I drive a 2001 Sequoia and our other vehicles are 2003 Tacoma and a 2015 Lexus RX350.

Unfortunately the paint job on the Camry has been gone for five years already and honestly, it's a little embarrassing driving it around.

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Honestly, some people will find that an attractive quality, whether it be other potential friends as she starts this next phase of life or even a future spouse. I don't know what it might cost for a paint job and possibly some other easier body/interior work to give it some fresh life that will no doubt match the mechanical life it has left. Always worth the thought exercise, in my opinion. To be fair, at that age when I had an old embarrassing Corolla, there was no chance anyone could talk that kind of sense into me, so I get it.

One other thing to consider will be any increase to insurance premiums with a vehicle upgrade. Hard to beat liability only on a 2007 Camry.

PenFed credit union

https://www.penfed.org/auto

* I'd go another used Toyota.

aggiedata said:

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PenFed credit union

https://www.penfed.org/auto

* I'd go another used Toyota.

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She wants a RAV4. We're a Toyota family. We're going to see if I can get Aggieland Credit Union to return a phone call and also check out PenFed.

It's all online at PenFed. Compare

If you must go new, be careful with any BCS dealers, including Toyota. I'd try the Costco New Car Program as well if you are a member.

I got a 2027 Land Cruiser last month. I live in Houston but ended up purchasing at BCS Toyota. Arranged financing through Shell FCU at 3.99% for 48 Mo. BCS Toyota asked if they could try to beat that financing but got nowhere close. We also looked at PenFed, Texas Bay CU, Smart Financial CU, First Service CU, Houston FCU, Alliant CU and a few banks (Wells Fargo, Capital One). The Credit Unions were all better than the banks.

I built one exactly how I wanted it on Toyota's website and then reached out to 12 Toyota dealerships across the state. In my build I kept anything factory installed and didn't want most of the useless distributor installed items. 10 of them ignored my build and said "this is what we can give you", which were basically whatever they had coming in from Gulf States Toyota including all options. BCS Toyota and Mike Calvert (Houston) were both willing to work with me and get it built exactly like I wanted. Their prices were the same until salesgirl at BCS "accidentally" offered me $1k less than Calvert. She said she didn't know she wasn't supposed to offer it on 2027 models, but they honored it. The order was placed and it arrived about 3 weeks later. We were looking for a fairly uncommon color combo.

In the end, I spent about $8k less buying it at BCS Toyota when compared to the 10 not willing to work with me. To top it all off, I only spent about 10 minutes at the dealership. Walked in, signed a few papers, and drove off. It was the smoothest and quickest car buying experience I'd ever had.

That's good news. It's good to have competition for your business. Make sure they know it.

TexAg2001 said:

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I got a 2027 Land Cruiser last month. I live in Houston but ended up purchasing at BCS Toyota. Arranged financing through Shell FCU at 3.99% for 48 Mo. BCS Toyota asked if they could try to beat that financing but got nowhere close. We also looked at PenFed, Texas Bay CU, Smart Financial CU, First Service CU, Houston FCU, Alliant CU and a few banks (Wells Fargo, Capital One). The Credit Unions were all better than the banks.

I built one exactly how I wanted it on Toyota's website and then reached out to 12 Toyota dealerships across the state. In my build I kept anything factory installed and didn't want most of the useless distributor installed items. 10 of them ignored my build and said "this is what we can give you", which were basically whatever they had coming in from Gulf States Toyota including all options. BCS Toyota and Mike Calvert (Houston) were both willing to work with me and get it built exactly like I wanted. Their prices were the same until salesgirl at BCS "accidentally" offered me $1k less than Calvert. She said she didn't know she wasn't supposed to offer it on 2027 models, but they honored it. The order was placed and it arrived about 3 weeks later. We were looking for a fairly uncommon color combo.

In the end, I spent about $8k less buying it at BCS Toyota when compared to the 10 not willing to work with me. To top it all off, I only spent about 10 minutes at the dealership. Walked in, signed a few papers, and drove off. It was the smoothest and quickest car buying experience I'd ever had.

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Just FYI, if you use the Toyota build tool and put in zip code anywhere in GST territory, you are only going to see options available that are either on a GST lot somewhere or in the upcoming build allocations for a GST dealer. So when you try to add some package or take something off and it gives you a message saying "Package X is only available with Optional Fun Rally Pack #2", it is because the only vehicles they have in that database with Package X also have Optional Fun Rally Pack #2.

If you truly want to cut through a lot of that, do as TexAg2001 did and come up with the things you definitely want and the things you don't then start shopping around for a sales guy willing to find what you are looking for. I had good luck with that using AggiePainTrain's Toyota contacts. We ended up doing a special order for my Tacoma when GST had zero Double Cab Long Bed trucks in their allocation, but struck out when trying to get a 4Runner with KDSS suspension because GST did not allocate any with that suspension option and post-covid there was no guarantee they would be able to fill any special orders due to chip shortages.

Tailgate88 said:

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My daughter has recently graduated and is gainfully employed, and ready to trade in her beater 2007 Camry for a new to her car. She'd like to have financing in her pocket before she starts shopping. Is there a site where she can apply and they check her credit and tell her "how much car she can buy" and essentially be ready to pull the trigger on the loan with them when she locates the car she wants?

For example, "you can be approved for up to $18,000." I had a friend who did this once but it was probably fifteen years ago and I'm not in touch with him anymore. I assume a lot has changed since then.

Even if she gives the dealership a shot at the financing, she'd like to know if she is likely to be approved before they start pulling credit.

Or if all of that is nuts, open to any other advice on the best way to proceed. I could co-sign if needed but I'd rather she get the satisfaction of doing it herself if she can.

Thanks in advance.

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Car dealerships, at least since the late '90s, can finance almost anyone who can show income. It may not be at a great rate if their credit scores are lower than 600, but they have a finance source for it. A credit pull isn't that big of a hit on your credit, anyway, so I wouldn't worry about that.

Although you've dismissed other's advice on how to proceed, mine is simply this: know what payments are at a given price point and rate and focus on the price of the vehicle minus trade. Have a trade value you want -- either something from Carmax/vana or the like -- and know how to figure out the net amount financed. The dealer may show more for your trade than they're actually giving while keeping the retail price of the car higher, OR they may discount the new(er) car and beat you down on the trade. In the end, it doesn't matter if you get your net amount. Getting pissed because you think they're screwing you on the trade when they're giving you a hell of a deal on the front end of the car is just stupid -- AS LONG AS the numbers line up to what you want in the end.

All in all, be willing to walk if the numbers don't jive, but remember: the numbers may not jive for YOU; they may be what the market for the dealer believes is correct. I've left dealerships only to be chased out by the salesman saying, "hey come back and I think we can get your number..." and I've also been told, no, we can't come anywhere near that.

This is one problem with buying used cars: you find the ONE you want and think letting it get away will be problematic. This isn't an issue with new ones so much as there are usually others of those, but you have to decide: am I going to pay a little (or a lot) more to get the "ONE" I want or keep looking. I now keep looking but I've also done the paid more thing. There were times both decisions (pay more/walk) were the right one.

20% down, payments no more than 8% of take home pay, financed over 3 years. Or pay cash. If she can't afford either, keep the Camry and save to pay cash.

Do not waste money financing a car especially at an age where she can maximize time in market with investments. Don't finance a depreciating asset. Every bank and dealer will put her in a high interest loan over extended period of time and she will be underwater forever. Huge problem right now for people in their 20s.