Hello All,

I've never bought a car from a private party before, and I'm thinking I want to go that route for a Z. I've a question about how pre-approved financing works.

I want to go to a credit union or bank and ask them to pre approve me for a certain amount so I can just write a private seller a check. Do ya'll know if this is a common practice with banks/credit unions, or do they require that you report the vehicle that you want to them so they can approve it before buying?

Any advice that you could give would be helpful. Thanks!

 

My credit union just asked me to make sure the vehicle was less than 5yrs old and 60,000 miles (varies w/ some banks). Then they asked me how much i needed and ran my credit. I found the car i wanted went back to them gave them all the pertinent information (sellers name, year of car/model, vin number, who holds title) they cut me a check (made out to me and the seller)and voila.

 

Also dont forget to write up some kind of contract for your records w/ (vin, seller & buyers name, date, amount..etc)

 

Pre-approved means that the lender will give you money for any car. There are some stipulations such as age of vehicle. But generally you pick the vehicle.