Getting a car loan has become easy; you can now choose from online car loan lenders who deal with a large range of traditional bank and non-bank lenders.

This means you have access to better, and faster, deals without having to do all the running around.

Before proceeding, you need to assess your current credit status, as this will indicate how much of a car loan you can afford. Car loans require monthly repayments, so it should be an amount that fits into your monthly budget. When you have established how much you can afford to repay, you can then determine the maximum amount you can borrow.

You may then search online for an online car loan broker who will collect your details and find the best loan for you. Completing those forms is usually a breeze: just fill in a few fields and click on the 'Submit' button!

Generally, online car loan sites will ask for your basic banking details, your job status, and residence proof. These applications are processed immediately by the brokers network of lenders. Again, generally approvals are very quick if you have submitted the correct information, and more importantly, on most sites this is a free service.

If your loan is approved, you are not obligated to take a loan from the recommended lender.

You are also able to obtain a car loan if you have a less than perfect credit history. Most car loan lenders offer bad credit car loans. However, these lenders usually charge you a higher rate of interest because of your bad credit status. Often, after 12 months of paying the loan back on time, the lenders will be prepared to lower your interest rate as a reward for good behaviour!

Basically, using this type of facility, you will get loan offers from the lenders and you can choose the loan that you want, and importantly, this is a free service.

The main criteria for choosing a car loan should be the rate of interest and the loan period. The loan period for a car loan is usually three to five years. But it is always better to repay the loan within a shorter period; that will put a lower interest burden on you. You must also find out from the lender if they allow faster repayment of car loans without penalty charges.

One important thing to remember is additional costs such as stamp duty etc that are included in a loan repayment. If you are confused about which finance is cheaper, that offered by the car dealer, or, that offered by and independent finance provider (eg, bank), just ask the provider to write down the total monthly repayment. That way something that is advertised as a 4% loan may actually end up being an interest rate over 8%!

Usually, the loan charges on used car loans are higher than that for new car loans. Always read the fine print of the loan agreement before you decide on your car loan.