Rates vary depending on the purchase of a new car or a used car. Other factors include your credit standing and the length of your loan. You may see low advertised rates based on short term loans or excellent credit. You have to read all the fine print and determine if you can qualify before assuming that you will get the advertised rate. Traditional banking outside of a manufacturer usually allows the same rate for a 60 month term and below, while anything longer will result in a higher rate.
Search the Internet for advertised auto loan rates at your local bank or through a manufacturer's website. If buying a new car, rates can be as low as zero percent. Be careful that this rate is not for a short term of 36 months for a brand-new car---unless you put a great deal of money down, it is likely that this term will be outside of your budget. Check or call into local credit unions, although you have to become a member to take advantage of their rates, you may find low rates that can't be matched.
Check your credit. Use the information under the resource section of this page to view your credit report for free. You have to pay to see your score, but you can review your credit history. Unless you have excellent credit, you can't determine your approval rate. You need a pre-approval either through a bank or through a dealer to ultimately determine what your rate will be.
Submit your information for a pre-approval by stopping into or calling the bank that you found to have great rates or to the dealer who has the car and the rate that you want. Dealers follow manufacturer's programs; you can go to the dealer's website and find a section that allows you to securely fill out your credit information. Expect a call from a dealer representative to discuss your approval. If trying to obtain an independent pre-approval, this can take up to several days. Once you obtain pre-approval, you can ask a dealer, if you are using one, if one of its banks can beat your rate. Dealers have access to many banks---many of the banks operate on a national level.
Use an auto loan calculator at any time to figure out your car payment. You can decide whether low new car rates are affordable or if used car rates that you have been approved for will fit into your budget. A helpful auto loan calculator is listed on this page in the resource section.
