Just thought I'd lend some good, solid advice to car buyers out there. You've seen it on TV, heard it on the radio, saw it on website ads and got loads of junk email about it. If you have bad credit - or no credit - you can still buy your dream car! Well yes, that's true. What they don't tell you is you are paying interest rates that are beyond insane. Don't play into the notion that you must suffer this rip-off to get a car, it's not true. My credit isn't all that perfect, I've had a few screw-ups due to misfortune. I've gotten into a few fights with creditors (cell phone companies, mostly) over bills I didn't agree with and refused to pay a dime until they justified them. Of course they never do, they just send you to a collection agency. Still, I've dealt with those things. They're still on my report, but they're paid. Guess what? I can walk into the local credit union today and sign a 60 month term loan for $16,500 and get an interest rate of 6.15%

Bad Credit? Try your local credit union first. You might just discover that 11% as-seen-n-tv loan isn't your best option.

I've always given that advice out to people including many posts on this site in the past. I'd like to add that over the past few years, the rules regarding credit unions have been relaxed, allowing more individuals to become members. Before there were certain guidelines that you had to meet in order to become a member, now that is wide open and you have a better chance to join now than a few years ago. In fact, if your place of employment doesn't have a membership in a credit union, ask . It is a free,or low cost benefit that your employer can offer their employees, and the more members a credit union has, the more services they can offer their customers. Many people have a better chance at not only getting a car loan through a credit union, but also mortgages, and a credit card .