Many people fail to realize how many moving parts there are to buying a car. It’s not simply paying for a car and getting the desired vehicle anymore; it includes financing applications, paperwork submissions, and waiting in between until ownership is established. When you know what happens when, it’s easier to determine a timeline and avoid frustration.
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On average, it takes between a couple of days to a week or so to purchase a car. This fluctuates based on the vehicle selected (new vs. used), whether the buyer has financing in place already or needs specific criteria (manufactured color, etc.). The time also depends upon credit established (what jobs need verification, if any at all), and whether lenders are overwhelmed with other applications that delay their response times.
Laying Down The Financial Groundwork
Many savvy car buyers start with their financing before visiting a dealership. Ideally, this stage of the timeline takes one day to three days but delays can set these buyers back weeks. Many lenders ask for supporting documents like pay stubs, tax returns, and bank statements. If buyers have these available in advance, it prevents them from scrambling later.
There are multiple application portals for pre-approval which can yield results within a day or sooner if submitted during business hours. However, some lenders take 48 hours just for a first pass of approval. Those buying new cars with simple applications get approved much quicker than those with complicated histories looking for large amounts or those with less-than-stellar credit looking for almost exactly what they can afford.
Pre-Approval for Brisbane Car Loans (and equivalent loans across the metropolitan area) often looks at these options similarly as they find lenders for buyers instead of buyers applying individually. Thus, the pre-approval assessment can be much quicker and nuances among lenders can yield better rates than attempting to go one by one.
Pre-approval also constitutes credit inquiries; however, those with hard inquiries to see if they’re pre-approved do not reflect poorly on credit scores when processed together within a short period. Buyers should not apply through too many lenders, however, over a longer period of time since the more inquiries there are, the worse the score temporarily.
Searching for The Car
There is a lot of flux regarding timelines when it comes to searching for a car. If someone is flexible with make and model and simply looking for the best deal with decent mileage or condition, they can find many available cars relatively quickly. If someone has their heart set on something specific (color, trim levels, options packages) there may be limited selections available; they may have to wait weeks or months for something to pop up.
In most cases, however, it is faster to buy used cars as these vehicles are already manufactured and available on lots. New car purchases require special orders based on desired specifications which lengthens the timeline even more due to factory hours (if the order is even possible/available). Even used inventories require inventory checks at multiple dealerships due to limited selections.
It typically requires one day to three days of testing available options through inspections and negotiations; however, anyone who rushes through this process may end up stuck with buyers remorse or problems they did not foresee pre-purchase since cars are expensive enough without additional stress after-negotiation.
Finalizing Financing
Once the car is secured, a formal loan application goes through with an even deeper dive into credit worthiness and finances through employment verification and referrals. This takes one to three business days on average (again, longer during peak seasons or if information is not all submitted at once).
Lenders typically need VINs and purchase prices of the vehicles; in some cases they require independent appraisals. Used financing requires additional VIN history and assessments that can draw out approval but generally finance approvals are quicker as company values are set in stone.
Interest rates and loan terms sometimes differ from these approvals than previously agreed upon pre-approvals as buyers need to finalize the purchase price and potentially have different down payments from expectations versus reality. Buyers beware if you sign a contract and want to change terms afterwards; it will be both difficult and costly.
The Paperwork
There’s a lot of paperwork involved in buying cars. There are title changes, registrations, insurance policies, lender specifications. Most lenders do all they can in-house but inherently it takes time and cannot be rushed.
For example, insurance must be sorted before driving off a lot; this means communicating with insurance companies during negotiation periods for quotes (via VIN numbers and secured purchase prices) so that coverage is detailed. Insurers do final quotes on the fly but again, buyers need to provide baseline details first.
Registration takes time depending on locality – sometimes government offices need visits – but many dealerships will do it for you which helps but may tack on additional fees to total car cost.
Taking Ownership
It generally takes between one to two hours in delivery such as submitting final paperwork, receiving keys and manuals, hearing about features and systems while walking through a final assessment documenting any existing blemishes or potential concerns that buyers should know about.
Funds are transferred electronically or secured by a physical check; regardless, buyers may wait until complete processing before they drive off the lot while others may be forced to wait until banks resume operations post-weekend/holiday timeline.
Ultimately the entire process takes three days until clear ownership occurs at best – and that’s with proper documentation from day one, flexible vehicle desires, and working professionals who can ensure expedited processing for good customer service. Expect an extended timeline if you’re not ready from the get-go as it’s much easier to follow this process for mental sanity than attempt to figure it out after-the-fact when you want answers and your own situation could have been resolved sooner.
