When shopping for a vehicle, many customers wonder about getting pre-qualified or pre-approved for financing. What's the difference, and how do these options impact your credit score? At CloudLot, an online dealership based in Wisconsin, we aim to make the car buying process simple and transparent.
Pre-Qualification vs. Pre-Approval
Pre-qualification gives you an estimate of what you might qualify for based on self-reported financial information. It doesn't impact your credit score, as it only involves a soft inquiry on your credit report. Pre-approval, on the other hand, provides a more definitive lending decision and loan terms, but requires a hard inquiry that can temporarily lower your credit score by a few points.
Benefits of Pre-Qualification
Getting pre-qualified for an auto loan offers several advantages for car buyers. You can get an idea of your budget and narrow down your vehicle search to models that fit your financing. Pre-qualification also signals to sellers that you're a serious buyer. At CloudLot, we allow customers to apply for pre-qualification directly on our site through our financing partners, without any impact to their credit scores.
As part of the Van Horn Automotive Group, CloudLot has built a solid reputation for customer service in Wisconsin. Our fully online buying system allows you to complete the entire purchasing process from home, with delivery available to your door anywhere in the continental U.S. (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). If you're unsure about how online buying works, we have detailed information available on our website.
Personalizing Your Payments
On CloudLot, you can utilize our tool to personalize your payments. By adjusting settings like your down payment amount, desired loan term, and estimated credit score, you'll get real estimates of your monthly payments. This empowers you to understand key financing details on most vehicles, including local taxes and fees.
We're committed to ensuring you feel confident with your purchase. All our pre-owned vehicles come with a 3 month/3,000-mile warranty for added peace of mind. If you change your mind, we also offer a 3-day return policy on pre-owned vehicles. Check out our FAQs about buying through CloudLot for more details on our policies.
Getting pre-qualified for an auto loan is a smart move for shrewd car shoppers. At CloudLot, we strive to provide a seamless, transparent financing process that puts you in the driver's seat - both literally and figuratively! If you have any questions about financing or our online buying process, don't hesitate to contact our friendly team.