Its the season when most people start to venture out and start planning their summer vacations and for some reason this month kicks off the title loan season. My guess is that everyone who would have gotten a refund from the IRS did and now people are starting to think, “how else am I going to get some money?”. I get it. This post is to put you in the RIGHT frame of mind when looking for a loan.
MENTAL STEPS TO PUT YOUR MIND IN THE RIGHT PLACE BEFORE YOU CALL A TITLE LOAN COMPANY:
Suggestion #1 – Eat before you shop
Okay that may be confusing but here is the deal. If you just reviewed your bills or if you just got hit up by a collection call, the next step would not be to pick up the phone and call a title loan company – YET. Just like at a grocery store, if you go there hungry you will just buy no matter what you see. So think and take a moment and walk away from a minute or two from the recent drama. Go for a walk. Clear your mind. Yes, a title loan is a good solution to this but not if you are in a panic state. Then some bozo company out there will charge you an interest rate that even selling a kidney would not get you out of. You are about to negotiate and a good negotiator is clear minded.
Suggestion #2 – Know how much you need, not how much they offer you.
Of course they want to loan you as MUCH as you will take. That’s how they make money and why not? If you go rent a car, they try to upgrade you each time and sell you all that insurance you don’t need right? The more they sell, the more they make. Same with vehicle title lenders.
So look at your bills, look at your income. Ask yourself how LITTLE you need to borrow to get by. Maybe you can cover some of what you need and only take a loan out for the rest. Don’t borrow one cent more than exactly what you need to get past your emergency situation.
Suggestion #3 – Fall out of love with your car
So you have a 1998 Monte Carlo with 205000 miles. If was the car your had when you found your girlfriend. You looked at Kelley Blue Book and thought you should have the retail value of this car in a loan right? Wrong! Title loans are based on the AUCTION value and then you will only get part of that number. Sure you are the coolest guy in your city with those customer rims or awesome hydraulics but that may actually take away from the value because no every one wants a low rider. You have to look at the car as an outsider would with no emotion attached to it.
Suggestion #4 – So you think you can lie huh?
Sure people think that there is no way for the lender to know so why not make up or inflate some info so that you are a slam dunk to get the loan. Bad move. If you DO get caught, that’s fraud and intentional fraud at that which is a felony. Tell the truth and you may be surprised how real easy it is to get that loan.
Suggestion #5 – Too good to be true? Get real before you do the deal
There is a lot of companies who offer real low interest rates. I heard of one offering interest rates LOWER than most credit cards! Crazy! 2%? 3% Looks good doesn’t it. Then you do the paperwork and you are one hair away from getting the loan and then BAM! You get hit with the rest of the story! Payment penalties, administration fees, paperwork processing fees, application and credit fees and maybe even some other exotic fee that just by hearing it you actually want to ram your head into a wall hard to dummy down.
Good title loan lenders will ALWAYS tell you UPFRONT at the time of the inquiry, the fees and all of them but you should also ask and when on the call tell them to tell you slowly because you are writing them down. That should freak them out but the good vehicle title loan lenders will always take the time and make sure you know exactly what you are getting.
I hope this helped and now, you should be armed and ready to go get your vehicle title loan!