There are occasions when the dealer is offering thousands off the purchase of a new vehicle if you take their financing, which usually means that the rate or terms will not be to your advantage. However, it is conceivable, especially for those with good credit, to take the dealer's offer, and then once you accept delivery, quickly refinance the loan with your local bank or credit union. If you spoke them with during step #2, then you already know whether you are prequalified and for how much of a loan. You can contact them again and see if refinancing a new car loan will affect the terms they quoted you earlier. If you can easily refinance the note, then it may be advantageous to take the dealer's offer. Just make sure that you don't assume that you can get better terms elsewhere on a refinance without checking first.

If you accepted a financing deal from the dealership and are now having second thoughts about how good a deal it really is, then take your paperwork to your local bank or credit union and see if they can do better. Obviously, we hope that you followed step #2 and got the best financing deal for your new vehicle the first time around.