I applied for financing at my local credit union (got pre approved rates before applying, at several credit unions and I also looked at their rate for excellent credit score to worst credit score and for the length of the loan. They usually have it broken down and displayed right on their website). I also applied for financing dept at the car dealership to find the best financing deal. Then I compared what I did myself and what the guy got from the dealership got for me (do credit union application first, then approach the dealership with what you got). I got 4.3% at credit union and 3.5% at my dealership. So I went through the dealership.