I would be more concerned about dropping 12-24 months of that term, than trying to find slightly lower APR.....
That's 7 years of your life to pay for a vehicle. Even if you traded/sold it in 3.5 years, you would be severly upsidedown.
Starting Score: 521 TU, 597 EQ, 574 EX on 6/20/2011
@Creditaddict wrote:
@MrCredit wrote:I just got a car loan thru US Bank thru the dealership on a new Nissan. The bank did 3.99% for 84 months with a 120% LTV. Is there anyone out there that might do better than 3.99%? I know this rate is pretty good since PSECU charges an extra 2 points to finance over 100% of MSRP which would make their loan 4.99%
WOW, Why 84 months?
If you intend to pay more than the minimum, this is often a good way to go with the way most lenders work. DCU or Penfed may not have the +2% on their loans.
I hadn't heard of an 84 month loan previously though, sort of thought 72 was the high end 
. That said, 120 LTV on a new car? I didn't know any current Nissan was so in demand to obtain that sort of premium.
@anca21bi wrote:I heard you shouldn't go over 48 months...
Depends what the terms are.
Sometimes lenders will discount rates for longer terms: if you can afford a fixed payment, if you come in at a smaller payment than your budget and a lower APR, you can save a non-trivial amount of interest.
Every rule of thumb has exceptions for one's individual circumstances and this one is no exception; however, 5 years are pretty standard loan terms, and virtually all auto loans (at least from any halfway reputable lender or better) are simple interest loans without prepayment penalties, so even on the longer term loans can just make the 48 month loan payment to a 60 month loan, and assuming same APR not pay any additional interest.
When I'm financing a car though, I will take the lowest APR possible, if that's a longer term loan, that's what I'll wind up doing and then simply kick extra money towards paying it off early.
