If you know your credit score, available for free here, you'll know about what kind of interest rate you can expect by checking here.
At the second link you'll see interest rates as high as 16 percent. This is not as bad as it first appears. On a three-year, $8,000 loan, the difference between 6 percent and 16 percent is $1.26 a day -- and you can blow that much on coffee or energy drinks. Really, when you're making a budget, is there really that much difference between $282 and $244 a month?
More importantly, though, it means someone is willing to take a chance on you in the middle of a huge credit crunch, and that's a very good thing. Because the times we are in right now, with auto dealers cutting prices like crazy to survive, is a once-in-a-generation buying opportunity, and this loan will help you get in the game!
The most basic rule of car shopping is to stay focused on the total price and not the monthly payment. Any payment can be made to fit your budget if the loan is stretched out enough.
Another top bit of advice depends on the amount of hassle you want to put up with. If you sell your old car yourself, instead trading it in, some people find they can get a better price. Others prefer the one-stop convenience of an outfit such as NoHaggle.com and don't sweat the small stuff.
Finally you may want to consider gap insurance. The idea behind gap coverage is that if your car gets totalled a day after you drive it off the lot, you're going to owe the bank a lot more on the note (because of the interest) than regular insurance is going to pay on your car. People are often wary of dealer ripoffs, but gap insurance is often a really smart bet.