If you're looking to buy a car, brand-new or second-hand, choosing the best way to pay for it could save you hundreds of dollars or more. But with over 140 car loans and more than 180 personal loans listed on RateCity, how do you know which option is the right one for you?

By doing your research and understanding your needs you'll be able to narrow your search criteria, find a car loan specific to your situation and accelerate the approval process. Here are our top tips to help you streamline your search and save money on your new vehicle:

The car loan market is hotting up thanks to a spate of new affordable models entering the Australian market, but most young buyers still need a hand from mum and dad to get them over the line. Some parents help with the deposit and many are guarantors for their children's loans.

Acting as a guarantor on a car loan may seem like a harmless gesture of goodwill. But should the main borrower fall behind on repayments, you may be left to foot a hefty bill. That's because when you co-sign a loan you're legally agreeing to be responsible for the payment of another person's debts.

New car sales have lost some of their sparkle this year, with sales at 21-month lows. Not only has flailing consumer confidence hit the car market hard, but low stock levels from earthquake and tsunami-ravished Japanese manufacturers has put the brakes on local sales.

But there are still some good deals to be found in car yards around the country, with end of financial year sales particularly appealing in the European imports sector. That, combined with steady interest rates and a flurry of low-rate car loans on the market means now may be a good time to buy your dream car.

Elevated petrol prices combined with interest rate rise speculation spells bad news for motorists, particularly those with a personal or car loan. But there are ways to keep car costs down.

The way you drive can impact the cost to run your vehicle - the more rapid you accelerate the more fuel you burn, for instance. So if you want to trim costs on the road here's how.

If you rely on someone else to sort out your finances or you've simply lost track of yours then you could be wasting hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars each year in interest, fees and charges without even knowing it. So to regain your financial independence and reduce your monthly outlay, get into the driver's seat using these top tips towards fiscal freedom!

If you can't prove that you can make the auto loan payments, you will have a hard time getting approved to buy a car. This is where income verification comes into play. In the car loan approval process, it is one of the most important factors lenders look at, especially in this economy.

"In the past, if you had a decent credit score, you didn't need income verification," says Tony Dupaquier, Director of F&I Training for American Financial & Automotive Services, Inc. "They would just do the loan, no questions asked."

A year ago, people who were laid-off or had to take a pay cut were finding ways to get out of their leases or get into a more affordable vehicle. These lessees had trouble making the payments and with the strict lease contract rules, they turned to lease transfer companies to help them get out of their leases and find someone to take over the payments.

Swapalease.com says that just one year later, it has witnessed a shift in consumer behavior, especially in recent weeks. The site's users are more commonly saying that their motivation for transferring a lease is based on desire rather than being forced to do so from a monetary perspective.

Tuesday, a new day brought yet another detailed report from TrueCar.com on the auto industry in the United States. Many of TrueCar’s releases on auto trends focus on the sale of specific brands, or month-to-month changes, but with this report, the consumer analyst firm is taking the long view and predicting what will happen in the second half of this year from the vantage point of mid-July.

If you are contemplating a new car purchase this season, you may want to look at some of the recent offers compiled by TrueCar, a frequently cited auto market analyst firm: some of these pricing and financing opportunities could fit your needs for getting more car for less and keeping your auto loan debt low. TrueCar has put together a series of five “discount” deals, tallying up what customers actually pay on the lot and comparing it to MSRP. Two of these are for work trucks: TrueCar suggests the average customer can get a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado for just $17,391, down almost 22% from the MSRP of $22,230. Likewise, while the 2011 Dodge Ram 1500 MSRP is marked at $30,560, TrueCar suggests the average transactional price is around $26,000.

Financing your auto loan directly through your bank is one of the more uncommon ways to finance a car. Most shoppers simply apply for their car loan through the dealership. But now that banks and credit unions are advertising low auto loan rates and letting car shoppers know they are ready to lend, consumers with good credit scores can receive a low auto loan rate on their next new vehicle.

Stephen Hadley, a retail store manager in Florida, was searching for several months for a new vehicle. When it came to the financing, he didn't have to search very long to find a good deal on his car loan. After a rough start, he finally was able to get the vehicle he wanted with an auto loan that fit his needs.