Here at Bob Smith Toyota, our inventory is packed with new cars your whole family will love, like the 2019 Toyota Camry and the 2019 Toyota RAV4. When you start test driving, you’ll hear a lot of finance terms you may not be familiar with. Our Toyota finance center at our La Crescenta, CA, Toyota dealership has you covered with everything you need to know to finance your next car with us.

Finance Terms

This quick guide will help you with the basic finance terms that are the most common in the car-buying world.

APR: The APR is the annual percentage rate on your car loan, which means it’s the percentage of your overall loan that accrues each year.

Credit score: When you’re getting approved for a car loan, your credit history will be pulled, including your current credit score. This is a number that represents how well you’ve handled lines of credit, if you’ve made on-time payments, and if you have outstanding loans, etc. No matter what your credit looks like, our Los Angeles Toyota dealers are glad to discuss your options with you.

Down payment: The down payment is a lump sum that you pay up front when purchasing a car. The bigger the down payment you can make, the less overall loan you’ll have to pay back.

Finance: In auto-buying, the term “finance” generally means to get a car loan from a financial institution. Once the loan is paid off, you own the car.

Lease: A lease is a kind of rental agreement that sets up a monthly payment amount you’ll be responsible for, and it lasts for a set period of time. When the term ends, you’ll usually give the car back to the dealership.

Term: The term on your lease or loan agreement represents the length of the loan or lease (for example, three years).

Our Finance Department

At Bob Smith Toyota, our Toyota dealers in California are experienced in providing customers with a variety of options to obtain new Toyota cars. We’ll work with you so that you get the car that’s right for you and fits within your budget. Contact us today to learn more about the services we offer.