Question: As I’m finally fed up with my truck and it’s current state of disrepair (see “Ma, Hand Me The Gun”)… Say you wanted to buy a ~$3500 car – would you try a bank first, or a small-time dealership? If it’s a bank, am I better off saying that the money is for a car, or just a loan? Also, is there a chance they’d spread a loan that (relatively) small over three years? I don’t want to be making a huge payment – though, since I live in a university town and will be attending college nearly free, it’s not so bad.
Answer: Generally any car that’s over 5 (?? not *exactly* sure) years old is a 3 year loan. So, yeah.. you can spread it out 
Depending on who you borrow the money from, interest rates will differ between application. Say, an unsecured loan (where you just borrow the money) will generally yield a higher interest rate than a used auto loan. This is because the banks OWN the used auto until you pay the loan fully. That way if you miss payments they can repo it w/out hassle. Whereas you get an unsecured loan, and it’s just a big pain in the ass for everybody — if you don’t pay. Here is the problem. No bank will loan 100% on a used car. You will have to come up with some cash. Even most new car dealerships wont fully finance a used vehicle. In fact, I doubt you will find one that will.
So, you are left with buying from a used car dealership only. They will probably fully finance…but bend over brother…
Your best bet…is try and save enough money to get a downpayment together. Then buy a descent car from a reputable dealership. Stay away from Bob’s Cars or Jimbo’s Used Cars
Sorry…but is the way it is…