How do I fill in a pre-qualification or finance application to save time at the dealership?

Once you’ve found a vehicle of interest on CarGurus, navigate to the “Finance in advance” section located below the vehicle photos and Features section.

Alternatively, you can find the option further below in the “Estimate financing” section near our Car Loan Calculator, which you can use to help estimate a monthly payment based on the car details you are interested in.

Selecting either of these will open a popup, where you can select “Get started”. Our system will help guide you through each of the 5 steps easily, including (1) personal information, (2) residence information, (3) employment information, (4) estimated credit score, (5) review of the application details before submitting, as well as the Terms & Conditions.

Once you have submitted your pre-qualification, you have the option of stopping there and waiting to hear back from the dealership regarding next steps, or some dealerships may offer to start a credit application using your information from the pre-qualification application to help save time at the dealership. This is completely optional, but please note moving forward with a credit application is a hard pull and will affect your credit.