The rate you're quoted isn't fixed by fate. Here are the levers that actually move it, roughly in order of impact.
Your credit score does more to set your rate than any negotiation. Before applying: get your free report from the credit bureaus, fix any errors, pay down credit card balances (utilisation matters), and avoid opening new credit in the months before a car loan application. Multiple loan applications in quick succession also leave marks, apply strategically, not scattergun.
Secured car loans run meaningfully cheaper than unsecured personal loans because the lender can recover the vehicle. If your car qualifies (age caps apply), secured is almost always the cheaper structure, see the comparison in Car Loan vs Personal Loan.
A deposit cuts the amount financed (less interest in absolute terms) and improves your loan-to-value ratio, which some lenders price directly. Even 10% down changes both the risk maths and the repayment, model it in the calculator.
Dealer finance can be sharp, or heavily padded, and you can't tell which without a benchmark. Get at least one bank or broker quote first. Then let the dealer beat a real number. Watch the comparison rate rather than the headline rate: it folds in most fees and is the honest basis for comparing offers.
Lenders sometimes price shorter terms cheaper, and even at the same rate a shorter term slashes total interest. The repayment rises, but the loan costs less, the trade-off is laid out in our repayment tables.
Rates step up with vehicle age. If you're choosing between a 3-year-old and an 8-year-old car at similar prices, the younger car often finances 1-3% cheaper, sometimes enough to change which car is genuinely more affordable.
None of this is financial advice, it's how the pricing machinery works. Run your scenarios in the calculator, then make lenders compete.