Going into a dealership with a plan to buy a car for "X dollars per month" payment is the WORST way to buy a vehicle. You will almost certainly overpay because the dealer will just stretch out the loan length to bring your monthly payment down to your level. If that is the way you want to do it that is up to you, but the right way to approach it is to get the LOWEST bottom line cash price for the vehicle FIRST, and then worry about the financing arrangements.