A tip to decrease the total amount of the loan

There are several ways to reduce the total amount of your loan. A larger down payment automatically will result in lower payments.  Just be sure your down payment doesn't negatively affect our other financial needs; in other words, don't skip the rent just so you can buy a car.

In order to decrease the cost of the loan, you can also decrease the amount of interest you pay over the length of the loan.  To do this you need to either decrease the length of your loan or decrease the amount of money that you borrow.

Consider paying for taxes, tags, and title separately rather than adding them to your loan agreement. You will still have to pay for those costs, but if you handle them yourself, your loan total will be lower, which can lower the total amount of interest that you have to pay.  When you pay more than your minimum monthly payment, you can pay off the loan faster, which might decrease the amount of interest you pay as a result.  Make sure there are no penalties for early repayment, however.

Stretching out your payments means you're taking longer to pay off the loan. That will result in your paying more interest. Also beware of low down payments or long repayment plans.  The more you borrow and the longer you take to pay the loan, the more interest you pay and the more the car ends up costing you in the end. Also if you have to sell the car after a year or two for any reason, you could owe more to the lender than the car is worth.