If you're like most people, you don't have a lot of time to futz around when getting a car loan. Luckily, there are quite a few things you can do to decrease the amount of time you'll spend getting the loan you need.

Regardless of your credit score or credit history, here are some tips you can use to save time:

1) Organize your paperwork. You'll need to prove your income with your most recent paystub, and residence with a recent phone, electric or cable bill. If you have credit problems from collections, bankruptcies or a messy divorce, make sure you have the paperwork documenting that as well. Bring everything with you when you visit your lender, so you don't have to make any extra trips for forgotten documents.

2) Get references. You'll probably need to give your lender the names, addresses and phone numbers of at least three friends or family members not in your household. Finding this information ahead of time will save you time when you're completing your application, and you won't have to stress to figure it all out on the spot.

3) Talk to your boss, office manager, or human resources department. When you apply for an auto loan, most lenders will call and verify your employment. Let the person in charge of employment verification know that you're expecting an auto lender to call about you - that way they'll be ready to provide what the bank needs quickly and accurately.

4) Find out exactly what your payoff is if you have a trade-in. Don't make the common mistake of estimating what your trade-off will be - the bank might take that figure as the exact value. If your payoff ends up being higher from what you estimated, you'll lose time as your loan may need to be reapproved for a higher amount. If it's lower, your interest rate might be higher than what you actually merit. Find out the exact payoff for your trade-in before you go to complete your application, and save yourself some time and money in the process.

5) Be honest! Your loan application may require you to list information about former residences, employers, etc. An accurate application will be processed quickly, but if you lie about your credit history, the lender will probably find out. This will lead to a long delay while the creditor goes through every aspect of your credit history, and may even result in your application being turned down.