It's a great time for buyers who are looking to secure a loan for their new or used vehicle, as interest and default rates are down and lenders are becoming profitable again, which increases the availability of credit to all buyers.

Auto sales are also booming, with December of 2010 posting the fastest rate for vehicle sales since the government-sponsored "Cash for Clunkers" program ended. That means dealers are eager to continue selling vehicles and keep the momentum moving.

An example of the positive economic effects in action are the dwindling interest rates on vehicles, according to USA Today. Bankrate.com recently reported an average interest rate 6.21 percent, the lowest rate in nearly two decades of data. Some dealers were even going as low as 2.99 percent.

Edmunds, which also factors in special dealer offers into the average, concurred with the low rates, saying that the 4.16 percent recorded in December was the lowest since the company began tracking rates in 2002.

One of the reasons for this is that banks and lenders are competing for every single customer, causing them to offer lower rates.

"What's really driving our market right now are these low interest rates," Pete Greiner of Greiner Ford Lincoln in Casper, Wyoming, told USA Today. "The national lenders became very competitive."

Ally Financial, for example, which offers both mortgages and car loans, recently reported its fourth straight quarterly profit. The beleaguered lender was forced to accept a government bailout in the midst of the recession, but now appears to be bouncing back. As companies return from the brink, they're able to offer loans to a wider variety of customers, including those with bad or no credit.

Another reason that lenders are confident is their low default rates. A lender collects no money on a loan that defaults, which is why bad credit buyers are riskier than others and must pay a higher interest rate. So with default rates down again this month – currently at a meager 1.68 percent – banks and lenders can be a bit more adventurous with their loans.

New Jersey State Auto Auction partners with a variety of banks and lenders in order to secure loans for customers with all types of credit scores. Drivers in the market for a car loan should browse the wide selection of vehicles and lending options available to them.