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My 2 cents.
Instead of asking the loan first/car first issue. Decide how much you care to finance. Is it 5k? 6k? or is it 8k? How long of a loan do you want 3 years? 5 years? How much extra are you paying in interest over the life of the loan? How much do you want to pay a month? I say decide how much you want to spend first. That way you don't start off by looking at a $5000 car, and then the dealer shows you how much better that $14,000 car is... financing offers a quick slippery slope into bad debt if you're not careful.
Next find a car that matches your budget, and the other specifics of what you're looking for (check the TFP motors area in the forum for car advice).
Then look for a loan. When I got my nissan maxima, the dealership offered me a MUCH lower interest rate (9.5%) versus bank of america's 12.5% rate for used cars. And nissan had autopayments as well, it was very easy to do business with them. Your mileage may vary, but feel free to shop around for a loan. The dealership usually loves to finance it themselves, let them give you a quote, then take that quote to other places to see if somewhere else can do better.
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