Here's my situation, my girlfriend who turned 18 last May, needed a new car, she went down to the local dealership, and applied for credit, with $2500 cash in hand, she was approved for a new Chevy Cavalier, I asked the dealer what her score was, and he told me it was a 618, reason being, the last dealership pulled close to 13 inquiries trying to get her financed, about 4 months ago, but couldnt. Well, a company called Primus approved her, but I was shocked to find the interest rate on a NEW 2001 car to be 20.69.....she was only financing 10k, but finance charges alone were 7k+... I am hoping that she can find someone to refinance..b/c that is ridiculous! She has no bad credit, just positive credit from May 2000, and she has a Citibank Trade of mine on her report w/ 7k limit, as an AU. I guess that helps ??? Her own credit cards consist of : Nextcard 700 limit Fashion Bug 500 limit Aria 1000 limit Cap1 500 limit Who can we turn to to refi? Is it normal for a first time buyer so young to get screwed on interest rate? She only took the loan, b/c she needed a car right away.. How long should she wait to try to refi,and where should she turn, and what APR should she expect to pay? Thanks
RE: she got screwed. first time buyer rate is about 11-12% from any major dealer right now. Prolly 11%. You got railed. my gf did VW credit at 11% for first time buyer, had 6 months of credit max, the car was a lot more expensive than a cavaler (01 jetta gls vr6).
RE: she got screwed. Aruthur, I suggestion would be to live with the high APR for now, then refinance through a credit union. If you she is not a member of a credit union, I suggest theat she fine one. After six months of timely payments, refinance for a lower APR. I have done this twice with two different cars. My original APR as a first time buyer with no credit was 19.99, after six months, I refinanced for 12.9% which is a big difference. Goodo Luck, Reshod
RE: auto loan and high APR ..h Does she belong to a credit union? They may be able to help. Check out Household Finance, too; some folks here have gotten reasonalbe rates with them. If your gf can't refinance right away, the best way to negate the high interest is to pay more than the monthly payment and shorten the life of the loan.
RE: don't take too long!!!!! Don't take too long to refinance because most of the interest is paid in the beginning of the loan!
