Car loan help! I am having absolutely no luck getting a car loan. I've been turned down by just about everyone; Local finance cos, peoplefirst.com, household, my credit union,etc. A couple of local dealers are trying to help now but I'm not holding my breath! I was told that my score is 579 which believe it or not is much,much higher than it was a year ago and definitely 5 years ago. I have no recent negative entries. Everything is at leat 4 years old--some are being disputed. There are a lot of collections and a couple of judgemements--all being taken care of or have been taken care of. I have no dependents and an income of 45/yr and have 3 positive credit lines on my report. I rent but have been at this residence for years. None of that seems to have any bearing! I currently drive a company vehicle but will be changing jobs which requires me to have my own vehicle. Because I'll be doing a lot of driving in the field, I need it to be very reliable and preferably brand new. I expected to get a high interest rate but didn't expect total rejection! My credit union turned me down but stated that they were sure I'd get approved with a finance company with a high interest rate and they would re-finance me after 6 months. They were wrong. Any advice anyone? Please help!!!!!
Re: Car loan help! If it's a new car you're looking for and Household Auto Finance turned you down (!), then try to find a dealer who works with: Nuvell (a sub-prime GMAC division) Consumer Portfolio Services (CPS) CharterOne Auto Finance Summit/Capital One Auto Finance Wells Fargo Financial Acceptance Be prepared to pay astronomical (20%+) interest rates and 10% down and be prepared to present a million utilities in your name, and a billion references but you should get approved. I got approved with CPS in '98 with about 4 unpaid 1 year old CO's, 6 unpaid defaulted student loans and 5 unsatisfied judgements (these weren't mine, but I had a merged report issue) on my credit reports. My interest rate was embarrasing, but it got me into a dependable car with very high resale value once I pay it off. Hope this helps and I hope you get what you need,
Re: Car loan help! Might the rejections have something to do with the deal being presented? Maybe they want more down, maybe they will only finance you for a certain amount and the vehicle you are looking at is more than they want to finance. Since you have been driving a company vehicle I assume there is no trade in involved which sometimes can complicate things. Also have you tried Ford and Ford Motor Credit. Unless you have really messed up with them, they usually finance the credit challenged. Since it sounds as though your credit is okay probably more decent than our credit is and we managed to get financed recently, I tend to believe it may be the deal the dealer is presenting to these financing companies. You may need to consider a different vehicle and/or less expensive car. Just some suggestions based on previous experience.
Re: Car loan help! Thanks to all for the good advice! I did in fact give up on the idea of getting the car that I REALLY wanted--the Volkswagen Jetta. Even though I certainly can afford it--no luck with financing. So last night I went to a Nissan Dealer for my second less expensive choice--a Nissan Sentra. I'll find out today.
Re: Car loan help! By the way, what kind of credit report score does a car dealer want one to have for financing purposes? I'm looking to buy a car next year at this time and currently my score is 641.
Re: Car loan help! If you can get the Sentra you'll have made a big step up in reliability. Family, friends, and I have owned several VWs and Nissans. VWs are good, Nissans are outstanding. But you may just not be able to get a new car. I don't entirely understand it, but sometimes it's not about the amount being financed. My gf could not get a new car with her credit, however she was able to buy a used car that cost a lot more than many new cars. Many people would say that a one year old used car is a better deal anyway -- they cost a lot less than new. And the off-lease market is still flooded from the late '90s boom. The only reason I know of for the financing difference between new and used cars is this. A new car drops 20% (exact figures courtesy of my posterior) in value in its first day of ownership whereas any used car has already been through that. So unless you make a very large down payment your new car loan to value ratio can go over 100% as you leave the lot which neither you nor the bank wants. A used car's value is easier to pin down. So my gf is trustworthy to pay 16.9% on an $18,000 used car but not on a $14,000 new car. You have to love the industry. I hope you can get the new Sentra. I'm even looking at them although my current Sentra is only four years old. But if not a new one, see if there's a shiny 20-25K mile 2000 model on the other side of the lot.
Re: Car loan help! I know you have probably found a loan by now. Just in case, I wanted to let you know that my husband got a used auto loan through Americredit. We had only seen our credit report once, spring of 2000. We had no scores at all with two of the cra's because we had no positive credit to rate us! This was our first tradeline in years. We paid $500 down, traded in a 1991 Dodge Ram which was just about worn completely out. We purchased a 2000 Chevy Astro van, because we have to have 8 seats. We just applied to our credit union to refinance at a lower interest rate. I think we will be turned down. Best of luck, hope you are already driving around town in your new car. Terri
Re: Car loan help! I suggest putting about 20-30% down payment, and most places will give you a high risk loan. Otherwise, you'll have to get a bottom of the barrell car (mitsubishi mirage,hynudai,kia) to get a low downpayment loan. my score was 575, btw and i got approved for an $18000 0-down household auto loan at (hahah) 21% interest. I took my $3000 and bought a used unique vw, and have spent another $5K bringing it back to new and then some. This allows me to have a reliable unique car, with no strings (no interest) attached. Just about any decent car is going to run you over $500/month with substantial (20%) cash down payment, so think about what you really want...
Re: Car loan help! although Americredit was willing to laon me $18,000 when I wanted to buy a car back in February, I ended up getting a real nice 95 Nissan Altima with very low mileage at only 48,000 miles and am only paying $242 a month with $700 down from a local dealer who set me up with a 30 month loan from Mercury Finance. It's a really outstanding little car and I'm real happy with it.
Re: Car loan help! Yes, you are right. I did get my car loan and as I posted earlier, it was through Americredit. I got a 2001 Nissan Sentra (it's my 2nd one!) that I absoultely love! My credit union has told me that they will refinance me after 6 months.
Re: Car loan help! STICK WITH THE NISSAN, EVEN IF NMAC WON'T FINANCE YOU, PROBABLY NOT WITH THAT SCORE, BUT AT LEAST YOU WILL GET AN EXTREMLELY RELIABLE & FUEL EFFICIENT CAR, AS FOR THE FINANCING, MOST PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THAT THE DEALER HAS A LOT TO DO WITH FINANCING THESE TYPE OF DEALS, I AM IN THE "INDIRECT" AUTO LOAN BUSINESS, AND IN MY 15 YRS OF EXPERIENCE,<11 W/NISSAN> THERE ARE VERY FEW DEALS THAT ARE IMPOSSIBLE SITUATIONS. EVEN WITH A 575 SCORE, DID THE DEALER TELL YOU THAT? OR THE CREDIT UNION? WITH 10% DOWN, MAYBE 15, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET A LOAN WITH A FINANCE COMPANY SUCH AS ARCADIA FINANCIAL @ A RATE OF 15%- 17%, DEPENDING ON THE DEAL, NOTE THE LARGER THE DEALER, THE MORE LEVERAGE THEY WILL HAVE IN OBTAINING THE LOAN FOR YOU, AS THEY SEND THESE COMPANIES HUNDREDS OF DEALS PER MONTH. IN ADDITION, THEY WILL USE AN "AUTO SPECIFIC", OR "AUTO ENHANCED SCORE", THAT IS GENERALLY ABOUT 20-40 PTS HIGHER THAN A REGULAR BUREAU SCORE. DON'T GIVE UP & GO TO A "BUY HERE, PAY HERE", PLACE, THEY WILL SELL YOU A JUNK @ 5 TIMES THE VALUE, WITH YOUR INCOME AND RESIDENCY HISTORY, YOU DON'T NEED TO GO THAT ROUTE. NOT TO MENTION THEY WON'T HELP YOU REBUILD YOUR CREDIT, FYI, YOU CAN GENERALLY ONLY REFINANCE AFTER A SOLID 18 TO 24 MONTHS, OF ON TIME PAYMENTS, ALTHOUGH THEY MIGHT TELL YOU 6-12, IT JUST WON'T HAPPEN.
Re: Car loan help! Scholr: That's some fairly neat insights into the auto finance business you gave there. Thanks
Re: Car loan help! YOU'RE WELCOME BILL, AND THERE'S A TON MORE. CONGRATS TO THE POSTER ON THE NISSAN, AMERICREDIT IS PRETTY GOOD, AS FAR AS "SUB-PRIME" GOES, I HOPE THAT YOUR CREDIT UNION WILL DO IT IN 6 MONTHS, I HAVE JUST NEVER SEEN IT PERSONALLY. BTW, WHAT KIND OF RATE DID YOU GET??
Re: Car loan help! ALSO, AMERICREDIT REPORTS TO ALL 3 BUREAUS, YOU WILL PROBABLY NEED : 5 PERSONAL REF'S. COPIES OF ATLEAST 2 UTILITY BILLS AND TWO RECENT PAYSTUBS, AND LANDLORDS PHONE # FOR VERIFICATION OF RENT, SOMETIMES THEY ASK FOR COMPLETE TAX RETURN. YOU MAY BE ABLE TO GET A FEW CONCESSIONS FROM THE DEALER, I WILL TELL YOU "PRETTY CLOSE" WHAT THE DEALERS END IS IF YOU CAN POST TERMS.
Re: Car loan help! Re: Refinancing When my husband got his loan with Americredit,the finance department at the auto dealership told him that after 12 months of on time payments he could trade in the 2000 van and get a new one at the "normal" interest rate. When Americredit made a courtesy call after the loan was approved, I asked about this and they knew nothing about it. They do not refinance, and would not add my name. We just applied to the credit union to refinance (got loan 11/00). We are waiting to hear. They were not encouraging. I am hoping we do not have to wait 18 months, because the payments are very high. So for now, I am fine with Americredit because they gave us a chance, but I am less than happy with the finance department at the dealership. Do you think the salesperson is in on this? Do you think we would have a chance of purchasing a new van elsewhere, instead of refinancing if we have a significant improvement in score, say up to a 650? Thanks, Terri
Re: Car loan help! HI TERRI, AMERICREDIT WILL NOT RE-FI ANY ONE, OR ADD ANY ONE, AS FOR THE DEALERSHIP, THEY ALL SAY THAT ,FOR THE MOST PART, THEY DON'T WANT YOU TO RUN OUT THE DOOR, BUT AVERAGE IS 18 TO 24MOS., NOW THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT IF YOU HAD A REALLY GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CREDIT UNION, THAT THEY MIGHT HELP YOU OUT. WITH RESPECT TO TRADING THE VAN, DON'T, YOU WILL JUST GET BURIED DEEPER BECAUSE IT IS SO NEW, EVEN IF YOU COULD SAVE A LITTLE ON INTEREST RATE, IT WOULD BE DWARFED BY THE LOSS YOU WOULD TAKE ON DEPRECIATION. <EXCEPTION TO THIS, WOULD BE 0.9 FOR 60 MONTHS, BUT BASED ON WHAT YOU POSTED, I DON'T THINK YOU WOULD QUALIFY RIGHT NOW, I WOULD JUST WAIT IT OUT & TRY TO PAY EXTRA $$$ TO AMERICREDIT ON CURRENT AUTO, IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT.
Re: Car loan help! I purchased my 97 Nissan Maxima in 1999. At the time, I had a 472 Equifax score (the finance person showed me). I was purchased through Consumer Finance Company formerly Chase Finance. That is when I started working on credit rehabilitation/repair. Here is one interesting point the finance guy pointed out to me. I had a TON of negative information. They could tell I was starting to rebuild. I had FCNB, the dreaded ACE Visa, and a Orchard Mastercard. I had each card for about a year, all of my payments were made on time and I didn't keep balances. Based on that alone, I was approved. The interest rate was 18.99 and I had to put 3K down. My car payment was $463.24 per month. Six months later, after I had several negative tradelines removed, and aged off my report, I refinanced the balance through my credit union@ 8.0%. my payment dropped to 320.32 per month. I didn't start at 60 months, I started where the finance company left off (I financed the loan for 54 months) I spoke with the branch manager of the credit union. I asked her for my credit score. She informed me they don't purchase the score, they strictly look at debt to income. She said credit reports contain too many errors. I work for the largest long distance telecommunications company hint hint. Our credit union office is in the lobby of the building. I had to explain the every negative entry on my credit report. At that time I had 25 tradelines of student loans, and I was rehabing. I could proove it by showing payments made and the rehab contract I signed. Not only that, she approved me for a line of credit for 10K. I had an income in the low 50's but couldn't get anything because of my credit. Consequently, I bank with them now, and they serve all of my banking needs. I am still working on my reports. I basically completely cleaned my equifax report. I have never had a problem with them. I dispute it, they basically remove what I ask them to remove. My experian report is much much better than it was at that time ( and I am still working on it). they are VERY inept!!!! Transuion still has a few negative tradelines. There is one thing that is haunting me unitl April of next year, Capitol One. I have a chargeoff that is 8K. They keep verifying the tradeline. If I didn't have that I could probably go prime. just my two cents.
