I recently purchased a car in Aug. 2002 and it was finance thru Household Automotive at a very high interest rate of 18.5%. I was told that after 6 months that I could refinance with them, but when called to refinance I was denied. Tried People First they said no too. I don't understand. I made all 6 payments ON TIME, and even paid an extra $800 one month. I checked my FICO score 1 month ago and it was 579. I have 2 credit cards that I have paid on time- 1 for 1 1/2 years and 1 for 5 months. Also have two closed accounts that were never paid late. One ran for 30 months and the other for over a year. I have unpaid collections, mostly medical, all totaling under $2000. Does anyone know who would refinance me, or would it help if I waited and reapplied after 1 year has passed on car loan? FICO has made my life very difficult (yes, I know that I contributed also). HELP!
Not sure why Household denied you though you say they did tell you they'll be able to refinance you after 6 months. As for peoplefirst.. umm, you shouldn't have even bothered. Peoplefirst only finances people with the absolute best of the best credit. Even people who *think* they have good credit get denied and are told they aren't good enough. They really should change their name... "peoplefirst".
Oh your other question. With a score of 579, unfortunately, it'll be a little tough. Your best bet is to try only subprime lenders (not prime ones like peoplefirst). I can only think of Americredit and Fairelane right now as possible places you can go. Other people here might have other ideas. If you do get refinanced, I don't think you'll get anyone lowering it by more than 3 percentage points at the most. Bottom line however, is that you need to get started on your credit repair if you havent already. Refrain from applying for things (adding inquiries to your reports) unless it's absolutely necessary. Ironically, when I pulled my report as I started my credit repair early last year, I was at exactly 579. So if you get started right away, you can do it. Lots of information here.
I should issue a disclaimer: the things I've mentioned above aren't necessarily *everyone's* experience. They're what I've seen in my experience only
Thanks for the quick response! But I made a mistake. I went thru my records after reading your first response, and it wasn't People First it was E-Loan that I tried and was denied. I know that 3% percent doesn't sound like much, but I think that would be wonderful. I hate seeing how much I am paying every month in interest. It is more than 1/2 of my monthly payment. Have learned my lesson though. Thanks for the advice.
No problem. Actually, I do realize 3% definitely makes a difference.. didn't mean to make it sound like it didn;t. By the way, if you call places, loan officers are usually able to tell you whether or not you might qualify by simply giving them your score or some other basic information. This eliminates excessive inquiries on your reports (which lowers your score further).. you'll only allow them to pull if you know you stand a chance of getting it (this has always worked for me).
