Well I just aquired a new used car loan. And thanks to this board and the help of some sample letters I have increased my FICO from 580 to 686. (This is what it says on CreditWatch) Well I was talking to the finance manager and he said they pulled equifax and my score showed to be 722. Hmmmm I wonder which one is right??? Never the less I was approved no problems and got a kick butt interest rate to boot. I checked my FICO tonight and it is still at 686 online. I just don't know what to think. Thanks everyone leencaci
Congratulations on the car loan! As far as the FICO score goes, the score equifax gives you is basically the straight-out score. The dealership tweaks the score to their own standards (i.e. if you have a previous car loan with no lates, that would definatelyhelp your dealership score), the same holds true when you apply for a mortgage, retail store c.c., etc.
mindcrime. I have a question about the tweaking. I have two current loans both around 2 1/2 years old with no lates. Both are leases due in August and October. No lates on either. Will this help my score? Also on the downside I have one paid off lease with 5 (30) day lates back in 1998. Will this hurt my score? Overall will I make out on the score?
tommy, The two new(er) car leases will have more weight on your score than the 4 year old lease with several lates. Depending on what the rest of your report looks like (i.e., if it's in good shape for the most part) a dealership or CU (depending on the route you're taking this time), will most likely over look those late pays. BTW, have you ever attempted to dispute that account as never late?
Mindcrime, I have tried twice to dispute the older car loan as "never late" and both times EQ and TU verified it. Both refuse to open a dispute again even though I last disputed this account over 11 months ago. Thanks
I was able to get an old car loan with a lot of late payments off my reports by simply writing the company and asking. It was Chrysler Credit. The loan was paid off in 1996. I asked them if they would please either remove the late payments or the entire tradeline and mentioned how much I was looking forward to buying another Chrylser car in the future. I was hoping they would only remove the lates, but they had the entire tradeline deleted.
