topic Re: looking for all kinds of advice in Auto Loans

looking for all kinds of advice

windyhair — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:01:26 GMT

hey y'all- i just recently (like 6 months ago) started caring about credit again, so i pulled my reports, started paying stuff off, etc. i pulled my eq and tu scores last week and they are 561 and 622, respectively, both up like 50 pts. anyway, i have this horrible, horrible feeling that my 1995 odyssey (243K miles!) is about to really kick the bucket. i've never had an auto loan; i always just paid cash for clunkers. :smileywink: what will i need to get one? (if necessary- i'm hoping my car is just squealing with delight!)

more information: looking to borrow $15-18K, can do $1500 in down payment right now, income $70K/yr. will i need a bigger down payment?

thanks in advance for any advice!

(edited to add more information)

Re: looking for all kinds of advice

Walt_K — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:14:10 GMT

You're probably not going to get a very good rate. What are the negatives on your report? You might be able to get some good advice on some other relatively easy fixes to bring your score up further before you apply.

ETA: I think with auto loans you can ask them which CRA they use. So you could call around and potentially only go to a dealer that uses TU. I'm not sure about this because I haven't had a car since I was 18.

Re: looking for all kinds of advice

pizzadude — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:21:50 GMT

Welcome to the forums !

What open accounts do you have on your credit reports now ? Do you have any open credit cards ?

Also are there any previous installment loans showing on your reports ?

Re: looking for all kinds of advice

windyhair — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:00:12 GMT

hey, thanks, pizzadude!

i have 2 open credit cards ($300 each)- one 4 months old, one brand new one- and a student loan of $30k. my credit report also lists 2 old credit accounts as still open that i had with my ex-husband that have $0 balances. i have a judgment from 4 years ago that's almost paid off, and 5 charge-offs from 6 years ago. any hope for me?

Re: looking for all kinds of advice

windyhair — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:05:15 GMT

thanks to you, too, walt k! i can't say i'm expecting a very good rate, but something that doesn't cost me my oldest child would be good.

Re: looking for all kinds of advice

pizzadude — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:37:30 GMT

Ok so it is good that you have several open accounts on your credit reports. And it sounds like most of the derogatory information on your reports is over 4 years old, right ? Having a student loan should be good, it is also an installment loan.

I'd recommend going into a local bank or CU and talking with them. Do you have any banking relationships now that you could leverage ?

Some people in similiar situations have reported getting high interest rates, but then they have been able to refinance after 6 or 9 months to a much better rate, so you may end up having to do that.

Re: looking for all kinds of advice

windyhair — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:10:07 GMT

yes, the derogatory stuff is 4+ years old. i paid off a bunch of medical collections last year, but all those were pulled off my report altogether! i didn't even know they did that! (yes, i'm very new to the credit improvement thing.) wish i'd have looked for this forum a long time ago, lemme tell ya. anyway, i'm a member at a local credit union. they have online application for loans, but would you recommend going in rather than doing it online?

Re: looking for all kinds of advice

pizzadude — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:48:04 GMT

I would definately recommend going into the CU and talking in person with the loan officer. Just explain your situation, tell them what you are looking to do. You could even bring a copy of your credit reports along and let them have a quick look ~ hopefully they can give you a general idea of where you stand.

And also, as you found out, cleaning up your credit reports is always a good thing, so keep at it with GW letters to work on the negatives.

Re: looking for all kinds of advice

jimbo831 — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:10:14 GMT

windyhair wrote:
(if necessary- i'm hoping my car is just squealing with delight!)

This just made my day. It's great that you can have a sense of humor about this situation. I don't have any better advice than has already been offered, but I just wanted to say how much I loved this comment. Best of luck getting financed for an awesome car.