Advice for an 18 year old new to credit!!

[Anonymous]

Okay so im 18 and a sophmore in college and here's my situation: Im in California right now and im going to transfer to a school in Montana in the spring of next year. I live at home with my parents and im working 2 jobs making $1400-$1650 a month gross and i dont pay rent or have any monthy bills other than my credit cards.

Credit History:

Bank of America cash rewards (Dec 2014- Jan 2015) closed at my request to switch from cash rewards card to Alaska Airlines card, since B of A "didnt feel comfortable extending me two lines of credit".

Since then I have 5 Credit cards (First opened in Dec 2014)  with a CL of $4000 and no missed payments. I have a student loan throgh the gov for $5000 and no missed payments since im still in school.

What i want to do is buy this 2009 GMC Sierra 4x4 ive had my eye on for some time now and take it with me when i leave for school in Spring so i can get to work and stuff like that. What im worried about is will my auto loan keep me from getting the student loan i need for school? The truck is $22000 and I have $4000 to put down and ill still have some money left over so i wont drain that account. 

I dont carry a balance on any of my cards except fot the alaska airlines card, which ill pay off by the end of this month. My Credit Karma Scores are TU 675 and EQ 659 with 13inquires ( went to a dealership before and they ran my credit 6 times and got approved for 8.9% on a 2015 mitsubishi for 72 mo.) 

Any advice?

Shoud i secure my student loan first and then the auto?

[Pway]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Okay so im 18 and a sophmore in college and here's my situation: Im in California right now and im going to transfer to a school in Montana in the spring of next year. I live at home with my parents and im working 2 jobs making $1400-$1650 a month gross and i dont pay rent or have any monthy bills other than my credit cards.

Credit History:

Bank of America cash rewards (Dec 2014- Jan 2015) closed at my request to switch from cash rewards card to Alaska Airlines card, since B of A "didnt feel comfortable extending me two lines of credit".

Since then I have 5 Credit cards (First opened in Dec 2014)  with a CL of $4000 and no missed payments. I have a student loan throgh the gov for $5000 and no missed payments since im still in school.

What i want to do is buy this 2009 GMC Sierra 4x4 ive had my eye on for some time now and take it with me when i leave for school in Spring so i can get to work and stuff like that. What im worried about is will my auto loan keep me from getting the student loan i need for school? The truck is $22000 and I have $4000 to put down and ill still have some money left over so i wont drain that account. 

I dont carry a balance on any of my cards except fot the alaska airlines card, which ill pay off by the end of this month. My Credit Karma Scores are TU 675 and EQ 659 with 13inquires ( went to a dealership before and they ran my credit 6 times and got approved for 8.9% on a 2015 mitsubishi for 72 mo.) 

Any advice?

Shoud i secure my student loan first and then the auto?

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Financing a vehicle is great.  However, the part that sticks out to me is a 2009 sierra for 22,000.  That is a bit steep for a used truck, where as a new 2015 Sierra is starting at 26k.  Please do your homework before doing something you will regret down the line.  You want something that is reliable and will not give you a lot of problems.  You are a college student and work.  2009-2015 (6 Year old truck for 22k, I began to wonder).  Although some may think differently than I but this is my two cents.

[Anonymous]

You're off to a good start.  

An auto loan would have no effect on qualifying through FAFSA - pretty sure.  

I agree with Pway, however;  you may want to rethink your auto choice.  That's a steep price for an old car;  and you may have issues qualifying for a used car loan let alone a low APR.

[Anonymous]

Your doing great so far, your working, going to school, establishing credit and using it properly.  I would caution you on how much vehicle you buy.  I think most people in their late teens early 20's get themselves tied into a car loan that chews up big chunks of their income.  Life happens and having a big car payment over your head is not fun when thngs arent going well.  Working through school can be a challange and you don't really want to take out additonal student loans if you can avoid it so I would just be cautious on how much you can afford.  Living at home without costs is great but I suspect you will learn like all of us did that going out on your own is pricey.  I strongly suggest you establish a relationship with a good credit union and get preapproved before you go shopping.  Having a long term relationship with a credit union will pay off big time over your life and will help you get low cost financing for all of your needs and most have fantastic customer service because they are owned by the members not by stockholders.  Best of luck, your doing great so far.  Remember your in for the long haul and you'll be fine.

[heyitsyeh]

Student loans from the government don't take into account your credit, so you won't have to worry about inquiries affecting your chances. Therefore apply for that second. 

[Anonymous]

Having owned 3 Lancers, 1 Outlander and now a Mirage: Mitsubishi makes a great car. I abuse the hell out of (and then wreck - thus the quantity previously owned) cars and I've never been stranded by a Mitsubishi. Buy yourself a 2013 Lancer for about $12k-ish. Run it into the ground. I put 150k miles on my Outlander in 6 years. The only things I ever did to it were twice yearly oil changes and one battery. Great, great car even though I neglected it. The Mirage, purchased for my son, comes with free oil changes for life from my dealer, so I will be (trying to) keeping current on those!

[Anonymous]

Very proud of what you have done and are doing. Is ther a way to find a great 4x4 that is somewhat less. I know what it is like to have your heart on something special. But I also know what it is like to get it and be in a tight pinch with little else. Look for something less expensive, that fits your budget, but still fits your needs. 

Can you explain why your scores are in the 600's?