Advice for my situation

[welshdan]

Hey guys,

I've been an avid user of the mortgage board but now that is over and done with, on to the next expense!!!

I've not had a car payment in 3 years but my car is on it's last legs so time to upgrade.

My score is 674 but will improve at the end of feb when 2 of my credit cards will report a lower balance ($3000 to $200)

Mortgage and revolving credit all paid as agreed. 

AAoA is what's killing me, I've only lived in the US for 2 years and 7 months so my credit is very new.

I've never bought a car in the US so unsure how it all works

I've applied at NFCU for a pre approval their rate is around 5%.

Should I show a dealer what NFCU gave me and see if they can beat it? (not sure if that is "ok" in the US)

Typically is a downpayment required for used car loans?

After an initial pull of credit, do I have 30 days to try for other car loans to see if I can get a better rate?

[UpNComing]

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@welshdan wrote:

Hey guys,

I've been an avid user of the mortgage board but now that is over and done with, on to the next expense!!!

I've not had a car payment in 3 years but my car is on it's last legs so time to upgrade.

My score is 674 but will improve at the end of feb when 2 of my credit cards will report a lower balance ($3000 to $200)

Mortgage and revolving credit all paid as agreed. 

AAoA is what's killing me, I've only lived in the US for 2 years and 7 months so my credit is very new.

I've never bought a car in the US so unsure how it all works

I've applied at NFCU for a pre approval their rate is around 5%.

Should I show a dealer what NFCU gave me and see if they can beat it? (not sure if that is "ok" in the US)

Typically is a downpayment required for used car loans?

After an initial pull of credit, do I have 30 days to try for other car loans to see if I can get a better rate?

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welshdan, you should have no problem securing an auto loan.  I would definitely recommend telling the dealer that you have a preapproval from your credit union and see if they can beat the rate.  You'll be the one to benefit in the end. 

Down payments are not a requirement in most situations.  I'd say with your credit history the choice will be yours.  Don't let the dealer convince you that you must put money down.  Once a dealer has maxed out the approval from the bank they will turn to you for money down to increase their profit margin.

Finally I highly recommend shopping your loan around inside of thirty days since multiples inquiries for an auto loan will have minimal effect on your fico.

[Revelate]

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@UpNComing wrote:

Down payments are not a requirement in most situations.  I'd say with your credit history the choice will be yours.  Don't let the dealer convince you that you must put money down.  Once a dealer has maxed out the approval from the bank they will turn to you for money down to increase their profit margin.

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I thought potential downpayment directly correlated with the amount you could get financed by a particular lender?  Or are you suggesting that if you give the dealer the option, they may try running the numbers at $0 -> $x (max downpayment) and see what they can realistically get - lowest downpayment vs. enough financed to cover the OTD cost?

[UpNComing]

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@Revelate wrote:

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@UpNComing wrote:

Down payments are not a requirement in most situations.  I'd say with your credit history the choice will be yours.  Don't let the dealer convince you that you must put money down.  Once a dealer has maxed out the approval from the bank they will turn to you for money down to increase their profit margin.

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I thought potential downpayment directly correlated with the amount you could get financed by a particular lender?  Or are you suggesting that if you give the dealer the option, they may try running the numbers at $0 -> $x (max downpayment) and see what they can realistically get - lowest downpayment vs. enough financed to cover the OTD cost?

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Yes and no.  Any time a loan application is called into the bank the maximum loan is listed on the approval.  From this the dealer can maximize the approval.  The easiest way is to ask for money from the customer.

[Revelate]

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@UpNComing wrote:

Yes and no.  Any time a loan application is called into the bank the maximum loan is listed on the approval.  From this the dealer can maximize the approval.  The easiest way is to ask for money from the customer.

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Makes sense, thanks!

[welshdan]

So NFCU approved me for $16000 5.5% for 72 months, which gives me a payment of roughly $253 a month.

They don't need any money down and I pick up the paper work tomorrow.

I will be making extra payments on the loan so in reality it won't be a 72 month loan.

I'm lookin at a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder S with 71k miles for $14999, my plan is to get them down to $14k at least.

Anybody have experience with Nissan/Pathfinder?

[Anonymous]

What trim level are you looking at?

http://www.edmunds.com/nissan/pathfinder/2007/

TMV Base price is $11,616 for an S and $12,453 for an SE.