Auto Loans

[UnderEstimated]

4 months ago, my BK was discharged and I have began rebuilding my credit through a secured loan (from my CU) and a secured credit card through Capital One.  I never thought I'd be in this situation, but long story short, my father basically committed identity theft and ran up nearly $27K in debt while I was working overseas.  I attempted to begin a case against him, but he is no where to be found.  I hold a security clearance and I was practically forced to file for a BK to eliminate my debt and keep my clearance.

So my credit is around 525 right now, but my wife has a score upwards of 730.  Her income is rather low; around $7000/yr, but mine is $65000/yr without including my travel pay.  We're looking at purchasing a larger vehicle and the models we're looking at are around $37,000-$40,000.  So basically it comes down to, she has the credit score, and I have the proof of income.  We can put down $10,000 without any problems, maybe even $15,000 depending on when we purchase the vehicle.  She also has a current car loan through Honda.  The original car loan amount was around $24k, but she owes less than $5k right now.

I've been trying to look into financing options, but I don't want to go around pulling our credit left and right.  Can we get decent financing through good banks/lenders?  Is there hope on getting a decent APR?  I understand we may not qualify for the lowest, but I receive pre-approved offers in the mail for $30K loan @ 19.9%APR and that's not the route I want to go...

Thanks in advance.

[UnderEstimated]

Not that it'll make a huge difference, but with the loan and CC reporting, I just pulled my EQ report and it's at a 607.

[Revelate]

The pre-approval offers generally don't count co-signers.

If you and your wife are planning to get this together, I'm certain there's some method to make it work (either you primary / her secondary, or vice versa) and get both the income and her better score counted.  Someone with more knowledge on the workings of co-signed loans would be better able to give you a breakdown there.

The biggest point you have in your favor is the large downpayment, bigger is better, and it's absolutely your friend in this case.  1/3 down can get you pretty much financed anywhere, though the APR may not be to your liking.  

Regardless, see about doing a joint loan (co-signed or whatever) with your wife, and you can probably do better.  It's an unforutnate situation, but there's not a lot you can get done in a short time period if you need the vehicle.  Depending on what loan rate you can get, you may want to do a cheaper  car while that BK continues to age and your credit score starts to recover, but with the hefty cash in hand for a downpayment you should be able to make something work.

[Tomeygun]

If you go to a credit union they will use the higher of the two and both income sources.

I have worked at 2 credit unions and both did it that way.

Problem solved.

[webhopper]

So, do you have a police report or something of that nature? Seems ridiculous that these accounts which are not
Yours are reporting at all!

[zan987]

+1

[UnderEstimated]

My credit union seems pretty strict.  They didn't allow me to get a secured credit card (even with over $10K in our savings with them) and they wouldn't allow me to be a joint applicant for a credit card through them with my wife.  They said I need to wait 9-10 months, and the loan officers are well aware of my situation.  I don't think I could get a car loan through them until 1 year has passed from my discharge date.

As for the police report, yes I have that for both the racked up debt and damages to my personal vehicle.  It's a huge mess, or I should say it was a huge mess.  But only 2 of my accounts were compromised and the rest were ok.  They report on-time payments and balances at $0.  They are all closed.  The 2 compromised accounts (1 being AMEX for the amount of $19K) report 'Disputed by account holder' and 'Included in bankruptcy'. 

Will it make that big of a difference to have those 2 removed?  I still have the BK and there is no taking that away.  I didn't have a choice, both my attorney and investigator for my clearance told me I legally had to file my BK to eliminate the debt or risk losing my clearance, which in other terms, risks my career.