Auto Loan or Credit Card

[Anonymous]

Hello,

After reading many website (including this one) I now realize it may not be smart to apply for credit cards RIGHT before applying for a auto loan. My credit score is approx 720...credit card applications (3-4) will drop my score maybe -15 points , which will make the auto loan harder to be approved.

OR

Applying for a auto loan (3 different dealerships (Jaguar, Lexus, & Toyota) may drop my score -15 and make getting approved for credit cards tougher....smh. 

Do you agree?  Any recommendations of which to apply for first?  I want to do everything within a 30-45 day window if not all within the same week.

[Kirmie2010]

Id go the auto loan route first.

 The drop in score getting new cards may give you a worse apr when going for the auto loan. 

Id apply for cards as soon as the auto loan was final, maybe not all of the inquirys would of posted yet.

[guydiver]

I'd go the Lexus route first.  They can get you their credit card with the same pull if you like.

[Anonymous]

@guy...sounds like a smart idea...car dealerships offering credit cards, lol, sounds wierd, but I guess it's another way to make money. I'll try Lexus...probably today actually.

[Anonymous]

I have:  720 approx credit score, 11yrs of credit history, $84k verifiable income, but no car payment history.  Toyota & Honda dealer said no problem with $1k down...Lexus dealer said I MIGHT get a cheap car loan at approx. $35k, but that's streatching it.

I'm hoping to walk away with close to $0 down payment...$1-2k is fine though.

[Anonymous]

My Update:

I was approved at the Toyota dealership in Oakland, CA.  They looked at each credit bureau and chose the highest one.  I probably could have asked him to not look any further, but I was also curious.  My highest score was 657 (Equifax ), but my credit history with Equifax  I believe was 9-11yrs. I honestly don't know what bank financed my loan, but he said they were running it through Toyota financing so that's probably the financing company...at approx. 5% interest rate.  

2015 Camry XLE Hybrid - $35,000 with $2,000 down payment.  I also applied for the Toyota Credit Card, but did not receive an immediate answer. I will call the reconsideration line and ask for approval. The whole process took 5hrs.

[dursty87]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My Update:

I was approved at the Toyota dealership in Oakland, CA.  They looked at each credit bureau and chose the highest one.  I probably could have asked him to not look any further, but I was also curious.  My highest score was 657 (Equifax ), but my credit history with Equifax  I believe was 9-11yrs. I honestly don't know what bank financed my loan, but he said they were running it through Toyota financing so that's probably the financing company...at approx. 5% interest rate.  

2015 Camry XLE Hybrid - $35,000 with $2,000 down payment.  I also applied for the Toyota Credit Card, but did not receive an immediate answer. I will call the reconsideration line and ask for approval. The whole process took 5hrs.

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Congrats on the approval.  The reason for your low(er) score is that you have no auto history.  Car dealers pull an auto-enhanced version of your FICO and since you don't have any auto history this would most likely be the reason it is lower than your regular FICO score.

[One7]

Congratulations on your new car! Very awesome 

[guydiver]

Congrats.  Did you post what you got and the details?  Hope you enjoy your new ride.