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I'm hoping in the next upcoming months to purchase a "new" vehicle, either a 2013-16 Honda Civic or 2014-16 Mazda3. The ones around me are priced at 12-14K and my limit is 14K and I can put down 3-5K.
Now my credit.
I have 8 installment loans, totally to a little less than 25K which are student loans.
I have one CO w/ Capital One with a balance of $1,227.
I have an account in collections with a balance of $2,800.
I received acquired two secured cards this past August, one with Discover and Citi, which adds up to a limit to $400. My credit has been slowly rising (TU 635, Equifax 640).
My income is 28K per year, but I am to begin job hunting as I've recently obtained a credential that makes my resume more attractive.
The only reason I'm even looking for a "new" vehicle is because I don't know how much longer my current car has. I have an '08 Civic with a cracked engine block and other issues are rising (a weird propellor noise in my engine & the AC has gone out although not a huge issue). Can I even expect to be approved for an auto loan? How terrible will my interest rate be?
Even if the rates are bad, you could always refi once you can work on your scores. I would also check a local CU and if see if they could help.
3-5K can get you a pretty reliable beater, the last thing you need is a car note.
Check Cap One prequal Navigator.
It will give you a range of interst rates.
The better your car deal, the better your rate within that range.
I got 2.49% for 72 months with no money down with scores under 700.
DON'T WORK FOR CREDIT CARDS ... MAKE CREDIT CARDS WORK FOR YOU!
@Anonymous wrote:3-5K can get you a pretty reliable beater, the last thing you need is a car note.
+1
@Anonymous wrote:3-5K can get you a pretty reliable beater, the last thing you need is a car note.
^^^^ this all day long
you might even find a pretty NICE car for this kind of money
Where are you getting your credit scores from? Website?
+1
You can find PLENTY of nice cars in that range....plenty
Back in the day (I'm old) the definition of a 'beater' might be different from,
what the youth think of today....when I think beater I'm thinking a $1500 or less car that's running,
possibly UGLY but running
In today's world you can ABSOLUTELY find, very decent 'commuter' vehicles ALL DAY long, especially with
all the websites, etc
Put in a max price of 5k in a site like cargu or truecar and dozens of options pop up that I'd have ZERO problem
driving vs a high car note to further choke to crap out of one's finances....
Back in the dark ages of 1985, when I got my 1st car...a 1978 Buick Regal (loved that car, anyway...) note Buicks and Caddies were
'upgrade' models of the day, back then a 7 year old car at BEST would be considered a commuter, with dents and damage, a beater
mine was 'nice' and the cost $1500
30 years later in 2015 my daughter got her 1st ride a 2002 Kia Optima (really cute dark blue sedan) a 13 year old non 'upgrade' model the cost $1500!
My point being at double-triple that cost...3-5 grand...in today's world one can purchase a decent to look at and relatively reliable car NO DOUBT....especially when one considers that by committing to 'just driving' it for say 20-30 months could change a person's financial life for YEARS...
Think of what could be done with the savings between a $550 note vs a $150 note over 15 payments, a little over a year that's $6,000!
Say NO
To high cost, high % auto loans, period!