Exactly one year ago GM Financial repo'd my car. I was a struggling student and had tons of 30 day lates, a few 60s and a 90 until they took it. I bought another car right away through Credit Acceptance and had to accept a 25% interest rate on a car I hated and promised myself that I was going to do everything I could to make the next year count credit-wise. I have paid all my creditors on time as well as my car loan and saw my score increase to the mid-600s.
Now, a year later, I decided to try my luck with a local credit union, thinking it'll be a wasted inquiry, but to my surprise they approved me for $33,000!! I was able to buy a 2015 Jeep Cherokee Limited! My interest rate isn't great (7%) but they told me if I get my scores above 720 they'll refi to a lower rate! They also pre-approved me for a LOC that I can use however I want. FYI: I was also approved with Cap 1 but their rate was over 10%. The deficiency balance for GM Financial remains on my credit at just under $2000 and I plan on paying that off over the next few months.
I've read on here for a long time how awesome credit unions are, and now I can say I agree 100%!! 
