Do I qualify for decent rates?

[Lysergic]

Hey everyone. I've been rebuilding my credit for 1.5 years now. Looking for some feedback on my credit situation to see if I may qualify for decent-to-good rates.

Credit Score: 660 EQ (FICO), 682 EX (FAKO), 657 TU (FAKO)

AAoA: 1.5 Years (5 if BoA AU shows up)

# of positive trade lines: 2 + 1 closed

# of negative trade lines: 1 (DOFD 8/2008)

Income: 24k

Length of Employment: 2 years

Previous Loan Experience: None

Debt-to-Income (DTI): 20-25%

Year of Car: 2014

Model: Mazda 3 i Sport

Miles: 0

Purchase/Refinance: Purchase - New

Requested loan term (XX Months): 60

Vehicle price: 19k

Down payment amount: 5000

Co-borrower/Co-Signer: No

Inquiries: 4/4/5

Also, would applying for 1-2 new credit cards hurt or help my score since I only have 2 open tradelines.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Remember0]

Hmm...1 new credit card might help. No need for 2 though.

Before you apply for the card, tell me, when do you plan on buying the car?

TBH I think you'd qualify for good rates as is. Given the amount of your dp, do not accept any rate > 5% imo. I'd start by applying to DCU. You'll probably get 3.74% (with direct deposit) with them. EQ FICO has to be 675+ to get 1.24% (with DD) with them. How many of your EQ INQs are within the past 6 months? Past 1 year?

Also when you apply with them, don't forget to include approximate sales taxes and registration in the car price. In my state, that could add as much as 2k to the price of the car. So let's say your state is like mine and charges a 6% sales tax + 300 registration. 19k*1.06+300 ~ 20500. When entering vehicle purchase price, I'd input 21k just to be safe.

Finally, as a backup if DCU doesn't work, there's always Hughes FCU's first time car buyer program. Do you have any other (open or closed) car loans reporting on your credit? And have you been with your current employer for 12 or more months?

[Lysergic]

Thanks for the reply.

I plan on buying the car next month. I'm wondering if it may be beneficial to apply for 1 or 2 cards at the same time before any of the HP's show up on my reports. I've been reading a lot of success stories with DCU so I'll definitely be trying them. I'm also looking at PenFed and local CU's. I'll check out HughesFCU and other's reviews/success. Of my 4/4/5 inquiries, 2 are in the last 6 months when I opened my 2 current cards (1/2014) and the rest are from 2013.

The TrueCar price is 18,900 so with TTL it's around 21k. I'm definitely including this in my loan amount along with a 5k DP. I'm *hoping* for anything under 5%, preferably 2.5-4%.

No I do not have any auto loan history, this will be my first vehicle purchase. And yes I've been at the same employer for close to 2 years.

Thanks again!

[Remember0]

If you're buying next month, I'd wait to apply till after the loan. Especially since you already have 3 positive tradelines (closed still counts). A car loan at low interest is more important to you now than another credit card.

I'd start with DCU like I said and see what they approve you for. If DCU doesn't work out or they give you a rate >5%, apply to Hughes FCU's first time buyer program. Since you have a large dp and have been with your employer for so long, you should qualify there without any issues for a rate under 5. If you don't mind INQs, go to the dealer after you get approved by DCU or Hughes and tell him he needs to beat the 3% rate you were approved for by the CU (even if the approval is 4.75%, round it down when you tell him the rate they need to beat).

Also at a dealership you should mention upfront the 5k down payment while you're filling out the financing application or before they run your credit. The 5k down is important!

EDIT: Just noticed your 5% comment. If someone tries telling you you need to pay more than 5% on an auto loan, you're being fleeced given your credit profile and down payment. Stop listening to them. Finally don't apply to PenFed. Their underwriting is very strict and I doubt you'll like the results (I'm guessing a denial).

[Lysergic]

Thanks again Remember.

After reading a lot of the auto loan approvals posts I'm feeling more confident about getting a fair rate around 3.5% or so. I keep reminding myself that a 5k DP is pretty good and that my credit is fair/good albeit a bit thin and recent. I guess that 6 year old old charge off from 2008 is still haunting me and makes me feel like I won't be taken seriously lol.

Hopefully my mother's 30k BoA AU card from 1996 shows up on my reports soon. I'll probably start applying at the beginning July.