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Financing through Nissan

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Financing through Nissan

I'm interested in purchasing a 09 Nissan Versa, the one I'm looking at is about $16,500.  I'm looking to borrow about $15,000, and I have $2,000 saved for the down payment.  I was going to wait until the end of May where I'd have closer to $3,000, but Nissan is offering $1,750 cash back on this model in April.  (You have to finance through them to get the cashback).  I'm currently carpooling to work since December as my 1997 Saturn is dead.

 

My EQ Fico is 664.  I haven't check my TU score yet.  (I'm a lurking board newbie, so I'm trying to get the lingo down).  I work for a state government as an attorney.  My take home pay is about $3,000, I pay $361 a month (total) on two federal student loans and $160 on a Citi credit card (more than twice the minimum payment).  That's my only debt.  I've been in my job & apartment since Oct 07, graduated law school in May 07.  I've never bought a car before.  Am I going to be able to get a car loan with decent APR with Nissan?  Since I've never bought a car (or anything major), with current financial environment I'm a little nervous going in and applying for a car loan.

 

Also in checking myFico Score Watch (I signed up tonight), I notice that the bedroom suit that I paid off last month has not been reported to the credit bureau yet.  (Last report is showing February, I paid the balance off the first of March).  This will bring my revolving credit utilization down from 45% to like 25-26%.  How much should I expect my score to increase?  I also got a pre-approved line of credit increase today on my Citi card that bumped my debt use ratio on that single card from 75% to 62%.  Still bad I know.  This is the only CC I carry a balance on, and I'm working to pay it off.  Should the credit line increase bump my score any?

 

With the two items of "good news" coming, is there any possibility that I could move up to the next tier of credit (a score of 690) when these items are reported?  It looks like that could greatly decrease the APR I would qualify for as shown on myFico ScoreWatch.

 

Thanks in advance (and sorry for the three part question).

Message 1 of 12
11 REPLIES 11
Eager2Learn
New Contributor

Re: Financing through Nissan

 By no means am I the "expert" here, but undoubtedly lowering your utilization will help your score.  Another thing to ask about would be a graduate discount, I believe Nissan throws in another $500 if you have graduated an accredited school (including graduate curriculum) in the last 2 years.  Other things that they will take into consideration will be the amount of rent you pay and how long at current address.   Maybe some of the car financing guru's will chime in tomorrow morning.  Also, as a state employee you are surely eligible for a credit union membership to compare the offers.

  

Message 2 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Financing through Nissan

I didn't realize I'd still qualify for the $500 extra cashback.  I looked online and that can be combined with all current offers.  I would have never asked about that.  Thanks.  It looks at the information online if I qualify for Tiers 0-3, I can get some additional bonuses.

 

Does anyone know what the NMAC Tiers are?  I found online that NMAC in my state uses CSC/Equifax.  What does the CSC stand for?

 

As far as my rent, I pay a reasonable amount for my area, $745 a month.  My portion of that is $372.50.  Do I report the total montly amount, or the portion I'm responsible for?

 

Thanks again!

Message 3 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Financing through Nissan

You report the portion of rent you are responsible for.


You have good DTI and good income with a responsible "professional" job. You do lack "real credit" history though and that is a bigger negative then you think.

 

You should be able to get a good interest rate...BUT do the math.

 

If you can secure CU financing at a low rate- it may compensate you for the cash back you would lose if you chose not to finance through Nissan

 

Ie: if Nissan give you (and I am pulling number out of my a**) the cash back but a 12% rate and a CU gives you 4.9% over 60 month, you may be at break even with the CU.

If you secure CU financing at a reasonable rate that should give you bargaining to get the finance department to work with you more and get them to try to keep the financing inhouse with Nissan.

 

Message 4 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Financing through Nissan

Thank you for the responses. 

 

I don't have an extensive credit history, but the ages of my accounts aren't that bad for my age, the oldest being almost 9 years and the average age is 4 years.  I have 7 accounts currently in "good standing", including 3 installment accounts (Sallie Mae student loans).  So I guess my mix of credit is decent, but like I said I've never financed a car or owned a home.

 

The #1 negative on my account is the "using too much revolving credit".  I called CitiFinancial and they said that they reported the March information to the credit bureaus on March 31.  I ran my score/report April 2.  The customer service agent told me that it could take a "few days" for it to show up on my credit report.  Is that true?  I'm really hoping for a nice sized bump.  The ScoreWatch scenario FicoEstimator says that my score is estimated to be 664 to 704, after paying off $ that has already been paid but not reported.  How accurate this that estimate?

Message 5 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Financing through Nissan


 

The #1 negative on my account is the "using too much revolving credit".  I called CitiFinancial and they said that they reported the March information to the credit bureaus on March 31.  I ran my score/report April 2.  The customer service agent told me that it could take a "few days" for it to show up on my credit report.  Is that true?  I'm really hoping for a nice sized bump.  The ScoreWatch scenario FicoEstimator says that my score is estimated to be 664 to 704, after paying off $ that has already been paid but not reported.  How accurate this that estimate?


Credit Card parameters are NOT Car Loan Parameters. Credit cards (for most average credit lines) really go by score period, car loans go by a LOT of ancillary information.

 

Assuming that you have enough clear monthly income to cover the carpayment/insurance and maintenance expectation (that yes Finance institutions do Look at) your biggest problem is that you lack BIG CREDIT experience.

 

I once had to have a 35 yo friend who was the GM of a National restaurant making 50K+ a year provable with 3 years job history have to have his dad co-sign as he was a Credit Zero due to him paying off all his balances in his early 20s and not having anything in his bureau..


The only real negative you have in regards to a car loan is lack of big credit. And that could/will penalize you. Any other belief you have is not as well founded.

 

 

Message 6 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Financing through Nissan

Yeah.  That's what I figured.  I have a co-signer (with big purchase credit history) who will sign if need be, but I really want to do this on my own.  I'm hoping some of my positive ancillary information (profession, income, low DTI) and the fact I am seeking a relatively low loan amount will help off set that I've never bought anything.

 

Thank you for your insight.

Message 7 of 12
xelda
Established Member

Re: Financing through Nissan

I bought a Nissan Versa in 2007.  It was also my first major purchase, and I had brought my mom along to cosign.  After they did a credit check, they told me I was qualified for an auto loan without a cosignor.  I couldn't believe it!  At the time, my credit history was about 7 years old, perfect payment record, but high utilization (over 50%).  I didn't check my scores at the time.

 

I qualified for the $500 college grad instant rebate, but they said by taking the rebate, I was automatically locked into the college grad APR, which was 7.29%.  Since this was my first major purchase and I didn't know anything about shopping for cars or bargaining for a lower rate, I just took it.  I plan to refinance through PenFed or Alliant.

 

Another thing you need to factor in your costs is that you'll have to pay about $1,000 in taxes to register your car.  The finance people at Nissan added this amount to the loan for me, then sent me a check for the amount.

 

I hope that helps.  Good luck.  You will love the Versa.  It's a great car!

Message 8 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Financing through Nissan

Check this out, In December 2004 my wife had just immigrated from Brazil to US. She had no job, no drivers license, no green card, and no driving record. Nissan approved a new car loan on a 2004 Nissan Sentra. It was in her name only and no co-signer. Believe it or not that is exactly the way it went. Now her credit is awesome and the car paid off.

Message 9 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Financing through Nissan

True, a Nissan in the early 2000's was super easy to get financed as they gave a friend of mine a car loan and he just started working. Literally he brought them his first pay stub as proof of income. However, in 2009, even with car dealers hurting, who knows what can happen.


@Anonymous wrote:

Check this out, In December 2004 my wife had just immigrated from Brazil to US. She had no job, no drivers license, no green card, and no driving record. Nissan approved a new car loan on a 2004 Nissan Sentra. It was in her name only and no co-signer. Believe it or not that is exactly the way it went. Now her credit is awesome and the car paid off.


 

Message 10 of 12
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