Looking for some advice

[Anonymous]

I'm looking to buy my first car and I currently have a 664 credit score and around 30K yearly income.

I have 2 collections on my credit report which I have paid off (one for 150, the other for around 100) a few months ago.

I'm fairly new at this so I was looking for advice on how to go about purchasing a car for about 16K?

Should I try and get a loan online or through a financial institution(credit union or bank)  or just going into the dealership and handling it there?

If I do go the online or financial institution way, if the car is listed as 15K, will that include taxes and what not or would that be seperate?

Thanks for your help, anyone

[daisyduke]

taxes are on top of the price of the car.

If I were you, I would try to get the collections off of my report. It is always better to clean your report first, then apply for credit.  Paid or unpaid collections are scored the same. Assuming they are both paid, I would try to send a goodwill letter to the powers that be, for those two companies, asking them to consider removing their tradeline. Maybe cruise on over to the rebuilidng forum and search the particular name of the collection agency.

Dealerships have access to many lenders but I guess it's generally a good idea to secure financing prior to purchasing a vehicle and then see what the F&I dept can do for you.   CU's might be worth looking at, typically have competitive rates. 

Hope this helps and good luck.

[Anonymous]

Talk to a credit union.

Your results may well depend on your other expenses.  If you make 30K and have no living expenses, then you will probably not have any problems.  On the other hand, if you're paying $2000 a month in rent you may well have issues.

You might also want to read up on some car buying advice.  Take a look at http://www.dontgettakeneverytime.com/, or Consumer Reports, or look for car-buying advice in your library or an online bookstore.

If you walk into a dealership and say, hey, I want to buy a 16K car and I need financing, there's a good chance you'll walk out paying 20K for a 10K car with a financing deal that would make a loan shark working from a pirate ship blush.

They are in it to make money and even the most scrupulous are more than willing to make as much profit off you as they possibly can, while selling you the least valuable car for the money as well.

An exception *might* be Carmax.  I think they're willing to sell you a fairly good car for absolute top dollar.