Low-income Auto Loan

[Anonymous]

Hi, guys! New to the forum, and was hoping to pick some of your brains.

I'll try to keep this as brief as I possibly can. I've found my "dream car," a 2008 Hyundai Tiburon (for $9,999) with about 34,000 miles on it. Back when I was 16, I bought a 2000 Hyundai Tiburon (which is now approaching 181,000 miles), which has been my source of transportation ever since. I'm ready for an upgrade. Physically, mentally and financially. While I don't have the money to buy it outright, I'm confident that I can finance it, which is where I'm having trouble. I haven't searched the world just yet, but no lender that the dealer tried to contact wanted to allow me the opportunity to finance with them, leaving me in a bit of a pickle.

Some background: At the dealership, I tried applying under three specific circumstances.

#1: No down payment apart from the trade-in value on my car; denied for low-income. (Was told that WF wanted a minimum of $2000/month for that deal).

#2: Same parameters, but with a co-signer whose credit score is top tier, but whose income is comparable to mine in an attempt to make up that difference; still denied, supposedly for income despite the fact that, on paper, our combined income was larger than their preferred minimum (by WF).

#3: Individual loan, but with $1000 down in addition to the trade-in; denied by one of their credit unions, but received a counter-offer if I was willing to put $3000 (more than I'm willing to shell out)

I'll preface what I'm about to say by stressing that I am not after the best deal/APR available. Would it be nice? Sure, but I know that refinancing is an option, so I'm not particularly concerned about the rate of interest right now. My top priority is getting a loan for that car.

To put it into perspective,

-I'm 21
-Last year I averaged $1870 a month (Though my current paystubs don't represent this, because my job operates on hourly pay+commission.. slower season=less commission *at the moment*), and I have the tax information to prove it.
-My credit score is 669/685 (Though WF pulled up 699 at the dealership) and I've maintained two lines of credit at $2500 since I was 18. Never missed a payment, though I am still currently paying back about $1800 of that.
-My tax return should be arriving within the next few days and I'm willing to put $1000 of that down upfront on my loan if it would assist me in getting it to begin with.
-I'm not willing to settle for a different car at a cheaper price from a different dealer. If I'm going through the effort to finance, I want what I want and any less isn't going to cut it. I know it's a stubborn line of thinking, but I'm not getting into this to half*** it with a vehicle I wouldn't enjoy. My car is perfectly viable for that, and I don't have to pay monthly for it. This unfortunately means that some places I've had a good history of pre-approval with, like Capitol One, are off the table. I need a loan from a lender that is willing to let me choose where, and on what, I spend the money on.

Any recommendations? I'm not entirely convinced that the dealership was trying hard enough to make this deal happen for me, and I'm interested in taking it into my own hands. The stress of trying to figure it out on my own has been eating at me, but I'm certain that with the right recommendation, I can figure something out.

I've heard WF has made miracles happen for some people, so I was thinking of going to our local branch where the company I work for does business in an attempt to get a loan. In any case, I'd love to hear any ideas you guys may have regarding my current situation. (With the exception of anyone that thinks it would be a good idea to dissuade me - Not the kind of help I'm looking for). Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

OK so, let go of wells fargo, please don't let a dealer shotgun your report. It doesn't sound like you need that.
A little more info on your current report would be helpful. Like overall utilization, uti per card, CURRENT monthly income(despite however bad it may be), and whatever your tax return says you averaged last year.
Where are your scores from? Myfico? Credit karma? Not sure if you know this since you only gave 2 scores(technically 3). There's 3 different credit bureaus, and each bureau has about 5 different versions of scores. In my experience most lenders use equifax. Either equifax 5 or auto enhanced eqyifax 5 or 8.
A credit union like DCU would probably be great for you. If you have a spotless payment history, your probably in a good spot. seems like your aaoa is probably around 2-3 years which is also good in your position. If UTI is the only thing holding you back that hopefully can be corrected.
We'd need more info on your balances but if you could put that tax return instead towards a CC, let it report, THEN apply for a loan your score would likely be much higher(you could then use the CC towards the down-payment)

I like the way you think but unfortunately your company doing business somewhere likely won't help you. A credit union will always be more willing to help than a bank since they're not for profit. DCU is a fantastic one.
If you haven't had your Fico8 scores checked before, sign up for creditchecktotal, it cost a dollar and you can cancel immediately to not pay after 10 days. It will help give a ballpark of what your scores are(or you could pay for the equifax Fico report here but that's $20

[Anonymous]

To add, my girlfriend made 1k a month roughly and was approved to finance 11.2k for 63 months at a local CU for 3.2%. Her score was probably higher than I'd imagine yours is but it probably won't be far off. As long as your making 1k a month, this can happen.

Again, please please please don't let the dealer scattershot your reports. They are NEVER helping you despite how friendly they seem. They will markup your actual rate, tack on fees, do whatever they can to get what they can. You want to have a loan approval in hand(or on your smartphone) when you walk in, and walk out an hour later with your car, on your predetermined terms.

[C7LT1]

Low income to me is the same as high DTI and you can overcome this the same way.

1. Pay down your $1800 CC balance very close to zero and let it report. (Lower your DTI)

2. Save up a bigger down payment.  (Makes your monthly payment smaller)

Doing these two things is would have the same effect raising your income. You could also try a credit union and see what they say.

[Anonymous]

Try for pre qualify on capital one auto finance