New Car Purchase

[Anonymous]

Hi,

This is my first time posting on this forum and I need some advice. This is my situation:

I'm 20 years old and I'm currently interested in purchasing a $20,000 vehicle with $1,000 down. I currently have another vehicle which I financed for $12,000 a year ago and for which I  currently owe $6,400 to. I currently have $6,000 to pay my current car loan which would bring my balance down to $400 (which I could pay off in the next week). My question is, should I wait until I completely finish paying off this installment account in order to finance another car (since I believe my credit report for that loan won't be updated until next month) or is it okay to apply for a loan on that new car? Would it affect my chances of financing if they see another open installment account for $6,4 even though I paid it off for the most part? My credit is new - 2 years average account age to be exact. I no one can say for sure, but it is possible to get a good APR? Also, I may be wrong on the times my installment account balance is updated on my credit score. Would it take about a month?

My last question is how badly would this loan ding my credit in your opinion?

My credit scores are:

TransUnion: 767

Equifax: 736

I know, I know. 20 million questions in one shot but thanks in advance for your help you guys!

[tpere925]

Are you replacing the car by trading it in or just adding another car to the household?  Most lenders like to see one open auto loan per person unless a solid credit score and budget allow it.  It looks like your score is solid and as long as you have a healthy mix of trade lines your fine any way you'd like to do it. I think your apr might be a bit lower if you pay off your current open auto.

[Anonymous]

I'll be adding a car to the household. I'm giving my current one to my mom.

[Anonymous]

I guess it would help to pay off the current vehicle.  My wife and are going to try and purchase a 2nd vehicle next month and we are currently on our 1st car loan.  But I am waiting for my ne balances to hit my eq report so that my scores look better.  My cu loan officer says with 650 we could qualify for 9% on 25000, no money down.  Good luck on your new purchase, although it looks as though you should be okay.