Sorry, Another "Will I be approved?" Post

[Jutz]

Originally posted in the thread started by Hammer, the UW.  Hadn't realized it hadn't been updated in a week.

The funny thing is an auto loan is the original reason I joined myFico, but have put it off until now in order to get my finances in check.

Thanks for any advice you can give.  I wasn't planning on buying until spring next year, but I may need to speed things up at the rate my car is needing repairs. ($625 last week, another appointment next week)

Scores below, here's my current scenario:

2 Collections accounts 12+ months old (Medical - Paid - ~$500 total)

1 Collections account 24+ months old (Paid - ~$1000 total)

Auto Loan from 2007 (Perfect history, Paid)

Auto Loan from 2009 (Perfect history, Paid)

2x 30 day late CC payments from within 12 months (Jan and Apr)

2+ 30 day late CC payments 18+ months

2x Student Loan Accounts (Perfect history, paying)

3x Current Revolving CC (UTIL <5%, 1x new, 1x 12 months, 1x 6 years)

1x Unsecured Loan from 2010 (Perfect history, paying)

AAoA: 5.25 years

Income: 70k gross, same company 6 years

Expenses: $180 UnSec Loan + $180 Student Loan + $850 Rent / Month

Looking for: 2010-2011 VW @ $19,000

Trade/DP: Trade owned outright ~$5,000

Total Loan Value: ~$15,000

There's a SLIGHT possiblity I'm getting my 2 medical collections removed, but this is based on not being able to.

First, will I be able to be financed by anyone but Cap1, second are my rates going to be sky high?

[Shogun]

Unfortunately with your current scores and those negatives you're not going to get a really god Tier rating on your loan.  I think you can get a loan, but it's not going to be a really good one.  Do you belong to a CU?  Sometimes you can get better deals with them even with less than stellar credit.

[Jutz]

I need to speak to my CU specifically. I had asked just after joining about getting an auto loan and they told me they had a minimum score of 690, which would be unhelpful.  But that does sound very high to me, so I think I need to revisit that. 

[Shogun]

That does sound high, with a 690 you can get just about anywhere.

[Jutz]

Shogun, is there something in my file that looks particularly damning, or just the overall picture? I just went through a decent chunk of recent approvals in the ApprovalThread, and there were many with similar scores getting sub 10% loans. I'm bringing my stupid car back to the shop tomorrow, but unless it's really bad I think I'm still going to hold off until after the new year or longer, just wondering your thoughts. 

Edit: I should add, I know there are MANY damning things on my profile, I meant is there one thing that sticks out more than another for this scenario 

[Jutz]

Just talked to TD Bank based on a previous approval in the approval thread, and they told me they usually require 680+ and the actual account rep in the branch basically apologized and told me they really aren't the best for that...So...yeah.  Talking to a credit union they recommended tomorrow, we'll see how that goes.  I refuse to hard pull until i know:

1. The bank has experience getting people financed in similar positions
2. I have my collection situation settled (Either deleted for payment or just PIF, should know within a week, fingers crossed)
3. I find the actual car on a lot somewhere.  Luckily I'm not looking for anything rare (VW GTI) so it's not something I'm going to have a knee jerk reaction to.

[Croselx]

Is it a really old car and in extreme need of repairs? I wouldn't jump at a $20k+ liability (price of new GTI) just because my current car is in need of repairs. Analyze how much you would have to spend on fixing the car and likelyhood of future repairs, price and then how long you could have the car after repairs. Might be a better deal to repair car and keep it, wait a few years to rebuild credit and then apply for the new car.

As for approval, I tried to finance a car with no credit at 18 and was told I would be approved with a 10-20% down payment depending on price of car, didn't get interest rate at the time (didn't had money for down payment either). Pretty sure you could get approved with a significant down payment on a high interest loan.

[Jutz]

Im looking at 2010/2011 at around 19k with the full value of my trade (5k) as downpayment, plus cash to put it at 30% downpayment (maybe 1k cash). Is the car something I can live with? Yes. Is it something I want to deal with, or drive? No. I make good money, need to travel, and am not looking for anything too outrageous for a vehicle to purchase. If I can't make it work for anything besides Santander or something similar I won't force it, but if I can get something on the high side of standard auto finance I would definitely consider making the move.

[Jutz]

Talked to a local CU today. They told me they start financing at 650 TU, standard scoring model. Should have asked what year, but I assume 04. That's good news in my mind, because I'm not that far off and TU is drastically higher than stubborn EQ. Unfortunately the Walmart inquiry is hurting me slightly, so I might be slightly further off then before.

Question: the lady I talked to told me I could almost definitely get dealer financing right now. One thing she also said after I mentioned my trade (which I own outright) is that they like seeing cash. Is cash that much better than a trade? I know there's a risk of not making money from a trade, plus the overhead, but is it so much different that I should look to sell my car private party first? It's a pretty good private party seller (wrx)

[Croselx]

I believe dealers prefer cash and may be more inclined to negotiate down the price if you have the $5k rather than a car you think is worth $5k, they may or may not get the $5K out of the car. Usually you can sell the car for slightly more as private party meaning more money in your pocket as well. In my area dealers seem to be neutral (though they stand to make more on unsuspecting customer with a trade-in) and having a trade-in vs cash wouldn't be a deciding factor as long as credit and income are within what the bank considers acceptable.

At the end of the day it is mostly about convenience, selling private party takes effort and time and you may be without a car for a few days after you sell. With a trade-in you are out of the old car and in the new car on the same day.