Hi, all! So, I recently began my credit journey in early May. Before that, I had a couple of small student loans since 2011. Now I have 3 credit cards. In those 7 months, my available credit has grown from $2500 to $5500 (without asking, I might add) which is appropriate for my monthly income of ~$2000 (I'm a waitress.) I've been paying in full, on time, and keeping utilization at around 10%. I have to call MyFico to confirm my identity, because I think I purchased a report when I was under fraud alert, which I will do tomorrow. But according to all my "FAKO" resources (CK, Cap1, Walmart,) my score has been rising steadily. Those scores range from 699 to 720, so I figure I must at least have okay or average credit, although my file is very new and thin.
I've never financed a vehicle, and wanted to wait until next Spring when I'd have a bit more history and a more sizeable down payment. However, my junker car that was handed down to me 5 years ago is getting very expensive to repair and it's become a pretty big safety hazard (I have an expensive defect that is known to cause sudden fires and my airbags don't work.) With a snowy winter ahead of me, I think now's the time. My reasoning for jumping in now rather than buying another beater is the cost of obtaining and maintaining the beater would equal or exceed the extra interest I'd pay on a subpar loan. And I'm not sure if the difference between a thin file and a less-than-but-still thin file would be so vast, although the extra money from my tax return would be a boon. Still, I've got to start somewhere.
I'm more than prepared to handle the monthly payment, and am looking for a used, low-mileage vehicle around $15,000 and can pay up to $500 a month, so a 36-48 mo plan at 10% seems reasonable. I need to shop around and see if I can even get that rate, or better. I have $1500 available for down, but have no interest in trading in my nasty car (don't even think they'd want it.) I've already found some models I'm interested in, so I at least don't need to worry about that. I know I'm prepared because I've actually been spending an average of ~$400 a month on repairs and fluid refills (repairing leaks is like those cartoons where someone's constantly plugging new holes on a sinking ship) over the course of 5 years. Also, I only get 20 MPG and fill a full tank a week. The car I'm looking at gets 40 MPG. Of course, I realize repairs will still be an expense on a newer car, but the difference between a 240,000 mile vehicle with worn parts and a 10,000 mile vehicle should be significant, especially if the latter car is still under manufacturer warranty.
My dad is willing to cosign, but his credit is poor. He has the advantage of being old and having more money, but has a very checkered past, credit-wise. He's rebuilding, but not perfect. Needless to say, he knows next to nothing about credit. He knows absolutely nothing about obtaining a loan outside of the dealership's financial office. So I figured I'd turn to this knowlegeable community for advice.
I do want to shop around, but I'm not even sure where to start, other than my bank (PNC,) although I'm not sure if targeting a lender that doesn't specialize in first-time loans would be successful. I'll still try, but I need other options. I don't belong to a credit union, and there are none in my area that are open to the general public.
I'm also a little confused as to how these things even work. Do I apply for an offer, they give me an offer, then I bring that documentation to the dealership? Is it not finalized until I choose the offer that's right for me? Like, so I can apply for a bunch of loans, but they won't be extended to me automatically, so I can choose which terms are most favorable (if I even qualify for anything.)
I'd also like to know what lenders and types of things I should avoid in this process.
Sorry for all the backstory. I don't know why I went into so much detail; I suppose it's to aid with self-reflection in this important event, haha. I just feel like I need a little guidance and education. If anyone has any resources or advice that will be useful to me, please share.
And familiar with the living in the middle of nowhere too.