cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

When should i apply for an auto loan ?

tag
pat0812
Regular Contributor

When should i apply for an auto loan ?

Hello,

 

I'm a new resident of the US. I just started to build credit about 4 months ago

I have been using wells fargo secured credit card with a $300 CL since May, and my UTI never goes more than 9% and i always PIF

I recently got approved for Walmart store card ($400) and Capital one platinum ($500), doing the same UTI as my first card.

I have no negative items on my report, always on time payments. I have 4 inquiries, that's about it.

 

 

I really would like to buy a car after Christmas. Should I wait ? When should I be able to get a good rate ?

Can i buy a car in a different state than my residense ? (i Live in Delaware, but i spend 3-4 months a year in California)

I want to buy a car for California, should i take a loan from a bank or credit union in Delaware or in California? Does it matter ?

FICO 8's EX 770 EQ 751 TU 771 (1/16/17)
Amex Gold Premier rewards ( Charge Card)
Amex Blue cash - $47,800 Wells Fargo - $15,000 Citibank Simplicity - $13,800 Barclays Apple - $13,000 Walmart Mastercard - $8000 Chase Slate - $7,200 Discover It - $5,500 Capital One - $5,250
Message 1 of 3
2 REPLIES 2
LS2982
Mega Contributor

Re: When should i apply for an auto loan ?


@pat0812 wrote:

Hello,

 

I'm a new resident of the US. I just started to build credit about 4 months ago

I have been using wells fargo secured credit card with a $300 CL since May, and my UTI never goes more than 9% and i always PIF

I recently got approved for Walmart store card ($400) and Capital one platinum ($500), doing the same UTI as my first card.

I have no negative items on my report, always on time payments. I have 4 inquiries, that's about it.

 

 

I really would like to buy a car after Christmas. Should I wait ? When should I be able to get a good rate ?

Can i buy a car in a different state than my residense ? (i Live in Delaware, but i spend 3-4 months a year in California)

I want to buy a car for California, should i take a loan from a bank or credit union in Delaware or in California? Does it matter ?


IMO, I would wait until you have a year on your current revolving lines then try to get in with a nice CU. You should be golden for a nice auto loan.

 




EQ FICO 548 3/3/16
Message 2 of 3
Funk-O-Meter
Contributor

Re: When should i apply for an auto loan ?

yea what he said. I was JUST in your situation only 6 weeks ago.

 

I think your gonna really need at least a year of account age to get a decent loan. I had 3 cards. 2 young 1 16mo's old and my score was 740. I shopped about 8 banks and got only one reasonable loan for 6.1% with a 10% down payment until Toyota financed me at the dealership for 5%. My file was great but thin and new. Still had new credit smell LOL. You can probably do it after 6-9 months of account age if you garden your accounts ( and congrats btw! Your almost there!)  but your not gonna get a decent loan offer yet. Capital1 or Roadloans may approve you but they're gonna throw crappy offers like 16-22% at you and it's really not a good situation unless you REALLY need to buy soon and re-fi later when your file is more solid and aged and you can refi through a credit union. I wouldn't wanna pay that extra money for a crappy loan until then.

 

Buy a credit report monitoring subscription like USAA's and make smart moves like your doing. In the spring make sure your util is low and the minute they all repot and your score is in the 700's shop for an auto loan. Then take that to dealership and see if the want to beat it!

Message 3 of 3
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.