"limited" history,

[alakazam]

So I am shopping around for an auto-loan.  Few banks and 2 CU auto-denied me. 2 other CU were able to preapprove me only for $12000 at 5.5%. Looks like it's loan shark time. I don't want to buy a crappy car that will break before I even pay off the loan. I don't have any family in the USA besides my wife, who has the exact same credit history as me. We didn't have the luxury of American parents putting us as AU or cosigning.

3 cards, oldest is May 2012. No student loans, no late payments. Util is < 25%. I make mid 30s K and am 24.

$12000 is already pushing it for a crappy car and 5.5% is high as .... I tried explaining this to both CU, buth they won't give. I am trying now to actually get a loan from the used cars dealer, and I might even try roadloans...

I'm sorry, but in Europe I could get 20k Euro credit in CASH, not a check, by just having a job. I don't want to be able to buy a car or a house when I am 40 and have "perfect" credit "history". Kind of starting to get upset.

Do you know any other subprime loaners other than roadloans that will give out credit? I need $16000 for the reasonably reliable cars I am looking at.

[alakazam]

roadloans pre-approved at 18% APR up to $21000... 

[SamsungHDTV]

My first suggestion is to take the $12k @ 5.5% and go buy a used reliable honda civic or similar and inexpensive. Keep it for about a year or more until your credit history is better and trade it in for the car you actually want.

Second suggestion, if you really are set on your car spending $16K+ then what else can you do but take the road loan at 18%. Keep it for about a year and then refinance the car at the CU at a better rate after a year. Keep in mind that at $16K/18% you're looking to pay about $2700 in interest for the first year.

Lastly, telling us about how it is over in Europe isn't going to help. I know you're frustrated, but this is the US credit system.

I did have a question, when you applied.. did you apply with your wife as a co-borrower?

[sccredit]

You can take the 18% or come up with more down.  $12k can buy a more then reasonable used car.  Sometimes you have to walk before you can run.

[alakazam]

Thanks for the refinance tip. I'll definetely look into that as I completely forgot about it. I'll try over the weekend to look for a car within the $12k range.

[SamsungHDTV]

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@alakazam wrote:

Thanks for the refinance tip. I'll definetely look into that as I completely forgot about it. I'll try over the weekend to look for a car within the $12k range.

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good choice

[maiden_girl]

There are cheap RELIABLE cars out there. You just have to look. Believe me. I thought the same thing when Chase preapproved me for a vehicle loan at $11,500 @ 4.9. I kept looking at the numbers and thinking, "There is NO way in hell I can find a car THAT cheap and thats just the sticker price. Not even including tax and license." So I looked hard as I knew I would probably end up being out cash money in addition to my loan.

But then...I discovered Hyundai! Yes. I found a 2011 Hyundai Accent for... get this... only 10k fully loaded with only 29k miles (I was in heaven) it has satellite radio, AC, power doors and windows. I got away with a steal. My car is very reliable. Only two years old with super low payments ($230) and insurance ($150) a month ! I'm glad I got approved for the amount that I did b/c it made me look THAT much harder to find something even cheaper that was solid!

Please don't use those Buy here, pay here dealers and don't use Roadloans. If your credit is decent, which I'm sure it is, there are LOTS of first time buyer programs available. I specifically know KIA offers one. KBB is your friend, CARS.com and  Edmunds. Good luck in your journey!