Auto and Personal Loan: What to Get First, How Long Between Apps?

[miaaim914]

My apologies, I just now realized I posted this on the wrong board, if It's possible to have it moved or deleted so that I can repost it, please do. 

My issue is only having one line. It has +6 years of positive history and a limit of 16K. I was a victim of card then identity theft stemming from my only other credit card two years ago; after months of trying to sort through that mess the card was removed from my file and I lost over 4 years of positive positive positive history. After that horrific experience, I've been reluctant to apply for new credit. Looking back, I realize this was a stupid mistake on my part but my one card 

I have no negatives, my usage is under 5% and I net 61K per year. 

I'd like to take out a $10,000 line of credit (if unavailable, an installment loan)  for a business venture as soon as possible, I'd also like to take out a $20,000 auto loan.

I've read that an auto loan is considered a necessary expense with most lenders and therefore a new loan won't count against me too much, is that the case? If so, I'm assuming I should get the car first. I also don't want auto lenders to think I took out a perosnal loan for the down payment...

Can I apply for a personal line/loan right after getting the auto loan? How soon after? Days? Weeks? 

What is the likelihood will I be able to do both with such a limited credit history? If it's not likely, how long should I wait? 

Thanks in advance for your help. 

[Revelate]

Welcome to the forums!

Hrm, I would do the auto loan immediately for two reasons: first, it's the easiest to obtain, second, as soon as it reports it's likely a straight positive to your FICO score as a result of the mix of credit function.

Personal unsecured loans are seriously difficult to obtain.  A lot of banks don't even do them anymore; a Line of Credit is easier but I admittedly don't know much about that personally.  You're likely fine score wise, but you're a thin file which is going to count against you when it comes to both scoring and for underwriting.

How much time do you have on your business plan?  You may wind up doing better in a peer to peer lending model if we're talking short-term but I don't know how well that goes in something like a Prosper or LendingClub, it's worth researching those for the dollar amounts you're talking about if you can't obtain a line of credit.  

Regardless, I'd pull your score anyway and see where you stand FICO wise; I'd also see about opening up another credit card as a second will also likely be a positive either immediately or within six months.

Hopefully others will be able to give you better information with regards to chasing the LOC or other loan for your business venture.

[miaaim914]

Thank you for your response. 

After considering my options for a few days and pulling my credit (776 EX) I've decided to app for the auto loan first as you advised. 

After I leave the dealership I'll pay my CU a visit  and discuss my PLOC options with them. Regardless of what happens there I'm also going to app for at least one new CC and start building a more substantial revolving file...the 0% promo APR is incentive enough to do so. If need be I can put off the expansion of my side business until I have more credit options. After reading through the forums (and going through an ID theft fiasco myself) I've found that patience is an essential quality to keep when dealing with credit, so even if the PLOC doesn't work out, it may in a few months.

Thanks again for your help! I'll remember to post my results .