Preference to which credit report to focus on?

[urbex]

I'm just starting on the road to credit rebuilding.  Like many, I screwed up big time in the past, ignored it for many years, and am now realizing how dumb of a plan that was.  I did the free report with Scorewatch trial here, and got a score of 578, with having opened a secured CC with CapOne a month ago so that score is likely reflecting that.  I am primarily working towards buying a house as soon as possible, and after having read some of the forums here, it looks like that will be a minimum of a year out at this point (which is fine, as I'll likely need that much time to save up a decent down payment anyways).  I would also like to buy a newer vehicle in the next few months, but realize it would be wise to get the credit report cleaned up first. 

I just pulled my 3-in-1 report from Equifax using their free trial a few minutes ago.  That shows a EQ-592, TU-515, and EX-571. I realize these are not true FICO scores (also learned from this forum! ), but I figure at this point, the true FICO scores will mean little to me with all the negative information on my reports.  Obviously, TU is the worst one of the bunch, showing several accounts that dont show on the Equifax or Experian reports.  

With a near future car purchase in mind, are any of the three reports better to focus on as far as getting cleaned up first, or is it largely a crap shoot as to which reports get pulled/considered when applying for loans and I would just be better to tackle them based on the dates, as in deal with the newest ones first?  

As far as the car purchase goes, it's not something I need, per se, but rather something i want.  I realize I'm going to get hit hard in the interest rate department, and after having running the numbers, I can handle a payment in the 20%-ish area if it comes down to it.  I'm not looking to rush out tomorrow and buy something now, but what I'm looking for is a bit difficult to find in the used market (Ford F350, diesel, 4x4, dually, manual trans), and if I found one, I'd be willing to pay extra in the form of higher interest for a while for it. 

[drkaje]

If you're sending out goodwill requests and stuff like that, it really doesn't matter too much.

When I started a while ago, initial step was always the same: Opt out, comb through all three credit reports and have any old addresses or name misspellings deleted.

You really have to start with full reports from each of the big three, and Innovis. Remember, you're entitled to a free yearly report from each. Also, you're entitled to a free report from whatever company's information a denial came from within a certain timeframe. Don't skimp on things that are free, LOL!

[urbex]

I did pull the free yearly ones back in Feb of this year, and haven't yet figured out where I put them, lol.  

At this point, I have 4-7 negative info accounts, depending on CRA, all of which are well past the 120 day mark (let them get out of hand, then just ignored them for years), so I'll be looking at the PFD option first, then following up with GW if needed, although based on my history on these accounts I doubt that the GW letters will do much, if anything at all.  The majority of them are under $200 reporting on my CR, so even if i have to PIF to get the delete, that's not so bad.  

I thought I could start with the free stuff now, get what I can see here taken care of, then pull the reports directly from each of the CRAs to make sure all is well then?