@Anonymous wrote:I'm considering getting a new vehicle. My current vehicle was bought new in 2012. It has almost 110,000 miles on it and it is starting to need a few repairs...hopefully nothing expensive. But, we do like to have a vehicle with less miles to ensure that it is dependable. With that being said, here is some background info. My oldest child got really sick 12 1 /2 years ago and had several years of battelinf life threatening illnesses. Things added up and I charged quite a bit to all of my credit cards. At one time, I had probably 10 cards and a personal loan with Bank of America. Lots of cards with a lot of balances, which made for a difficult time paying them each month. I got behind on just about every CC...30 days, 90 days, 120 days late. Most were paid charge offs. So, long story short, I have just one of those CC now (Discover), as the rest were all closed by the creditor. Personal loan was paid off as well and was in good standing. Last late payment was six years ago. One account recently came off my credit report and two to three will fall off this month and in August. There is one medical collections on my file from 2015 that was paid in full. In 2016, I opened up a MC cc from Credit One, followed by a Visa cc from Credit One and later, I opened a MC from Merrick Bank. Since that time, our mortgage has been paid in full and my current vehicle is paid for. That vehicle is in my husband's name. Last big loans that I cosigned for was a Tahoe in 2011 and our mortgage. Current situation: I've had no late payments in six years, I pay my cc on time every month, with at least the minimum monthly payments. I did get a $500 loan thru my local credit union (VACU) through my work. That loan required no credit check, as it is designed to help people on an emergency basis and rebuild their credit. The payments are taken out of my check biweekly. My FICO scores are SLOWLY increasing and it is frustrating because they seem to be at a standstill. My DTI is about 10%. My cc minimum payments are $55, $61, $81, and $187. My repayment amount for my loan is $46 a pay check, which is usually $92 a month depending on how the pay period works. While my DTI is good, my UTI is not so much. After my recent cc payments post, it should be about 88%...I know...too high! CO MC $963 balance/$1700 cc limit; CO Visa $1319 balance/$1750 limit (today's payment will bring it to about $983; Merrick MC$2489 balance/$2700 limit; Discover IT $9272 balance/$9500 limit. My Exp score is 657 and EQ score is 658. I don't know my Transunion because it looks like to get that, I'll need to pay for it. It looks like the biggest factors to be credit now is the high utlization. Thoughts on getting an auto loan? I've looked (online) at Toyota 4Runner Limited, Ford Explorer ST, Honda Pilot. With my low DTI, I can make the payments. I'm fine with waiting on getting a vehicle, as it will give me time to pay down more of my cc and the small loan will be paid in full by next month (I think there is about $142 left on it). I would prefer not to have a cosigner, just because this will be something I do on my own. Thoughts? Anyone know the criteria Ford, Toyota and Honda use to determine loans? Best one to go with? I called my local CU and the lady I talked to wasn't super helpful. I don't want to apply for a loan and be denied and take a hit. I think my bank, Wells Fargo, is a no go. I applied for a cc with them about 4 years ago and was denied, even though now they send me pre-qualifications at least once a month. I know that isn't the same as pre approval, but I do think their credit requirements are pretty tough. I've seen a lot of posts on here about PENFD and DCU, but it doesn't appear that I qualify to be a member for those CU.
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, even if it is "pay down more debt first". I have read a lot of forums on here and it seems that approvals are all over the board, which makes it hard to know whether my scores are a definite no for a loan, maybe, or approved. I keep telling myself, everyday when I'm driving down the road, that all kinds of people get car loans so I'm sure I would get approved, but the rates may be high and not enough for a good car from a reputable dealer.
Is VACU.. Virginia Credit Union if so they have pretty good rates and often give preapprovals with no HP. I would work on getting UTI down alot more and maybe get a credit card with them and do a balance transfer my guess that you would easily have 700 plus credit scores once you get the balances down. Also discover provides your TU score for free.
@Anonymous wrote:Yes, it's Virginia Credit Union. I do have a checking and savings account with them, so I do have a relationship with them even though it is not my main bank. They do send me flyers for auto loans and their rates are good. The representative that I spoke to with VACU told me they pull Equifax . Of course, that is the only one of the three that shows the small medical bill that went into collections in 2015. I also agree about paying down the UTI first. The reason I started looking into vehicles this week is because my check engine Iight came on. I already know that I will need to replace the bushings and they quoted me a price of $325 to do that. I'm taking my Explorer in today to figure out what caused the check engine light to come on. I'm hoping it will be simple, such as O2 sensor. But I'm worried that it will end up being something that is pretty expensive. Granted, it is paid for but I don't want to continuously spend money on it when it would be better in the long run to get something else. Does it make sense to apply for a VACU cc before or after paying down my cc UTI? I know adding another card will increase my UTI and there is no guarantee that I could transfer much if the limit isn't high. I wouldn't want to transfer my whole cc UTI balance to one card.
I would say pay off two credit ones and then i think you would at least be at 700 then apply for a credit card and bt the merrick bank and some of discover and you can also do an auto loan preapproval. There HP is good for 45 days.
