My finance background and stats can be found here and is one day old data as of this post.
I read this car buying article and bought a myfico subscription after reading this article but will have to wait until tomorrow to confirm my identity to see my auto fico score.
I'm looking to buy a 2013 Kia Optima Hybrid in the 15k to 16k range. I make roughly 24K a year right now and live in my dad's house (he long distance truck drives and needs a house-sitter so I don't pay rent or utilities)
I applied for CapOne Auto Financing and was conditionally approved for $23,500 @ 6-11% APR. They asked for pay stubs/summary before proceeding. I will receive these on Monday.
I then applied for financing with my bank Y-12 (Dept of Defense credit union) and was conditionally granted 3.04% for 48 months and 3.54% for 60 months. They also need proof of income and also require a cosigner (this is my first car). I've got 4 other credit unions on my list but am holding off for now, the trend here is lenders want my earnings statement.
My brother was willing to cosign for a car last year but I decided to start with a $1000 personal loan (almost paid off now, no missed payments) and I'm waiting to hear back if he wouldn't mind cosigning again. Obviosly, I'd like the 3% APR.
I ordered car buying for dummies from my local books a million, should be in my hands early next week.
My questions are:
I've heard all car related inquiries only count as one inquiry. Is this true?
Has anyone had success with starting a lowest interest bidding war with lenders?
Has anyone had success with starting a lowest price bidding war between dealers?
How quickly can one refinance a car to exclude the cosigner?
Any help here would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Romulus
