so finally i went into a chevy dealership and negotiated a very good price on a 2015 chevy equinox LS. A $25k SUV was negotiated down to $16,500.
Then i m moved to the F & I Manager with whom i asked for an interview. We talked for about half an hour before him pulling any of my reports. Asked him about his recent experience with approving someone with my score. He explained in detail everything it took to get approval below 5%. with a TU score of 678 on me and 624 for my wife it was decided that only TU bureau will be pulled and considered. It was made very clear that a joint app for auto financing will be made.
So after two hard inquiries on cap1(all 3 CRA's and 1 Inq on TU for both of us) we pulled the TU trigger and got approved for 3.99% APR for 72 mos. Cap1 approved me at 6.95% to 11.9% for upto a $30970 amount. subject to proof of income. I waited and waited two days for them to approve me with my docs.
The F &I mgr i got was a young 25 yr old male who told me they used FICO bankcard scores for credit, but when asked what our scores were it matched exactly to TU Auto 4 Fico score. I said nothing and grinned for it was indeed better than regular bankcard FICO score.
I m very excited and happy with the rate I got.
i strongly recommend for those who have to choose between cap1 and dealership the following
If you have less than 90 days on a job even if you have had good past history of employment Cap1 is not for you.
If you are self employed with strong financials, dealership is your best choice.
Negotiate the absolute price you get on the car. The manager who negotiated the car price is LEAST INTERESTED and knows NOTHING about financing. let the salesperson know you would like to talk to the f & I Manager about the TTL.
Do not hestiate to talk with the F & I manager at dealerships. Interview them and ask many questions. I was able to lay it on them that it would be upto the F & I manager to complete this deal or its a NO GO. Insist on using ONE BUREAU only and push hard for it.
