You can still obtain credit with an FA, just not "instant" credit... If you froze your reports, that is different. You could have done both - put an FA and Frozen credit reports.......I have FA's with all three bureaus but not only frozen with EQ. FA's and freezes are two different animals, cats and dogs.
if you froze your reports, a potential creditor will not be able to access your file, it will be an instant denial. Understand with a fraud alert you can still apply, you will not get instant credit....the potential creditor MUST identify you. For example, I cannot get credit until potential creditor calls me on my mobile to verify basic information.
You need to call the burueas and pay the fee to have the freeze removed. It should be around ten bucks. If you provided a police report to initiate the freeze, it would have been at no charge initially to place the freeze...I'll assume you didn't file a police report for a lost wallet. Call the bureaus and tell them to mail you your pin/ YOu will probably need to provide some ID or answer questions...
Understand too, I know you are moving. Yeah, i was there. however, the mailman won't forward anythign from the bureaus, esp. Pins, I bet a dollar to a donut, they are "do not forward" pieces of mail. Until you move and update drivers license and show them a current utility bill that matches dl, you will have problems. It's a sign I guess of potential theft of identity.
hope this helps!
Starting Score: 682 EQ, 663 TUHi again,
YOu should consider pulling your scores first, from this website. That should give you a good general idea of where your credit stands...A child out of college can have a score higher than mine because they have "thin files". Auto finance companies do take into consideration more than one factor. Typically look at how long you've been employed with the same employer, debt to income, etc. so many, not soley score based. Income is a factor as well. How much car you can afford. etc. There is some good information on this website that will be helpful to you understand how auto lending works. I'm no expert on it, just a fellow shopper like you!
I didn't know that Toyota was in the CPO game. I too, am looking at CPO cars as well, but one is a German car and you may know, they are nice, but can be troublesome as far reliability and expensive to repair.. Go to edmunds and see how much that car is without a CPO. The car does have low miles, only 38K. Edmunds might help you understand that CPO's are HIGHER priced cars. I understand the piece of mind, I don't know if I would be willing to pay three thousand bucks for Toyota CPO with lower miles or roll the dice, A good mechanic may charge you 200 bucks to do the inspection. You could save thousands right here. I'm not sure that car needs to be a CPO is what i am saying. Your engine will probably outlast how long you will have that car...just my opinon...if you do the research on that car, again, look at what people have spent in repairs, history for that particular model. Toys are really reliable and seldom make "lemons". they are not expensive to repair either.
All I can say, being upside down once, I would not wish it on anyone. do not pay more for a car than what it is worth. throw money down on the loan to secure a lower interest rate and avoid being upside down.
How long do you want to finance the car? I would consider avoiding anything more than 60 months.. Why? think about how many miles (predict how many you drive and multiply that by how many years the length of the loan and add current mileage) You don't want to be paying on a car that will be X number of years old with X amount of miles...and get upside down...
I am about 98% positive I just put a 90-day Fraud alert on all three.
I think I did it on 8/2/2009, so 11/2/2009 will be okay....
I wanted advice on the car loan though guys 
I make about 26,000 a year. I just am about to start my second job, so another 100-200 a week. My rent is 300 a month, utilities about 400 total.
My debt isn't too extreme, about 3,000 in debt right now nothing horrible and nothing not payable.
Thanks,
Kenny
hi xxKennyxx,
I'm no expert, like I said. I just wanted to give food for thought. I'm looking for a car myself. you have a NICE downpayment. I've been interviewing finance dudes at my local dealership. I pick the phone up and ask them questions. They are not that busy on rainy days.
With that said, I vascillate often between paying hte price for a CPO car. I wanted to give you an opinion, just for food for thought. Would never want to insult anyone, just more things to think about. I hope you understand this. I'm anything but a mean person....
On the main home page of this website, check out the auto loans section if you have not already done so. this will explain how the buz works. remember that lots of folks get approved for cars, but at what rate? How can you guess what kind of rate you will get? if you start with buying your two FICO's from this website, that should give you a basic idea.
You've posted income, debt, etc. you are putting down a hefty down payment. It is my understanding from the interview process that banks like b/t ten to twenty percent of the price of the vehicle in form of downpayment. With that said, you might not need to put that much down...maybe savings would be better. your choice, the bank can help you here. The last piece of the puzzle now is to find out your score. this is a good indication. Do you have any paid auto loans reporting on your credit report? if so, how were they paid? they look at this too.
IMHO - it will not hurt to do your homework. you will only benefit from a lower interest rate. this is what we all want!!
As far as financing, i think Toy is running deals as well, but do you belong to a CU. Having researched non stop on pre owned car rates, I've come to the conclusion that Credit Unions offer the lowest rates, unless you can beat what the mfg is offering. I am of the belief it might be a good idea to secure financing prior to going to the dealership. you will know at this point, the amount you will or have rec'd approval. It doesn't seem to me that you are looking to finance an outrageous amoutn of money. you can handle that....you've made lots of good decisions...
I hope this helps. someone else can chime in about financing, etc.