Hey guys!
Well I'm SUPER early in doing this, but I'm one of those people who has to have plans way in advance or I just feel lost and unprepared. Anyway, I want to get an auto loan in the coming months. I literally JUST got my job offer and haven't even started working yet, but like I said, I have to plan these things out in advance. My start date is the last week of February, so I'm looking at buying probably around May to give me some time to save up some money.
So, the basics:
I'm 21, soon to be 22 with no prior auto loans
My income will be around $30,000/year $45000/year
I have NO baddies on any of my reports
I have about a dozen credit cards, most opened up in the last two years
My total available credit is about $25k $36k; utilization is currently around 7% 5% but will hopefully be <1% by the time of purchase
My TU FICO from Walmart is 750 on the dot, so I assume my EX and EQ scores are similar
Sooo...what are my chances? I'm probably looking at a used car for under $20k or a new car for around $30k with probably $3-4k down payment. My salary isn't the highest, but unfortunately I turned down a much higher paying job in order to be "happy" which I'm kind of starting to regret. Anyway, even though my salary is low I won't have a rent payment as I will be living in one of my grandparent's rental properties. I actually just accepted a job making much more, so I assume this can only help my chances?!
I also have a few questions...
When I fill out loan apps, should I put in a higher number than I need? Will they counter-offer the amount if they don't approve me for whole amount I ask for?
Does it matter in what order I apply for my loans? Meaning, will the third lender I apply to see my two prior applications and thus look at me less favorably?
Should I try and have my own financing worked out before going to the dealer? Should I even let the dealer pull my credit?
Are there any specific programs for recent college grads that I should really persue? Most I see seem to be kinda lackluster.
Any other general tips or things I should be aware of?
I really want to have this work out perfectly so I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row before I do anything. I know the smart thing is to keep my current vehicle, but it's a gas hog, 16 years old, 130k+ miles and constantly has problems so I really want to get rid of this thing as soon as I can.
Any help or advice would be SO greatly appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings! 
Edited figures are in RED. I got a different (better) job offer and a couple more cards. So, unfortunately, I'm going to have a few new accounts report, so that may ding my score a little bit.
Thank you so much for the responses! Yes, I am a member of a credit union through my Alma Mater, but I'm probably going to look into joining some others, namely DCU as well as PenFed and some local Florida CU's.
My biggest concern is the fact that I don't have any prior auto loans...I was thinking that was going to cause me trouble and not ge the best rates possible. Am I overthinking that?
Also, when I ask for an auto loan, will the lender counter offer? So let's say I apply to DCU and request $20,000; will they either approve for $20k, or just flatout deny me? Or could they come back with like $15,000 or something?
@Robertwd82 wrote:I told DCU the range of cars i was looking at was 20-30k. I got approved for 20k at 5.9% and they said they would have no problem refinancing me after a few months when my score is going to go up when i pay down utilization. I had 31% utilization on about 10k of credit.
Wow, hopefully I'll have similar luck!
I'd like to think that hopefully being responsible financially will pay off and I won't be screwed over because of my age.
I had to update my original post a little. I accepted a different offer and added a few new cards. Everything else is essentially the same, but now I can probably go up a bit on my original price.
Anyone else have any advice? I'm still a few months out, but any words of wisdom are always appreciated. 