How old should CC inquiries be before I apply for auto loan

[aubie1kenobie2]

My latest inquiry will be 6 months old in April although I do have an account that started reporting in December 2013. How old should the inquiries be for CCs so that I can qualify for a decent auto loan? Does that matter a lot?

[notfancy]

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@aubie1kenobie2 wrote:

My latest inquiry will be 6 months old in April although I do have an account that started reporting in December 2013. How old should the inquiries be for CCs so that I can qualify for a decent auto loan? Does that matter a lot?

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I don't know the answer to that but with your scores you might be okay as long as your UTL is low. Have you had an auto loan before? That can make a big difference, especially if the dealer uses auto enhanced scores.

[aubie1kenobie2]

No, this will be my first auto loan. I bought an old car for $2000 in cash 2 years ago, but I feel like its days are numbered, lol. I'm also still working on utilization but should be fine by April.

I was thinking about applying for DCU membership and know that it will result in a HP so I was wondering if I should hold off on that until I'm ready to buy a car and get the HPs at the same time. Not sure about how inquiries are treated in auto loans, especially recent ones (6 months or less).

[Remember0]

IMO auto loans are all about FICO + DTI + prior auto loan history (esp if bad).

Inquiry doesn't matter so far as it doesn't bring your FICO to below top tier standards. You're fine.

[aubie1kenobie2]

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@Remember0 wrote:

IMO auto loans are all about FICO + DTI + prior auto loan history (esp if bad).

Inquiry doesn't matter so far as it doesn't bring your FICO to below top tier standards. You're fine.

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Thank you for this! Good to know!