I'm in the market to replace my vehicle. I've been working on repairing my credit since 2012 when it was down to 499. This site has been so amazing in helping guide me so thank you to all contributors.
Now my current scores are at Eq 671, Tu 672, Ex 652 with my Auto 8 being Eq 662, Tu 661, Ex 672 (all pulled from myFico) as of today. My income is 58.5k annually.
My last auto loan was back in 2007 direct through the dealership for a used car. I've kept that car up until this point and unfortunately lately its proven to be to unreliable to drive my family around.
I'll be looking at used, as buying new makes no sense to me. I don't know if I'll buy from a dealer or private party yet, depends on who has what I'm looking for at the price I'm willing to spend. I'm a very picky shopper.
Where I'm struggling is where to apply. I've recently seen that PenFed has a promotion going and I see a lot of recommendations for DCU on here as well. It seems that DCU has a cap of $15,000 for most everybody from what I've read lately. This might get me to where I need to be but just barely when combining with a down payment. Not sure what limits PenFed has recently.
Also, one of the things holding down my score, besides some baddies from 3.5+ years ago, is that I have very little revolving credit, 1 store card @ $200 CL, compared to installment credit, about $43,000 in student loans.
So should I apply now and jump on some of the Memorial Day promotions or should I wait it out and try and get my scores above 675 before I pull the trigger. Also, should I apply for a CC at the same time? We have a second, much more reliable car, so it's not the end of the world to wait, just extremely inconvenient for us.
Thanks in advance for the replys.
Entered GC: 6/5/15
@ds3 wrote:What are your auto-enhanced scores? From what I read, you've not had a car loan before that reported to the CRAs? That may seriously affect your auto-enhanced, and therefore the rate you get. Because of the car loans I have had over the last 10 years (4 of them, all perfectly managed), my auto-enhanced scores are averaging about 50 points higher than regular FICO scores.
Best of luck!
Sorry if I didn't word it clearly. My enhanced auto score for Auto 8 is Eq 662, Tu 661, Ex 672. I have a previous car loan and a car lease prior to that on my report a couple 30 days on the loan and perfect on the lease. Thanks for the reply.
Just a quick update for anyone interested.
Thanks to the two members that responded. I ended up applying to DCU. I asked for and was approved for $25,000 at 2.24% APR. Now for the hard part, finding the vehicle I want for the price I'm willing to spend. DCU said the loan is good for 30 days and my pull is good for 45 days. I'll post to the Auto Loan approval sticky once I finalize everything.