Options and Suggestions

[Anonymous]

Telling a salesman or finance guy your payment budget is fine as long as you stick too it.   Everything comes down to the payment. If you want to be at $400 a month you know that your going to be looking at a car thats  25K for 72 mos at 3% interest.  As long as you stick to your payment the price is going to work its self out.  If the rate is 20% you know that the car your now looking at has to be 16-17K.  Assuming zero down 72 mos.

I just got down shopping for a new car and out of 4 dealerships that I was working a deal at the price was always a 1-2k over invoice. Then minus rebates.  I used USAA auto buying service and checked the prices through that So I knew where i need to be price wise.  The only factor was the rate.   Which Nissan blew Ally bank and NFCU out of the water with 2.9% I got with a TU of 620.  

The reason a salesman asks your Down payment and payment is because he wants to know if he is wasting his time.  If your looking at a car that is 25K and say Im going zero down and want to roll in my Negative equity and only pay $300 a month thats more than likely not going to happen.  So he knows that he needs to go a different direction.  

The other factor that you have to anticipate is Gap. extended warranties   (personally with extend warranties you have to think ahead. If your going to drive the wheels off the car then by all means buy one its cheap insurance if your only planning to keep the car 3-7 years its a gamble)    Its pointless not to buy gap unless your putting a big chunk of money down.  If your only putting a few grand down you better buy gap.  

Theres a lot of Factors!  You have to know your payment budget.  Make sure its one that if the stuff hits the fan you can still handle it.  

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the food for thought.  I wonder, is it completely foolish to get a credit card right now? I heard that new credit can hurt your score.  I think my score will take a bit of an initial hit from the car loan, is this true?  Also what are your thoughts on GMAC?

[chasmith]

When it comes to credit scoring there's no simple answer.  The answer is always "it depends".

To get a new card, you'll have at least one inquiry.  Inquiries can reduce your score and may be even more of a problem if your credit application is being manually reviewed.

A new account may reduce your Average Age of Accounts, which could lower your score.

If you have no credit cards, you are improving your credit mix which raises your score.

If you have other revolving debt, the new credit line lowers your utilization which improves your score.

Because the scoring formulas are confidential, nobody knows how much each of these impacts will be.  For the long run it's probably best to have two or three national credit cards (VISA/Mastercard/Discover/Amex) which report credit limits (not all do).  Keep utilization across all the cards less than 10% of your total credit limit, and keep a zero balance (but rotate usage to keep them active) on half or fewer of those cards, but carry a reported balance on at least one evey month. 

[Anonymous]

I have less than 2 inquiries right now.  I hear pushing it to 3-5 may hurt my score.  But at the same time not having any cards does more damage because my score is stagnant.  I hear road loans and Americredit aren't so great, any truth to that?

[MarineVietVet]

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@chasmith wrote:

When it comes to credit scoring there's no simple answer.  The answer is always "it depends".

To get a new card, you'll have at least one inquiry.  Inquiries can reduce your score and may be even more of a problem if your credit application is being manually reviewed.

A new account may reduce your Average Age of Accounts, which could lower your score.

If you have no credit cards, you are improving your credit mix which raises your score.

If you have other revolving debt, the new credit line lowers your utilization which improves your score.

Because the scoring formulas are confidential, nobody knows how much each of these impacts will be.  For the long run it's probably best to have two or three national credit cards (VISA/Mastercard/Discover/Amex) which report credit limits (not all do).  Keep utilization across all the cards less than 10% of your total credit limit, and keep a zero balance (but rotate usage to keep them active) on half or fewer of those cards, but carry a reported balance on at least one evey month. 

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+1

What works well for one person might not be so great for another.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 9/09 pulled by lender 802, EQ - 10/10-813, TU - 10/10-774

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[Anonymous]

Orchard bank is good for a starter card yes?

[Anonymous]

You are not rebuilding, you have a score and a history- I would try Chase or Capital One.

Have you served in the military or are you AD or a reservist, or do you have any family in the military?

[Anonymous]

Good point.  I just got a score alert btw, my EQ just jumped to 687 It was 620 in October  No family in the military, they are all retired.

[Anonymous]

I would recommend joining a CU. Also stay away from rebuilder cards such as first premier bank, credit one, some orchard with AF etc. Anyway, remember the focus of this thread is an auto loan. I think you will get better advice about CC's in the CC forum. With a bump in your EQ and if you are seriously considering getting an auto loan, I would still recommend checking out Nissan and Infiniti.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I would recommend joining a CU. Also stay away from rebuilder cards such as first premier bank, credit one, some orchard with AF etc. Anyway, remember the focus of this thread is an auto loan. I think you will get better advice about CC's in the CC forum. With a bump in your EQ and if you are seriously considering getting an auto loan, I would still recommend checking out Nissan and Infiniti.

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I wanted a G35 coupe but I honestly have no desire for a G37.  That's about the only Nissan I'd want to own sadly (maintinence and upgrade reasons). I am a member of a CU, but the one account that I had 2 late payments on before I paid it off is at this CU so I am hesitant to put in for another loan.  Granted it was a personal loan, and I paid it off fully but I don't know if they are going to take the previous account into consideration or not.