Do you need the car right now?
If not, consider fixing your credit first and countine driving the car you currently have or continue with however your getting around. My score is in the mid 500's currently and while I need a car, I will continue without one until my credit is mostly clean accept for a repo that happened after job lost in 2009. The bank that charged-off the debt stopped reporting on it in 2012.
So without paying off the remaining balance and getting a PFD it's not worth it, the repo itself is over 6 years old.
I have figured and it's been suggested by getting positive credit lines my score will improve faster than waiting for stuff to drop or paying on old accounts.
In most cases you'll get a subprime rate anyway with a car that old because if you default, while it's not nearly as much risk to the bank, they will also have a harder time recouping the loan amount if that happens.
Your income is a factor but nearly as much as credit age, positive lines open and on-time payment history.
My suggestion is -
Fix your credit file and look for a CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) Mini which would be between 2010-2012 off lease. That way you'll get the remainer of the warranty or be able to pay extra for an extended warranty, it will have few miles and only be slightly more expensive if you improve your score, you'll get a much better rate than with bad credit and an old car.
