Seeking guidance

[Anonymous]

I'm looking to finance a truck soon. It's been many years since have financed a vehicle. My credit is fair.  Although, my Eq fico auto scores are classified as good.  Auto 5,4,2 is 678 and auto 9 is 685. I believe they are just barely good, but I'll take it. My Eq auto 8 is fair at 663.My TU  fico auto scores are the lowest and EX are a little higher than TU.  I have pre qualified with Cap1 auto navigator.  I have been doing a lot of research online as far as what truck I want to and have been tracking different dealership prices. I plan on getting something used, like a couple years old.  I have two credit cards and a PayPal credit account. My utilization is around 50 to 55% at the moment. I have been paying them down the past few months as much as possible. My original plan was to continue paying them down until the end of this year before purchasing a new/used truck.  However, my transmission went out on me last week it's not worth repairing since it's a 2001 Suburban.  I know with my credit scores and my utilization I'm kind of in a jam. I guess I'm just looking for some pointers and some good advice. Any guidance will be much appreciated.

[BmoreBull]

Who do you bank with? Are you a member of any credit unions? Do you have a way into navy federal? Have you tried the Capital One Auto Navigator? 

[Anonymous]

So I am pre-qualified with Capital One auto Navigator however, that doesn't necessarily mean I'm approved. I just joined online penfed credit union today and opened up a savings account. 

[BmoreBull]

PenFed pulls EQ 5 for loans I believe. I would check your score before apping. Also, I don't know how soon they extend credit after joining. I'm sure it's probably profile dependent. Good luck. 

[Anonymous]

My Eq auto score 5 is 678.  I didn't realize they would do a hard pull for opening a savings account. I got the HP notification this morning. Hopefully there isn't a grace period to apply for a loan after opening an account.  I feel that I would probably get a better rate from them rather than cap1.  I was going to stop by my local credit union today and inquire about an account but I certainly don't want another hard pull. 

[BmoreBull]

There is a limit to how long you can use that same hard pull. Unfortunately I can't remember exactly how long it is. I think between 30-90 days. I would call and ask. That's interesting that you got a hard pull for membership. When I joined back in March, there wasn't a hard pull for membership. They only allowed me a savings account though, for about the first 60 days. Then they offered a checking account also.