@NoCarGuy wrote:Update -
So, some of my payments posted to my credit report. In regard to Experian - it last reflected a 70% credit card utilization rate and it provided a score of 692.
My credit utilization on my credit report now reflects about 51% ... and my score is now........ 703!
I have 2 more credit cards that will be reporting within the next 5 days or so which will bring my Utilization down another 10% or so. I am hoping my 703 score goes to 710+
I just hope dealerships overlook my high utilization rate for a somewhat "good" FICO score :/
I think you should call DCU and get pre-approval through them. My scores are similar and my utilization is slightly lower. I was approved with no verification required. My interest rate is 1.7%. I make just a little bit more than you but I have bigger student loans. By going through DCU - you know what you are approved for and can shop off of that amount - THey pull you twice (once for loan and once to open account) whereas a dealer will pull you up to a dozen times. VW pulled my daughter 19 times in one day! Having your financing all set up before you shop takes away so much stress. I really think you would be happy with DCU. They approved me for 15k although we only took the loan for 13.5k. (I do not work for them but I am beginning to think they should hire me to do their PR for them!)
Update #2 -
My scores updated again!
My score reflected 51% utilization earlier this week and was 703.
My score now reflects 43.80% utilization and is now 714 for experian!
I feel a little less stressed now with having to go to the dealership real soon... although im not out of the woods yet.. 
Yesterday was crazy!!!!!!!!!
It all started when i pulled my monthly report on creditexpert.com. It said my score was 714 - so i thought great!!! Than i went to creditscore.com and i oulled my 3 bureau scores... and they were a lot lower!!! I posted a new thread (below) yesterday and i came to realize that on creditexpert.com - i was only looking at a "PLUS" score - not a FICO score. I thank you MarineVietVet for pointing that out! I called creditexpert.com and i canceled my subscription! As far as my scores on creditscore.com ... my heart sank so much when i saw them. They were all a lot lower than i expected. (679 - 697). The link to the thread is below.
Anyways - i was a lot less confident in going to the dealership.. because my scores were not great at all. Two of them reflected 44% utilization and one reflected 49% utilization. Some of my payments had not updated yet on my report... but i just wanted to try to get a new car and get all the weight off my shoulders.
Sooooo..... OFF TO THE DEALERSHIP I WENT! I said the heck with it and i just went !!! I was looking at a 2012 Nissan Gogue with 21k miles , and another one they had 2012 Nissan Rogue with 25k miles. I thought ill give them 2000 as a downpayment.. and hopefully that will help me get approved for only a 11k loan (plus fees).
So... i get there walk in the doors and met a cool guy who greeted me. The funny thing was... only 15 minutes prior another guy went for a test drive in the SAME car i was going there to look at... and they sold the car to him!! The guy was off to the side a little but def heard me talking about the car he just bought that i wanted to look at lolol.
Than - the next car the Nissan Rogue with 25k miles on it.. that one wasnt for sale either... so i started to get really really bummed. They had 2 other similar cars but in light grey, which i didnt like the color of too much... but i decided to say the heck with it and i was going to go take a test drive in it. As i sat in the drivers seat.. and the salesman went to get in the passengers seat - i looked to the car to the right of me and it was a black Nissan Rogue... with chrome handle bars, and chrome molding on the bottom base of the car doors... and it really caught my eye. I asked him how much that one was and he said 16,999. I said i would love to buy that car, if only i can get approved
We went for a test drive.. and i loveddd it. It had only 35k miles which aint too bad either... the interior was awesome as well. So, after the test drive, we went back inside and sat down and he took my information. I brought 3 pay stubs, which he thought was great.
Now to the conclusion ..... you can all say what you think lol... but i was ready to cry... ! like.. literally cry ! But, i held back. Originally i told him that i had a prior loan thru chase - which i paid on time every month - which i said i think speaks volume right? He said yes, every little bit helps.. in addition to bringing 3 pay stubs, and also telling them i was willing to give a 2000 down payment.
Now comes the FInance guy .. here im thinking my scores were mid to upper 600's... the finance guy when he pulled my score... he saw a 650 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i was SOOO SHOCKED!!! I thought i was about to hear him say i got denied
*drum roll*
*drum roll*
*drum roll*
*drum roll*
*drum roll*
I got........ APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I told them it felt like a 50 pound weight got lifted off my shoulders 
When i was in the finance manager's office... he told me i got approved thru them (NMAC). I had 2 options:
1 - Either 316 monthly @ 6.99% with no warranty
2 - or 349 monthly @ 5.49% , with a 100,000 mile warranty, which includes protection on the tires with flat tires, if i get a flat - they will fix it at no cost
So! I went with #2... 349 monthly payment at a really decent interest rate (5.49%). Given my condition - i think i walked out with a great deal. The guy was very familiar with my company thats only 2 towns away. (I work in a companies corporate office). Also he mentioned that they had a special sale going on yesterday - for mother's day.
In the end... i have no regrets! But, i really am going to try hard now to clean my credit report's up.. i gotta pay off the debt i have !
UPDATE -
Its been a crazy 24 hours for me. As i previously mentioned, i wasnt out of the woods... not by a long shot. Yesterday i went on creditexpert.com and i saw my score was a 714 - so i thought GREAT!. However, i went to pull my 3 bureau report on creditscore.com and my scores were a lot lower than i expected... they all averaged 679-697.. i thought **bleep**?? So, i posted a new thread on these forums yesterday and i came to realize by MarineVietVet that the score i was looking at on creditexpert.com was not a "FICO" score... it was a "PLUS" score... ooopsss! I never realized that up until yesterday. Needless to say, i canceled that subscription for creditexpert.
After i realized my scores were a lot lower.. i was a lot less confident in going yesterday. My utilization reflected 44% and across 5-6 credit cards. Things had not planned out the way i had hoped originally. Anyways - i just wanted to get this OVER WITH!! So, i went to the dealership.. i was hesitant on going but i really had to get rid of this expensive car rental.
When i got there - i was greeted by a really nice/cool guy. I went down there in hopes to buy a 2012 Nissan Rogue white .. they had one listed on their website for 21k miles and another with 25k miles for only $12,995. it turns out the one that had 21k miles had JUST SOLD within the last 15 minutes.. the guy who bought it actually heard me talking to the salesman about it lol.. than the other one that had 25k miles was not available either They had 2 other similar ones for the same price but they were a different color that i didnt like really at all. However, since i was in such a bad financial state - i was going to test drive this other one anyways. When i got in the car - i looked over to the right.. and i saw a black Nissan Rogue SL , with chrome door handles , and chrome molding at the base of the car doors... it looked awesome!!! I asked the salesman how much it was - he said its more... he said $16,995. I said i would love to take a look at it and buy it.. if only i can get approved. We took it for a test drive and i loved it. It has an awesomeeee interior!
When we went back inside the dealership and sat down... i told him how my scores i was not proud of. I told him i brought 3 pay stubs, and i am also willing to put down 2,000 as a down payment, and if it helps - i will also approve to have the auto payments deducted from my checking account monthly. He said every little bit helps. He took all of my information and went to see the finance guy... the finance guy said i had even a lower score than what i saw on creditscore.com !! he said i had a credit score of 650!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I almost cried right there in front of them.. literally... my heart SUNK TO THE BOTTOM OF MY STOMACH!!!!!!!!!!
I thought i was going to get denied - for sure. So he told me "you are............
*Drum roll*
*Drum roll*
*Drum roll*
*Drum roll*
*Drum roll*
*Drum roll*
APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I GOT APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This time i wasnt about to cry at the fact that i was maybe going to get denied - i almost cried for the fact that I DID GET APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!! Luckily, i was able to hold back and i didnt cry hahaahaaaaa. i did tell them though that it felt like a huge 50 pound weight being lifted off my shoulders, to say the least.
I had 2 options from the finance guy -
#1 - 316 monthly payment - 6.99% .. no warranty
#2 - 349 monthly payment - 5.49% .. 100,000 mile warranty which comes with "flat tire protection" for the tires - if i get a flat tire, they fix it at no cost to me.
I went with #2... and i got the car !! I have no regrets.. and im so happyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.... given my situation, i think i got an awesome deal. !
@NoCarGuy wrote:UPDATE -
Its been a crazy 24 hours for me. As i previously mentioned, i wasnt out of the woods... not by a long shot. Yesterday i went on creditexpert.com and i saw my score was a 714 - so i thought GREAT!. However, i went to pull my 3 bureau report on creditscore.com and my scores were a lot lower than i expected... they all averaged 679-697.. i thought **bleep**?? So, i posted a new thread on these forums yesterday and i came to realize by MarineVietVet that the score i was looking at on creditexpert.com was not a "FICO" score... it was a "PLUS" score... ooopsss! I never realized that up until yesterday. Needless to say, i canceled that subscription for creditexpert.
After i realized my scores were a lot lower.. i was a lot less confident in going yesterday. My utilization reflected 44% and across 5-6 credit cards. Things had not planned out the way i had hoped originally. Anyways - i just wanted to get this OVER WITH!! So, i went to the dealership.. i was hesitant on going but i really had to get rid of this expensive car rental.
When i got there - i was greeted by a really nice/cool guy. I went down there in hopes to buy a 2012 Nissan Rogue white .. they had one listed on their website for 21k miles and another with 25k miles for only $12,995. it turns out the one that had 21k miles had JUST SOLD within the last 15 minutes.. the guy who bought it actually heard me talking to the salesman about it lol.. than the other one that had 25k miles was not available either
When we went back inside the dealership and sat down... i told him how my scores i was not proud of. I told him i brought 3 pay stubs, and i am also willing to put down 2,000 as a down payment, and if it helps - i will also approve to have the auto payments deducted from my checking account monthly. He said every little bit helps. He took all of my information and went to see the finance guy... the finance guy said i had even a lower score than what i saw on creditscore.com !! he said i had a credit score of 650!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I almost cried right there in front of them.. literally... my heart SUNK TO THE BOTTOM OF MY STOMACH!!!!!!!!!!
I thought i was going to get denied - for sure. So he told me "you are............
*Drum roll*
*Drum roll*
*Drum roll*
*Drum roll*
*Drum roll*
*Drum roll*
APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I GOT APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This time i wasnt about to cry at the fact that i was maybe going to get denied - i almost cried for the fact that I DID GET APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!! Luckily, i was able to hold back and i didnt cry hahaahaaaaa. i did tell them though that it felt like a huge 50 pound weight being lifted off my shoulders, to say the least.
I had 2 options from the finance guy -
#1 - 316 monthly payment - 6.99% .. no warranty
#2 - 349 monthly payment - 5.49% .. 100,000 mile warranty which comes with "flat tire protection" for the tires - if i get a flat tire, they fix it at no cost to me.
I went with #2... and i got the car !! I have no regrets.. and im so happyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.... given my situation, i think i got an awesome deal. !
did u at least negotiate to price down or just paid what they asked?
Although i may have over-paid for it by 1k-2k , im just extremly happy that i now have a car I may try to pay more each month, so i can pay it off early, so i can save on interest charges.
I uploaded a picture of it to imgur 