Want to join the Audi family but worried about approval

[Anonymous]

Hey Everyone, 

I love the new Audi S5 Sportback, but not sure if I would be approved. I'm 24 and believe it or not, i'm on my 4th car and driving my second lease (An Acura MDX) which ends in a couple of months. I also finance a used BMW which I would sell before applying for the Audi (The payoff is just $4,000). I've been pretty young and dumb when it comes to paying my car payments on time not understanding credit fully until it was too late. So I have a few late payments. BUT i've been working with a credit repair service to get rid of the late payments. Currently my credit score is about 640 and should climb soon as ive been seeing some positive things coming from the credit repair company. I want to know some experiences you guys have had with Audi, and also what do you think my chances are of getting approved. The S5 is about $61k. My income is about 85k a year.  

[Anonymous]

I think you’ll get an approval after numerous HPs with different lenders. The real question is at what APR. I think right now you’d be looking at quite a poor APR compared to where you may be in a year. What’s the new car worth to you and how badly do you want it?

[Anonymous]

My job comes with housing so I don’t have rent or anything so I always liked taking the money and having a nice car. I take a lot of pride in what I drive. I’m hoping to get it with my credit close to 700 or above. With my credit score higher, would the APR be poor just because of my few late payments?

[Anonymous]

I’d wait a bit if I were you. Your APR will be bad and the monthly payment will too high for that S5. 

It shouldn’t take too long to get your credit score up into the 700s depending on how much credit you have and how you manage. 

But i also know it’s hard to wait when you want that ride!  Cars are a money drain. But I get it, you want it right now. 

Whats your total credit lines and utilization...? 

[Anonymous]

As long as you get your score up, your APR shouldn't be affected much if at all due to a few late payments (depending on how long ago they were, if they are fresh it may hurt)...Believe it or not but in my experience from underwriting, some underwriter's don't shy away from people who have had a few late payments here and there on past auto loan's because ultimately as long as the loan get's paid off, that's extra "profit" for the banks..

[Anonymous]

I have the lease, the small finance loan on the bmw, and a credit card with a $500 limit. Someone did suggest to me I should try to raise the limit and also maybe get another card. I do want it bad but also don’t want negative equity from my current lease so I was going to wait until I actually finish the lease. I’m hoping for a monthly payment around $800-850 and I usually plan to put $3k down

[Anonymous]

The late payments were over a year ago. And that’s a bit of a relief. I just don’t know how difficult Audi financial is.

[signaturecardmember]

If you can swing the mile limit you are much better doing a lease. A lot of manufacturers will be more forgiving on leases and have more incentives on them effectively giving your credit a bump. Just get back on the right track with your payments and get some higher limit cards after you get the car.

[Anonymous]

If I were you I would lease the S5. New Audi's are 64% leased. They have some great lease deals because of the low depreciation on the S-Line Cars. Print out a copy of your credit report and take it to the dealership their F&I manager can tell you if you will get approved.

I just got an S4 Prestige for my wife and the payment difference between the S4 Prestige and an A4 Premium Plus was only $50.00/mo. ($0.00 Down/36 Months/10K Miles per year)

I don't know what their base criteria is, or what type of Money Factor that you will end up paying with a 640 credit score but The S5 & S4's both represent a great lease value from what I have read and my experience.

I have owned 4 Audi's including a 2007 S6 V-10 • 2013 C7 S6 • 2017 RS7 • and the 2018 S4 I just got my wife. Once you drive one you will forget all other German cars. Good luck and hope that helps! 

[Brian_Earl_Spilner]

If you only have 1 credit card, you should get 2 more to optimize your score. Wait for them to report before pulling the trigger. A 640 score will probably get you an APR around high single digits. I would pre qual on cap1 and carvana for an idea of interest rates. They would be on the high end. Google a car finance calculator and play with the numbers based on those rates to hit your monthly payment. See if the loan length and interest you'll be paying is worth it.