advice on auto loan chance

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I read the forums quite a bit and thought id regsiter to ask a couple questions.

Im about to go for an auto loan in a couple weeks because my current score from equifax is 557, but thats as my credit cards were all nearly maxed out after going on holiday, so ive paid the majority off and now owe only around $2500 out of $9450. The credit companies all report on the 24th so i figure id go for an auto loan when this happens as my estimated scoere is going to jump up over 130 points to 700+.

So, ive never had an auto loan before and average age of credit is 1 year (only been in the US from Australia about 2 years) but my on time payment is 100% and no derogatory marks, i tend to make large payments off the credit cards too like 5-10x minimum amount due. I have about 10 hard enquiries in the last 2 years though... about 2 in the last 6 months.

Would the hard enquiries hurt my chances of an auto loan do you think? I was going to go for a $30,000 new car.

The guy at the dealership when i told him im waiting for my credit to get reported for a better score and interest rate, said i might have a hard time anyway because of no auto loans previously.

Thanks for any help and info!

[Dj4Money]

 I think you'll need to pay down the credit cards more first. 

 Nobody will lend you enough money to buy a $30,000 car with a score that low.

 You need at least 580 in order for Ford Credit to touch you and it won't be on a Mustang GT ($30+K). 

 Get your scores as high as you can as soon as you can.

  I'd go to Ford and use their first time buyer program.

[Anonymous]

Yes currently my score is low, but as I said it will go over 700 in a couple weeks (using various estimater tools online) as ive paid off $7000 of my credit cards.

[Anonymous]

I honestly doubt your score will go up >130 points from decreased urilization in a few weeks. Never seen it but again its possible ymmv

[BMW_328i]

Cap1 offered me $24K with a similair score...

[Anonymous]

based on the mid 500's score? what interest rate?

[Anonymous]

Cap 1 will give you a preapproval with a interest rate range.  Fo example, mine is 1.99 - 7.12%. The exact interest rate wnill depend on the make, model, year and milage of the car you choose. They have an auto navigator on the website that can help you figure out what your interest rate will be. I've mostly looked at the Nissan Juke. Based on my calculations I will likely end up with an interest rate in the 2's if I buy a 2013/14 with 35K miles or less. Anything over 40K miles gets me a rate in the 3's and any car older than 2012 gets me an interest rate in the 4's. 

Capital 1 preapproval is a soft pull so it doesn't hurt to apply.