Where do I start?

[ajoyce76]

Hi, folks. Well, I sit here with scores in the high 620's to 630's. I have 5 different tax liens (all paid) and one judgement (paid). The only credit I have is a student loan (2003 start date) and I have had on time payments since June 2007 (120 days late). My question is where do I go from here. I really need a newer car. Do I just start trying to get a car loan or should I apply for an easy credit card (any suggestions?)? Any sugestions on looking for a car loan? Oh, I have 2.5 years on the job and I made $107,000 last year and should do about the same this year. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Tony

[denver133]

Welcome Tony!  

Sounds like a little credit card would help you.   I would recommend a secured credit card vs a high annual fee card from First Premier or Credit One.  You arent far away from a Discover or Cap1 card. I recommend the US Bank secured card and have heard good things about the Cap1 secured card as well.  Let that card report for a few months to get your scores up.  Keep the balance at 9%-1%.   

When was the 120 day late on your loan?  Have you ever had a car loan before?    

[ajoyce76]

Hi Denver133, thanks for the quick response. I bank with U.S. Bank, does that help? What about a Walmart card or something? The 120 late was June of this 2007 so I think I read somewhere that it will drop off in February? As for a car loan I've had three. Two paid off successfully one (when my life fell apart) I defaulted on it with 4 months to go. The bank never even repo'ed the car. They crushed me on the credit report but nothing else (this was back in 2003). I really need a newer car though (I currently have two junks that are both dead). The thing is I had credit problems back in 2003 and decided if I couldn't pay cash I didn't need it. I'm now beginning to see that might have been slightly myopic. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Tony

[denver133]

Banking at US Bank "helps".  There are always talks that a bank looks at your whole profile (i.e. Chase banking customers have received prime CC's with lower scores but YMMV).  

He is why I love the US bank secured card.  Your money goes into a savings account.  You choose your limit. So if you want a card with $5k, put $5k on the card.  The other great thing is they report at the end of the month. This allows you to know when you need to have it report the 9% or less utilization. After 6 months of good payment history, you can ask to have them graduate the card to a unsecured card.  I am still building so I am waiting till my 1 year mark.  

When did you pull your reports last?  If the repo is listed on your report still, you should get that off as its past the 7 year mark. The reason I asked about your car loans is there is another credit score out there, auto enhanced score.  It factors in your auto history.  I had a 699 score January 2011 when I bought my car.  Approved for 2.9% for 60 months on a $37K car. The dealership said because I have always been perfect on my autos, it bumped me up into prime levels. 

Pull your reports and see whats out there. annualcreditreport.com will get you your three free reports.  Let us know whats holding your scores down.  

[ajoyce76]

Hi again, no I never had a repo. They should have repo'd the car, but they just wrote it off. It's not on there. Almost nothing is. How long is the reporting for the auto credit score?