Fair Score and Seven Years Ago...

[Anonymous]

After months of pulling my hair out over repairing "credit scores" so I could finance a vehicle I've found that they really don't matter very much, at least in my case. I see members on this board with scores in the low to mid 500s getting approved for loans that I've been denied while in the mid 600s. I understand that there are other factors that play into the approval process, but I would like to think that these "algorithms" would be a little more on track in giving consumers an idea as to what to expect in interest rates or furthermore, even being denied a loan.

For example, myFICO states that someone in my range, 620-659, could expect to pay in the state of FL an average of 12.352% on a 48 month used car loan. I think GREAT!! Well, not great... but better than nothing.

Well, here we go. Denied by 10+ lenders due to "insufficient credit history". (Please note: LTV is good, job good, income good, down payment good, an affordable vehicle in all aspects).

Now I guess what I'm trying to say here is, if my credit history is "insufficient" why wouldn't my score be in the 400-500 range and spare me a whole lot of aggravation and a fair amount of humiliation? Why wouldn't these algorithms take into consideration factors like not having a credit card or no auto loan history and provide us with a score that shows a ranking of unfinanceable?

INB4 all other factors.

I am referring to the FICO score only.

[RobertEG]

Your FICO score is an evaluation of your prompt cedit repayment risk.  It is not an evaluation of your credit worthiness.

FICO does not rely upon certain important credit factors, such as income, and total current debt, in their scoring.  Lendors, particulary as the amount of the principal of credit increases, will most likely look at more than your simple FICO score.  Each lendor sets its own criteria.

[cdtotten]

It seems that your problem is more about a short credit history, than a bad credit score. Obviously, with a short history and scores that low, you have either missed a couple payments, had a c/o, or something negative occur. However, lenders want to see a nice track record to make there basis from.

In example, if you had a person that had a 10 year credit history and missed 2 payments, but was otherwise spotless, compared to a person that had a 2 year history and missed 2 payments... it's easy to see who the lender would choose.

Try not to get frustrated by being declined. It sounds like you have a LOT of inquiries on your report (which isn't helping). Let them age and fall off, get your utilization down under 10% and then see what you can do!

Good luck.