The FICO scoring model allows for you to rate shop for auto and mortgage loans over a short period, and it will count all related inquiries as just one in the scoring model. It's already built into the FICO algorithm. Inquiries are only divided as hard and soft. Hard inquiries are visible to anyone that pulls your report, stay on your report for two years but only factor into scoring for one. Hard inquiries are the result of you actively shopping for credit. Soft inquiries are only visible to you, and do not factor into your scoring. Examples of soft inquiries would be from companies that wish to offer you credit through pre-paid offers, of you pulling your own reports and/or scores.
