# Am I likely to have trouble getting a car loan? Newish credit **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 9, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-likely-to-have-trouble-getting-a-car-loan-newish-credit/615316 "2012-03-09T19:47:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-likely-to-have-trouble-getting-a-car-loan-newish-credit/615316/21 "2012-03-11T17:59:33Z")
Just chiming in that I had zero problems buying a new car on credit as a first-time buyer. I did have credit history, but no previous loans, and my credit was not spotless. All I’d had were just a few credit cards for a few years. They did not ask for a co-signer at any point nor even imply one might be needed. This was with a large, high-volume dealership. I’m a bit stunned that any dealership would expect co-signers on the first auto loan regardless of credit history, to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-likely-to-have-trouble-getting-a-car-loan-newish-credit/615316/22 "2012-03-12T18:41:11Z")
> [@fluiddruid](#): > > I’m a bit stunned that any dealership would expect co-signers on the first auto loan regardless of credit history, to be honest. I was thinking the same thing, but if he worked at a really small, independent dealer, that would explain it. I definitely don’t think it’s the norm. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-likely-to-have-trouble-getting-a-car-loan-newish-credit/615316/23 "2012-03-13T05:54:16Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > I was thinking the same thing, but if he worked at a really small, independent dealer, that would explain it. I definitely don’t think it’s the norm. I worked at a fairly high volume Saturn dealership. GMAC was our primary lender, and we worked with Americredit, Nuvell, Suntrust, Capital One, and several credit unions. (There are a couple of other companies we worked with, but it’s been a few years and I can’t remember them all.) I networked with other F&I managers all over the US. It was extremely common to need co-buyers to get deals bought. I was 27 years old when I bought my first car on credit. My dad had to co-sign with me in order to get the deal approved by GMAC. I’m not believing that people are having a hard time understanding why a finance company would not want to give a loan to a person with little to no credit history on a depreciating asset that is incredibly easy to hide from the repo guy. The purpose of the co-signer is to have someone with a good established credit history essentially vouch for you with the understanding that if you don’t make payments, they will be responsible. I totally get it that people don’t want to do that - either asking someone or being the person to co-sign. It’s a huge financial responsibility that can affect your credit. I lost a lot of sales because of it. ---
**Author:** ![NorthernBiker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/50afbb/32.png) [@NorthernBiker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NorthernBiker)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-likely-to-have-trouble-getting-a-car-loan-newish-credit/615316/24 "2012-03-13T13:07:39Z")
I wish you luck, but I image you will run into problems. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression for obtaining loans, bad credit is better than no credit. I ran into the same problem buying a vehicle and motorcycle. I even had multiple student loans, which I was paying off every month, but for some reason student loans do not count for increasing your trustworthiness. (they can hurt your credit score though) I would shop around, if you have a personal relationship with a credit union, they will probably be your best bet. Large car financing companies have strict rules since they are so large and the (unofficial) creditworthiness of each individual would be costly to obtain. If you own a home or other assets they can often times be used as collateral. One simple way to increase your credit, is ask your CC company to increase your limit, this will help your score, but if you’re constrained by length, not much you can do. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Lurker\_Above](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Lurker\_Above](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lurker_Above)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-likely-to-have-trouble-getting-a-car-loan-newish-credit/615316/25 "2012-03-13T16:32:20Z")
> [@Hockey\_Monkey](#): > > I’m not believing that people are having a hard time understanding why a finance company would not want to give a loan to a person with little to no credit history on a depreciating asset that is incredibly easy to hide from the repo guy. It’s not the guy with no/bad credit needing a co-signer that I find amazing. It’s that to get a first-time car loan at your old employer you needed a large down-payment and credit score in the 800s. I just don’t understand why your lenders seemed to consider someone with a history of keeping up on car payments trustworthy, but someone with a good history of payment on student loans, mortgages, credit cards or LOCs untrustworthy. Are car payments really that different from any other debt? I’m in Canada so no doubt things are a bit different here, but I got my first car at 29. I have pretty good credit (but certainly not near 800) but zero car payment history. No one at the dealership even hinted that a co-signer would be nice, and I put zero down on the car (0% promotional rate, and they weren’t interested in giving a discount for cash purchase). ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-likely-to-have-trouble-getting-a-car-loan-newish-credit/615316/26 "2012-03-13T17:21:26Z")
> [@Quintas](#): > > I should say, will I be able to get a loan at a decent interest rate? > > I had a credit card in my early 20’s but cancelled it. For the past 15 years or so, I managed to not do anything on credit. Last year, I pulled my credit reports and they were blank. > > I got a credit card that i’ve now had a year in order to build some credit history. Just a $1000 limit. I charged a few things, kept a balance a few months making payments and then paid it off. I pulled my report again and the credit card is now there with good payment history. Is that gonna be enough to qualify me for a car loan with a non extortionary interest rate and not too many hassles? Other factors: stable work history, many years at current job, decent if unspectacular salary. > > Not looking to buy a new BMW or anything. Looking for a car in the $12-15,000 range. Putting $2000 down, so will need to finance between $10-$13000. I’d consider a new car. A civic or something if I could qualify for one of those 0% loans they advertise. The problem with asking a question like this on this board is that while Dopers will be quite pleased to give you their opinions, none of them are going to write you a check. If you want to know what kind of financing you’re eligible for, go to your bank, do some research at [bankrate.com](http://bankrate.com), and submit an app at [lendingtree.com](http://lendingtree.com) and see what offers come up. You have a 45-day shopping window for car loans during which all credit checks only count as one inquiry, thus not really damaging your credit score considerably (I’ll also believe the slight derogatory effect of an inquiry is short-lived anyway). Meditating on the topic is not going to get you a car loan. Like **Bosda** learned (or not) so long ago, you’ve just got to put on your big boy pants and straight up ask for it. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-likely-to-have-trouble-getting-a-car-loan-newish-credit/615316/27 "2012-03-13T19:58:02Z")
> [@Quintas](#): > > At least in my world. I sure wouldn’t co sign for someone. Even a close relative. I love you and all, i’ll come pick you up if stranded but I aint linking my financial history with anyone except a spouse. Been there, done it, **never** again. Co-signed for my brother once and the vehicle was repossessed. I paid all the late fees/payments, repossession charges and the remaining payments on the vehicle. It’s finally going to be off my credit report this year. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-likely-to-have-trouble-getting-a-car-loan-newish-credit/615316/28 "2012-03-13T20:52:38Z")
> [@The\_Lurker\_Above](#): > > It’s not the guy with no/bad credit needing a co-signer that I find amazing. It’s that to get a first-time car loan at your old employer you needed a large down-payment and credit score in the 800s. I just don’t understand why your lenders seemed to consider someone with a history of keeping up on car payments trustworthy, but someone with a good history of payment on student loans, mortgages, credit cards or LOCs untrustworthy. Are car payments really that different from any other debt? Right, this is exactly what I was talking about. It seems odd that buying a car for the first time was so unique – why can I have a credit line of $10,000 on my credit card that I can piss away on any damn thing, but not a car that can be repossessed? I mean, I’ve never heard of any similar thing with huge loans like mortgages – it’s your whole credit history that matters (plus factors like your income), not your experience level with a particular type of debt. ---
**Author:** ![Quintas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@Quintas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quintas)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-likely-to-have-trouble-getting-a-car-loan-newish-credit/615316/29 "2012-03-16T20:04:36Z")
I got a copy of my credit score. It is 673. I wish I had gotten my score _before_ I got a credit card, so i’d know if I was making progress. Is 673 gonna screw me? There are no late payments or delinquent accounts on my report. I guess the lowish score is is simply due to my credit history being relatively new. If my score has me sitting on a fence, I want to be very cautious about applying for credit because each time you do so, it lowers your score. Christ. ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-likely-to-have-trouble-getting-a-car-loan-newish-credit/615316/30 "2012-03-16T21:17:17Z")
Put one in the datapoint of no-cosigner needed. I bought a brand new 2002 Toyota Tundra with no cosigner, as my first auto loan. Initially I could only get financed with Peoplefirst at a subprime rate with $500 down, but increasing it to $1500 down got me an interest rate \<1% above the best rates I could find, and was financed thru a regular bank. Credit score at that time would have been in the low 700s, oldest account maybe 3-4 years old (all student loans & credit cards). ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-likely-to-have-trouble-getting-a-car-loan-newish-credit/615316/31 "2012-03-16T21:46:13Z")
> [@Quintas](#): > > I got a copy of my credit score. It is 673. I wish I had gotten my score _before_ I got a credit card, so i’d know if I was making progress. > > Is 673 gonna screw me? There are no late payments or delinquent accounts on my report. I guess the lowish score is is simply due to my credit history being relatively new. > > If my score has me sitting on a fence, I want to be very cautious about applying for credit because each time you do so, it lowers your score. > > Christ. Join [www.creditkarma.com](http://www.creditkarma.com). It’s free, and there’s a feature that allows you to simulate different scenarios and their effects on your credit rating. You can see if applying for a car loan will decrease your score, and by how much. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-likely-to-have-trouble-getting-a-car-loan-newish-credit/615316/32 "2012-03-16T22:28:42Z")
As far as needing a car loan specifically: doesn’t your credit report only go back 7 years? Surely lots of people only finance a car once a decade or so, and so would not have a car loan, specifically, show up. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-likely-to-have-trouble-getting-a-car-loan-newish-credit/615316/33 "2012-03-17T04:01:15Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > As far as needing a car loan specifically: doesn’t your credit report only go back 7 years? Surely lots of people only finance a car once a decade or so, and so would not have a car loan, specifically, show up. Seven(ish) years from the date of last activity on the account, and ten years for bankruptcy. If you purchased a vehicle in January of 2000 with a 5 year loan and kept the loan for the entire length of term, the last date of activity would have been December of 2004. That loan would just be dropping off in the last couple of months. At the time that I was doing finance, most of the people we worked with traded every 3-4 years. With the current state of the economy, I don’t know how true that is any more. People who paid cash tended to keep their vehicles much longer. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-likely-to-have-trouble-getting-a-car-loan-newish-credit/615316/34 "2012-03-17T04:25:37Z")
I’ll also echo I’ve never heard the idea that it’s extremely difficult to get a first time car loan without a co-signer. Yeah, with terrible credit I can see it being hard, but I know literally tons of people with just average financial situations who got a car loan on their first owned vehicle with no cosigner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-likely-to-have-trouble-getting-a-car-loan-newish-credit/615316.md?page=1)