I need to get a new (used) car, and have found exactly what I’m looking for. I’d like to know my options before I go there so I don’t end up looking like an unknowledgeable sucker. So, I have poor credit history, but now have a good, decent paying job. What are my best options to get financing for the car? What if the dealer doesn’t offer fincacing? I tried looking it up, but found it tough sorting through all the spam and advertising to find genuine advice.
If you can’t scrape together enough cash to buy a reasonably functioning beater cash down, I would try your local credit unions and see what you can line up for financing before you enter the dealership.
Check with your bank to see if they offer used car finance. If they don’t, try Carmax. They have a wide assortment of finance companies to work with.
I bought a car from them about three months after a Chapter 7 discharge and found financing at a rate much better than I was expecting.
When my friend was looking to buy a car, we went online and checked the Web sites of all the local banks and read what kind of loans they offer. A few of them did offer small loans for used cars, whether bought from a dealer or privately.
I’ll be able to put down around 3000 for a $7000 van, so ill need at least 4000. I’ve had enough experience to know I have bad enough credit that I get turned down for anything that requires an application and credit check. But I see enough “Bad Credit/no credit? no problem!” ads to know it’s possible, is a credit union the best place to try? I have a prior car loan I paid off, but had a lot of late and very late payments on. A few other things which are in good standing, and a couple things that are not but nothing really huge. Plus, finally have a fairly decent, but not huge, steady income. Are car loans much more likely to be approved, than the other things I always get declined for?
This model works because the prices of the cars are so inflated and the terms of the loans are so usurious, that even with a very high portion of defaults, the model can make money. Since you aren’t going to default on this loan (according to the situation you’ve related here), don’t buy a loan priced as if you will where you’re lumped in with those folks. Generally, you don’t want to take out loans on a depreciating asset like a car unless its an absolute necessity.
Do you really need this van right now? Or is it possible for you to put off the purchase for a few months or even a year and save up the extra $4,000 to pay in cash, or settle for a cheaper van?
I’ll tell you what I told my sister after her divorce.
You have to take your medicine. Go to a dealership, (with good standing/customer reviews etc…/) buy one of their used certified cars. They will find you the financing.
The kick in the nads is you will have to pay between 14-18%. I recommend you just go ahead and pay it. Don’t be late on your payments and if you can pay it off three or more months early; bonus points for you.
The bright side to all this is your credit score will start to go up significantly. The next auto you decide to purchase will be more on your terms not theirs.
I say certified cars because chance are if you’re paying an inflated car note; you’re not going to have a whole lot of cash lying around for auto repairs.
No way I’m buying a car with poor credit. Soon as I get it home, I bet it starts running up bills on my credit cards, and ruining my good credit rating.
I always buy Hondas. They almost all have impeccable credit ratings. 
Yes, but you can just feel them rolling their sensible, thrifty little eyes at you when you are driving through Starbucks.