What To Do BEFORE You Shop For A Bad Credit Auto Loan
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What To Do Before You Visit A Dealership When In Need Of A Car Loan After Bankruptcy!
by ChristianIlluzzi


What To Do Before You Visit A Car Dealer When In Need Of An Auto Loan With Bankruptcy!

Searching for a decent pre-owned vehicle is hard enough, but if you are looking for a used car loan on top of that it can become a extremely difficult! Usually its simple to spot a decent deal at a local car dealership. Just make sure that if you are getting a car loan and you have a few credit blemishes that they don't try and sneak in a few extras that you definitely do not need. These types of maneuvers are how some car dealers get you to go in your pocket for more cash than you actually want to spend.

If there are blemishes on your credit, it can be difficult to take when your auto dealer tries to explain to you that you do not qualify for a lower interest rate and better terms on your auto financing. It can sometimes make people feel helpless in getting a fair car loan deal.

At times this can be accurate but one thing to remember is that car dealers need to sell cars. Don't be afraid to walk away and try your chances at another dealer if you feel you are not getting a good deal. The message I will try and get across to most readers of this article is what to do to prepare yourself to get a great deal when shopping for a used car loan.

The most important thing to get before you shop is "Credit FICO Score". You need this in order to receive an idea of where you stand and how damaged your credit really is. Most of the times people go about the whole auto loan process backwards. They go to a used car lot, find a nice car that they like and then the representative comes back with an auto financing approval only to tell you that you barely qualified for this car because of your limited credit history and credit score. They may just be trying to charge you a higher interest rate and in turn make a few thousand dollars extra on your deal, than if you already knew what your credit history looked like. a 1 to 5% increase in your interest rate can mean as much as $3000 more in interest payments coming out of your pocket over the life of the loan! This is obviously something you want to avoid.

Your initial step should be to go on the internet and find a company that offers credit reports with FICO Scores. Get a credit report with scores from all the three major credit reporting agencies such as Trans-Union, Equifax and Experian. All three credit scores will vary slightly but you can use the highest score of the three to your advantage if you have to! Also remember that if you contact the credit bureaus directly, they offer you a free credit report once a year. This is something that everyone should take advantage of, and is very important if you want to get a good deal on your next bad credit car loan.

The most important part of a credit report used for determining your credit worthiness is your FICO Score. This score is determined by a calculated formula used by the credit reporting agencies. Usually your credit score can be as low as a 400 and as high as 850 to 900 in some cases! As the score gets higher typically over 700, thats when you start to reap the rewards of getting a better deal. If you do not know your FICO score, you may be led to believe that with your credit history this is all you qualify for. This way they can charge you more interest and in the long run you can wind up paying thousands of dollars more over the life of the auto financing. Remember car store are in business to make money, and given the opportunity, that is exactly what they are going to do. Don't get me wrong, car stores do deserve to make profit or they could not keep their doors open and pay their bills. But consumers also deserve to get a decent!

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice.