Everyone wants a new car, but its all about the money. Isn’t it always !
People with what is called bad credit often tend to get it in the neck in many ways.
There are plenty of companies and dealerships wanting to lend them money, but hey, guess what, they quite often shaft them in the process.
This is the ultimate guide to Auto Credit – what is bad credit, what you can do about it and who to go to get the best deals.
People can have a bad or poor credit history for a number of reasons. It can simply be done to mistakes they have made, bad things that have happened to them, or simply never having had any credit at all either through age or circumstances.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
There has rarely been a more apt phrase for describing a wide range of auto credit lenders to people with bad credit. This is where this site comes in.
Whatever an individuals circumstances, the way to get the best deals on any car loan is to spend time researching the reality of how credit works, and understanding how their personal circumstances fall into the credit system.
This knowledge will allow them to assess effectively whether any loan offer they are being made is a good one, both in terms of the amount be offered, the size of the down payment, the interest rate charged on the length or term of the loan.
It is also important not to be pressured by any dealership in to buy a car that they trying to get rid of for whatever reason, and are willing to offer it to a potential customer at a very reasonable loan rate. If it is not right for you to buy it, don’t, however much the dealership is willing to push you in so doing.
Auto Parts
One of the most important things to consider when buying any car or truck, is the availability and price of spare parts. Parts can be needed for any vehicle, either as part of a routine service, because the vehicle has been involved in an accident or collision, because the vehicle has broken down or simply because of old age !
These pages are guides to the availability and details of parts of most of the major car manufacturers.
Ford Parts
Honda Parts
Toyota Parts
Auto Credit / Bad Credit – What is it?
Auto credit is a term that has become associated with finance companies or dealerships who specialise in lending to people with what is regarded as bad credit. Bad credit can also be referred to as sub-prime lending, near prime and second chance lending.
The specifics of what bad credit is can vary widely, for a number of reasons.
According to Wikipedia, bad credit used to refer to anyone who had a FICO score of under 600, although this is now widely disputed or not used at all because the nature of credit scores depends on so many different variables.
What can be said with some degree of certainty is that someone who has bad credit is likely to have had either a number of financial traumas or personal life traumas such as bankruptcies, redundancy, divorce etc which I had a serious impact on the ability to manage their finances and repay loans.
This will have manifested itself in a number of different ways that become evident when a credit report and credit score is produced in response to an application for an auto loan, or any other type of loan or credit arrangement.
A number of mainstream manufacturers, such as Hyundai will often offer some type of credit to a customer
What is a Credit Score?
A credit score is a number based system that is designed to show the credit worthiness of an individual, based on a report compiled by one of the three major credit bureau, known as a credit report.
When anyone approaches any lender for a credit or loan application, their details will be passed onto the credit bureau that that particular lender uses, either Equifax, Experian or Transunion. They will compile a credit report based upon the following information.
Personal information, such as a person’s name, date of birth, their current and previous addresses, their telephone number, the Social Security number, a drivers license, passport and current and previous employers.
Credit history including any public records such as bankruptcy, their banking details including overdrafts, closed accounts and any bounced cheques or problems of payments, any current or outstanding loans and mortgages, what lines of credit they use, cards such as store cards and credit cards and worst of all any payday loans.
Their credit history may also include history of payments made on your credit cards and loans mortgages, people’s use of available credit, the length of their credit history, number of enquiries to have made in pursuit of credit, and the types of credit that they have available to them and they use.
Once this report has been compiled, a number be allocated to the individual between a range of two other numbers. This number is meant to show a relative score of how financially sensible individual is, and should reflect itself in a loan offer and terms and conditions that may be made.
A FICO Score relates to the company that was responsible for modelling this type of process, the company known as Fair, Isacc and company. The important thing about this type of modelling is that different bureaus will use different criteria to assess different scores, and the way certain elements of a credit report more importantly than others.
In addition, once the credit bureau have made that assessment, any lender or dealer is free to use that score in any way they choose to, either by loading certain elements of the credit application quotation, or by angling towards certain vehicles that they won’t get rid of and are willing to discount.
Improving Your Credit Score
The mechanics of a credit score can seem slightly overwhelming, and in many ways it is the principal backers important to realise. There are also a number of things that individual can do to improve their credit score, normally in the long run but there are things in the short term can also work.
The first thing to do is to obtain a copy of your credit report from one of the purest mentioned above. You should be legally entitled to a free copy once a year. It is worth checking the information in it to make sure that it is accurate and up-to-date. Certain information may only be kept and used for a limited period of time, such as bankruptcies, and it is important to make sure that this condition has been adhered to.
On the whole credit bureaus tend to be receptive to correcting information that is incorrect, as they want the reports and scores to be as accurate as possible.
There are a number of companies that offer to help improve your credit score, and normally charge a monthly fee for doing so. In truth most them will send to the work that you can do for yourself from nothing, although paying them may be a matter of convenience.
These companies and websites normally refer to themselves as credit repair specialists, and should be approached with caution.Credit Unions and Auto credit
Credit unions can be thought of essentially as mutual societies which are run for the benefit of the members, rather than simply as a for-profit organisation. This has good and bad news for people with a poor credit rating.
The good news is that if you’re a member of a credit union you’re likely to get a better deal than for most other sub-prime lenders, although depending on the credit union involved they may be more cautious is a need to respect the money belonging to other members.
In addition, you need to be a member of a profession or trade that can belong to a credit union. It is well worth investigating even if you’re not currently a member, as it can be one of the major factors in helping to rebuild any damaged credit rating you may have.
No Credit Check Auto Loan
The appeal of a no credit check auto loan is fairly obvious, but so is the downside. Any lender or dealership offering to lend you money without the need for a credit check raises a sense of comfortability with individual that their past won’t catch them. What is equally certain is that they will be paying through the nose in some way or other for this practice.
Anyone offering a no credit check auto loan will assume the worst, and make sure the money is protected by the by way of a significant down payment, a sizeable interest rate, possible dealership fees, possible extended warranties etc.
The old adage about something being too good to be true will most definitely apply to this type of lending.
Refinancing a Loan with Bad Credit / Auto Credit
People often look to refinance the loan either because their credit rating has improved, or their circumstances have changed, meaning they need to restructure either the monthly payments or the overall length or term of the loan.
For someone who has improved their credit score, re-financing a loan can make a lot of sense. The process of refinancing is way similar to applying for a loan in the first place, and can be done at any point during the period of the loan.
It should be borne in mind that most auto loans are structured in such a way that the monthly payments remained same throughout the period of the loan, and that paying it off early for any reason more results in a fairly hefty penalty. For this reason and others restructuring a loan by way of refinancing is normally a much better option.
Insurance Costs and Auto Credit
Anyone with bad credit seeking an auto loan should be aware that they’re in shorts costs will also be affected by the credit score. The only did they have to think in terms of what a loan is going to cost them, they also need to think about the additional costs in terms of auto insurance.
A dealer or lender is unlikely to want significantly more insurance cover, both in terms of liability and comprehensive cover, than the legal state minimum requires. This cost should be established for any loan agreement is signed, and factored into the monthly repayment costs for the individual concerned.
The issue of Gap Insurance also needs to be addressed. This is where there is a difference between the overall amount of the loan, and the market value of the car once it leaves the showroom. This difference will exist for the period of the loan, although at different levels.
If the car is involved in an accident or it’s written for any reason, then that difference becomes an unsecured debt for the individual took out the loan first place.Gap Insurance is designed to cover this difference, and is normally a precondition of any auto loan.
it is worth pointing out however, that some dealerships will include the cost of Gap Insurance as part of the overall financial package, but it is important to make sure that this cost is not being met by some other part of the contract being inflated ccordinglIy.
Auto Lenders and Dealerships
Below are some details of some of the main Dealers and lenders in the Auto Credit Market today. They will give a fairly good indication of what is available.
Anyone applying for an auto loan is always advised to shop around and get different quotes from different lenders, and compare them on a like-for-like basis. For anyone with bad credit this is even more important to do, as applications and terms and conditions can vary hugely.
Do not be put off by the fact you have a bad credit history. There are people who are willing to lend you money, there are also people who are willing to take advantage of you, And in the end if an offer or dealership doesn’t feel right, or tries to make you feel grateful that they are trying to help you, feel free to walk away from it.
Dealership Financing
This type of auto loan finance normally refers to the major motor manufacturers, who offer finance and credit to a specialist lending division. Some examples are Ford Credit, Honda Financial, Hyundai Motor Finance etc.
Many of the dealerships to offer these types of loans have access to specialist finance companies as well who can help with bad or poor credit. It is worth approaching some of these dealerships even with a poor credit record as they may well be of help.
Below are details of some of the main bad credit and sub prime lenders and dealers.
United Auto Credit
Auto Credit Express
Express Credit Auto
Premier Auto Credit
Wells Fargo Dealer Services
Wells Fargo Dealer Services is an on-line portal for both dealers and consumers.
For dealers, it allows them access to both joining and developing in the Wells Fargo financing program, allows them access to a range of commercial and credit services, and a number of tools and services such as pay off quote forms etc.
For consumers it allows them on line access to their account, where they can access and manage their account, view statements, arrange payments etc, apply for various refinancing options, as well as a wide range of useful resources regarding financial education.
Contact
Customers – 1-800-289-8004
Dealers 1-888-937-9997
National Auto Loan Network
The National Auto Loan Network is one of the oldest and best established network of dealerships and financiers who operate across the US. They also specialise in re-financing car loans which a number of sub prime lenders stay away from.
388 Via Lido #201
Newport Beach, Ca 92663
Telephone: 1 888-391-3504
First Auto Credit
2990 Old Orchard Rd, Jackson, MO 63755, USA
573-204-7777
American Auto Credit
1824 State Highway 31 E | Athens, TX 75751
903-675-4227
Lucky’s Auto Credit
3081 S. State Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84115
801-903-2829
1717 N. State St.
Orem, UT 84057
801-903-2829
3241 Wall Ave
Ogden, UT 84401
801-903-2829
Auto Credit Augusta
2040 Gordon Hwy, Augusta, GA 30909, USA
706-729-6989
Auto Credit Southern Illinois
1100 W Deyoung St Marion, IL 62959
Phone:618-997-5800
Auto Credit of Austin
10411 N Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78753, USA
512-832-5463
See Also :
Car Accident Lawyer Independence
Car Accident Lawyer North Miami Beach
Bridgeport Car Accident Lawyer
Car Accident Lawyer New Jersey