You may have heard the myth that having bad credit means you can’t own a house or buy a new car, but that isn’t true. Bad credit has many downsides and restrictions, but it is not the end of the world. There are always ways around having bad credit. Yes, bad credit makes it harder to get an auto loan; however, you can take calculated steps to improve and reach your goal of getting a new car.
Assess the situation and gage how badly you need a car. It is only recommended to purchase a new car if it is the last resort when you have bad credit. Is your current car in good enough shape to be able to take you to your next destination? Is there any public transportation available to take you to your next destination? Is there a carpool option you can utilize? If your answer is “no” to all these questions, then that is when you consider getting a new car.
The second step is to get a hold of your credit report and analyze it carefully for the past twelve months. A lender might tell you that you have bad credit, but they will not disclose that you are eligible for an auto loan- you must determine that yourself. Check your report for the activity that has caused a weak rating and whether there is something out of the ordinary that might have caused your low credit score. Bad credit can be caused by not paying bills on time, not having enough credit accounts, and credit fraud. We live in an era where anything from credit fraud to hacking is not a surprise. After you have determined the main cause, you must implement new techniques to counteract the problem and slowly but surely bring up your score. Try to use the credit cards that you don't use the most, make sure to pay your bills, don’t pay the minimum but rather the full amount due, and sometimes pay a bit more than what is due to increase points.
After rebuilding your credit score, it is time to research a dealer that has a “bad credit option”. Not all dealers see bad credit as a red flag and take into consideration that not everyone is perfect, like Keller Used Cars. Some dealers offer in-house financing with more flexible credit requirements. They try to help bad credit score buyers because they want to sell more cars, and that would be to your advantage. In order to find these types of dealerships you can use online dealer network websites such as Autocreditexpress.com, Car.loan.com, and Myautoloan.com to find flexible offers. The online dealer network websites do not help with the loan process but only lead you to the right dealer for you and your credit score.
The most important step in this process is to save a substantial amount for a down payment. Having a lower credit score means that you will have a higher down payment at the beginning of the agreement. The down payment needs to be $1000 at a minimum. So start saving money as soon as you can and get a step closer to something you didn’t think was possible! You must make calculated and measured decisions at this step because if you take out an auto loan without enough money for a down payment and for the rest of the payments, you will damage your score even more than the state it is currently in. The cost you must consider in the budget is principle monthly payment, interest charges, sales tax, insurance, and registration fees. The size of your monthly payment will depend upon the principal amount, the interest rate it charges, and the duration of the loan term. Longer period loans will have lower monthly payments but will have additional interest charges which will result in the higher overall cost of the loan. If you’re not able to work out the calculations precisely yourself, you can use many auto-loan calculators available online.
Determine whether a brand new or used car is the better option for you at the moment. A used car is much cheaper than a brand new one and might fit in with your budget more with having a lower risk of ruining your credit. Additionally, used cars have other major benefits like lower cost of depreciation, lower transaction costs, etc.
Having bad credit is not the end of the world and it should not become a wall that prevents you from purchasing a used or new car. Take into consideration all factors and make sure you keep on track with all your responsibilities. In no time, you can be enjoying a new car and help rebuild your credit score at the same time.