Bad Credit Auto Loans

Bad Credit Auto Lenders,
Their Rules & Your Approval

Bad credit auto loans can oftentimes be very frustrating for consumers with credit challenges. Today's economy certainly hasn't helped matters, but that does not mean all hope is lost. Bad credit auto lenders are standing by and educating yourself is key to your approval.

There are some limitations you'll need to be aware of and some rules of the road to follow in order to simplify the approval process and fund your auto loan.

One of the major keys to bad credit Auto Loans is to work with the right dealership, or special finance loan specialist, from the start.

The right loan specialist will both listen to your wants and needs, while just as importantly, be able to get you approved for your new auto loan.

Most car dealerships do not specialize in bad credit auto loans and if you work with the wrong dealership, lender or loan specialist, then you'll not only find yourself frustrated, but you'll probably end up wasting a bunch of your time!

To help you find out quickly if they can help you, I've created a list below of four questions to ask the car dealer up front to simplify the process for you.

Common Bad Credit
Auto Loans and General Info

The most common bad credit situations that I've found many customers have questions about are:

No Credit or Limited Credit
No credit is not always better than bad credit and each situation provides its own set of challenges and unique circumstances. Follow any one of these links to learn more: No Credit Auto Loans, First Time Auto Loans, Student Auto Loans

Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy has become fairly common in recent years and many lenders have now created loan programs for consumers buying a car after bankruptcy. All you'll need to do is learn what to expect and what it takes to get approved.

Additional Situations
Visitors frequently email with questions regarding challenges they know exist and here are some of the top inquiries received: No Money Down Auto Loans, No Credit Check Auto Loans, Guaranteed Auto Financing, Subprime Auto Loans

Here is a question from a visitor that had a prior repossession and she was looking for a little guidance. Read Repossession Loan to learn what to expect and some things that make an approval easier to get with better terms.

Additional Tips
Funding Your Auto Loan is an oftentimes overlooked part of the process, but your approval doesn't mean much if your loan doesn't get funded. Follow the link above to learn what lenders will require to fund bad credit auto loans.

Here I've put together a review of 7 Top Bad Credit Auto Lenders and 3 key factors to their approvals. This will help you to get a better understanding of what some of the top subprime auto lenders look for to approve loans.

You may also want to use one of my Car Payment Calculators to see how much car you can comfortably afford.

Apply For
Your New Car Loan

Simply fill out any one of these secure loan applications and depending on the time of day a special finance loan /specialist in your local area will be in touch shortly to discuss the details of your new auto loan.

Depending on the time of day you could be approved and driving your new or pre-owned car in the next few hours...

Basic Qualifications:

• $1,500 monthly gross income.
• No repossessions in the past year unless included in a bankruptcy.
• All applicants must be at least 18 years of age.
• Service not available for purchases outside of North America.
• Service not available for purchases from private parties or refinancing.

Most Car Dealers Don't
Specialize In Bad Credit Auto Loans

Many dealerships across the country advertise to customers in search of bad credit auto loans and lead these customers to believe they can offer a solution for their auto loan needs.

Unfortunately, for most consumers with bad credit these dealerships really don't specialize in subprime credit and are, more often than not, hoping to find customers:

• That have a well qualified cosigner
• That have very large down payments
• With credit that's not as bad as they thought
• That may know someone with good credit that will buy the car for them.

In other words, these dealerships specialize in bad credit advertising, but not bad credit auto loan approvals.

I've found that the majority of car dealerships across the country seem to have little to no interest in truly helping people with really bad credit, no credit, no money down, etc.

This can be very discouraging for you if you have some credit issues, but do not worry, because there are lenders (even in this economy) that will loan you money for a car. You've just got to know the right sources.

The good news: I have been in the car business a long time and subprime auto loans and subprime credit are my specialties. And...

I have packed these pages with lots of extremely valuable information just for you.

4 Questions To
Ask The Dealer Upfront

Before you invest a bunch of your time working with a dealership, you'll want to ask a few questions to be sure that they specialize in no credit and bad credit auto loans.

The size of the dealership does not always mean they will be more capable of helping you.

In fact, I know several large dealerships that have very limited resources and skills to help consumers in need of these types of loans.

Even if a dealership advertises for bad credit, it doesn't always mean they're any good at getting approvals. Here's what you'll want to know...

1. Do you have a special finance department?

   What you are really looking to find out here is if they have designated a specific department within the dealership to handle only no credit and bad credit auto loans.

   If they do not have a special finance department, that does not mean they won't be able to help you, but the next questions will become more important.
   
   

2. Do you buy vehicles specifically for special finance?

   If a dealership is really serious about helping customers in tough credit situations, then they will buy inventory that caters to your wants/needs and at that same time allows them to structure loans that work for the lender.

   If they don't buy vehicles specifically for these types of loans, they may still be able to help, but your options may be limited.
   
   

3. Do you work with any one or more of these lenders?
   • Credit Acceptance Corp
   • Drive Financial
   • Westlake Financial
   • Regional Acceptance
   • Consumer Portfolio Services
   • United Auto Credit

   If the dealership is not working with at least one, preferably more, of these lenders, then they probably don't take no credit and bad credit loans very serious.

   It is unlikely they will be able to help you if you are in a really bad credit situation, unless they can answer yes to question 4.
   
   

4. Do you offer in house financing?

   This would be when a dealership offers services similar to a DriveTime Auto Sales and you essentially "Buy Here Pay Here."

   Most all credit types are accepted at a "Buy Here Pay Here" and if you are turned down for a loan it is usually not a credit related issue.

   If buying from a dealership that offers in house financing sounds like the best way for you, then I'd highly recommend DriveTime - The used car dealership for those with bad credit. Apply online.

   Drive Time Auto Sales was my biggest competitor when I worked in TX, due to their selection of cars and their flexibility with approvals. They have roughly 75 dealerships (I believe it's more than that now) throughout the country.

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