Car Buying Questions

Recent Graduate
Car Loan Problems

A car buying question from a Washington, DC visitor...
Used car loan problems are keeping me from buying, please help.

Hi

I am a recent graduate and I recently made a $3500 down payment on a used car. I've been trying to get a used car loan for the remainder $8766 and can't receive any approvals.

I have my dad as the cosigner. However, every bank we've been to have denied us. I have limited credit history and my dad has no credit history.

My question is, if there is a bank or a finance place that would finance the car and I pay the monthly increments.

Answer:

There are a lot of additional variables I'd need to know in order to give you an exact answer, but I will try to help as best I can.

If you are a recent graduate of college and have a career in your chosen course of study, then oftentimes a credit union will give you credit for your time in school as time on the job. many offer a graduate car loan program.

If you are a recent graduate of high school, then this becomes a little more difficult, but with your strong down payment a credit union would still be likely to consider your used car loan.

I know you said every "bank" you applied to has turned your loan down, but I didn't see any mention of you trying with local credit unions. A local credit union will probably be your best bet in this situation.

There are some other limiting factors about the car that might keep you from getting approved. Miles, age of the vehicle and how much you are trying to borrow in relation to it's value.

I wish I had an easy solution to your problem, but I simply don't know enough about your situation.

I have lenders at my dealership that will approve any credit situation, but unfortunately they do not lend direct to the consumer and only offer used car loans through the dealership for cars that we sell.

Summary

Call around to some local credit unions and explain your situation to them before letting them pull your credit...You don't want a ton of credit inquiries (it looks bad to other lenders).

In fact, you may want to check your credit (your inquiry does not show and won't hurt you) so that you know what to explain to them, i.e. your score, how many accounts, any collection accounts, etc. You can get your report and score for free here: credit report.

If you find a credit union that sounds like they may be able to help then it's okay to have them pull it, but it does not guarantee your used car loan approval.
Hope this helps,
Justin