Need a Private Party Auto Loan for Bad Credit

by James H.
(Georgia)

Question: My wife wants to buy a car from her boss (a private party sale). The car is a 2004 BMW 525 for $14000 used. The KBB Retail is $16000.

We just modified our mortgage on march 23rd which was 120 days past due and as of today the mortgage company has not updated the credit bureaus with the updated information about the loan which is a red flag and is giving me a FICO score of 575.

I need to know if you know of company that will give a $14,000 private party auto loan for bad credit. I was denied by my credit union.

Citi Mortgage has given me a number to give to creditors to verify that the mortgage is paid up to date. The mortgage is the only thing I've been late on in the past 6 months. My wife and I both work with a take home of $5000 per month and I have one car loan which will be paid off in 4 months.

Please advise on a finance company that will approve a loan.

Thanks

Answer: Honestly, you are in a tough spot and I'm not sure you are going to have many options at this point. You'll probably need to wait a while and let the home loan (slow pays) get older. Usually this is a two year time frame.

In addition, it's actually harder to get a private party loan than it is a loan arranged through a dealer for a car you are buying off the lot. This is due to the additional risk the lender takes on when loaning on private party purchases. The lender figures that a dealer has inspected a car they sell and has repaired any problems prior to the sale.

I refer many customers to My Auto Loan (you can apply here - "Auto Finance"") for private party auto loans, but I'm not sure they be able to help in your situation as they tend to cater to average to above average credit score customers.

A few banks that might consider giving you a loan would be Wells Fargo, Chase or Capital One. You'd want to check with each to see if they still offer private party loans, as many lenders have stopped offering this.

I'd also suggest using as large a down payment as possible, as this will get the deal way "inline" and shows the bank a solid commitment to the vehicle. In other words, you are less likely to walk away from the vehicle.

Sorry I didn't have a specific source for you and I hope you are able to get the loan you're looking for, but it will be tough if not impossible at this time.

Take care,
Justin