How To Buy A Car With Bad Credit - Know Your Score

It is possible to buy a car with bad credit if you know what to do. Don't give up. There is hope for you to get your car and start to rebuild your credit at the same time.

You may find it difficult to buy a car with bad credit through a traditional finance company or a bank. You'll find that most tier 1 finance companies and banks will only lend to people with prime, good or marginal credit. If you find yourself with poor, bad or very bad credit you should consider a service or dealer that specializes in helping people with bad credit. They have programs especially designed to meet your needs and situations.

Using someone who is familiar with what your needs are can save you a lot of time and frustration.

Here are some tips to help you buy a car with bad credit.

You need two things before you go looking for a car.

1. You need to have a job.

2. You need a good monthly income.

If you don't have either one of these, it is going to be very difficult to get a loan.

Know your credit score before you go shopping. You can get a free report by going online and Google "free credit reports". Once you get your score you can see where you fall on the list below. By knowing your score you won't be lead to believe that your score is low when maybe it really isn't. Knowing your score can help you buy a car with bad credit without getting ripped off.

The following credit scores are only guidelines to give you an idea how some lenders look at your score. There are some lenders that don't even look at your score.

720+ Prime Credit
680+ Good Credit
640+ Marginal Credit
600+ Sub-Prime Credit
580+ Poor Credit
525+ Bad Credit
480+ Very Bad Credit

When you go out shopping for a car, be realistic. Most people have no idea how much money a bank will loan them with bad credit. Get approved for the loan, then go out and see what kind of car you can afford. This step can save you a lot of wasted time and frustration.

If you are in a position where you could qualify for a high risk loan on a new car, don't do it. It can cost you a lot more money to do this type-of-a loan. You can usually do much better getting a good used car.

When you are looking at the car you want to buy, keep in mind you still have to buy your license plates and insurance. One thing to remember is you may have to pay a higher interest rate right now. Don't let that discourage you. As your credit score improves there is a good chance that you can refinance your high risk loan for something with a lower interest rate.

When you buy a car with bad credit, get the best deal you can in the present, but never stop looking for better terms as your credit improves over time.