Alright, let me start by saying hi all.

Well last time I checked, with mitsu to see what i could finance a evo at it was 19% interest. Now thats way to much for me. I was looknig for about 8% apr.
But my credit score is so low because i only had credit for 3 months now, I have 2 credit cards with a 500 dollar limit. Each month i max out both my credit cards and pay the whole amount off, each billing period trying to build up credit,
By the rate I am gonig I will never build up my credit enough to get the 8% apr I am looking for. I have never had a job, so I havent built credit there, my income has came from selling computers on ebay since i was 16 years old. Now I make around 4k a month from ebay.

Now here is my situtation, I am 18, I live in an apartment with my roomate and right now I dont attend college, but have a college fund when I decide to start college. Right now my montly bills are about 1k a month. I am trading in my celica 2002 gts, the nada trade in value is 13k, I was looking to get atleast 11k trade in for the car, I was going to put down 2k down. SO the evo ix will be around 20k to pay off. I want a 60 month loan, and i would probably pay around 350/m with the right apr number. Then I would probably pay double the montly payment to get it payed off sooner.

Now here are the questions.....................
General question....... Is there anything i can do to get a low apr.

1.My dad said he could co sign for me, he has a credit score around 800, should I do this? ANd if I do this do I build my credit up the same if i didnt have a co signer? And are there any negatives to get a co signer.

2.I heard you could get a loan from a credit union, I have been apart of washington mutual for 3 months, and apart of LAPD Credit union since I was 14, would I get the apr I am seeking if I got a loan from these credit unions? Or could I join another credit union and that day I join I can get a car loan with a low apr? (Read that on here didnt know if its true or not.)

3.Should I get more credit cards, build up my credit for 2 months on like 6 different credit cards, then try to get the car for low apr.

Well thx ahead of time for everyone that helps me out. If you could give me any interenet sites or advice on how I should go about getting this car, I would be very greatfull. I was going to get this car around april 1st, or the end of march (Heard dealerships have to fill their quota, and gives you a better price.)

Thanks again, Paul

 

only use 20-30% of your available credit card limit

www.myfico.com

good luck

 

19% interest? Sorry, I'm seeing some ridiculous interest rates on these boards. I would never settle for an interest rate that didn't start with a 4.xx on a new car. But then again, your credit situation may be different from mine.

 

see if a parent or someone in the family has a credit union associated with the company they work at. If they do, chances are with you opening up an account, you can get a good rate because youre new. Check out Spectrum Federal Credit Union...since i opened an account + opened checking + opened savings with them...i get like a 4% interest rate on my loan. check around to see if you can get a deal, but i just having ppl co sign for me because it doesnt give me a chance to build credit...so i dont have a co signer.

 

+1
Do what he said. The credit union will probably net you a 4-7% apr but chances are you will absolutely need a co-signer. So if your dad is down, do it. And because your name is on the loan, it will help you build credit. And STOP maxing out your credit cards. And last but not least, 2 credit cards are better than TOOOOOO Many. Goodluck.

 

F&I Manager here so....

1. Yes it would be a good idea to have him co-sign on your loan. With a co-signer the loan will report to both of your credit bureaus and after between 6 and 12 on time payments, your credit will be strong enough to refinance in just your own name. The only draw back to co-signing is if you default on the loan then it adversely affects his credit too.

2. Credit Unions do typically have the lowest interest rates, and I think you should try to apply for a co-signed loan with your dad at the Credit Union you already belong to.

3. Absolutely don't get more credit cards and you should pay off the ones you already have. Don't close them however because carrying a zero balance will report an on time payment every month to your bureau and your credit score will continue going up over time.

Hopefully that helps.

 

Credit cards will raise a credit score slower then a monthly installment loan. So like gaijin said, have your dad co-sign and then in 8-12 months refinance the car. If you have been with a credit union for that long you and your dad should go in and talk to a loan officer to see what they think is the best way to handle it. Also, keep your credit cards below 50% of their limit, anything over 50% will hurt score, and depending when they pull a report if you happen to be above 50% then it will adversely affect your score.

The other option is to take out a small $1000 auto on the car you have now for a short duration (6 months) to raise your score. Problem with this is you will need to wait 4-6 months for your scores to come up but the savings in interest would be well worth it.

Also, each time you have a different lender pull a report it does lower the score slightly, so watch how many people you have quote a loan rate for you.

 

If you make 4k on ebay every month you could buy the car almost out right if you save for like 6 months, then that way you dont have your father cosign it. But then if you want to build credit thats another story.

 

Yeah that was my first plan, but my dad said I cant build credit up like that.

I think I will let my dad co sign, so i can get the car, then refinance in a year, I think that would be best for me.
Yeah, my dad said he would go through LAPD to get the car loan, but I didnt know how that would get my credit up, but I will ask him again about it.

About the credit cards, your saying if I go over 50% the credit card limit and then pay all the balance the same month that is hurting my credit???

 

Swift to improve your credit score you only spend approx. 30% of your limit. Maxing out cards and then paying them off right away makes you look like a desperate crackmonkey.

 

What might really be hurting your credit score the most could depend on WHEN they check your credit score. If they run your credit report at the moment that you show both of your $500 cards maxxed out, that hurts your score. If they check it at the moment that you've just paid and both show $0 balance, that helps the score.

What I would suggest, if you can, is pay off the balances on both cards now, then stop using them. In a month or two, run your credit report again and see what your score looks like.

Either way though, you are still probably going to need a co-signer to qualify for a decent rate. If your father is willing to help you out and co-sign, great! Just keep in mind that if at some point in the future, you have problems and stop making payments on the auto loan, it will screw up both your credit AND your father's good credit too...

 

It's not how fast or often you pay off the balance that negatively affects the credit score. It's the actual balance reported when the report is run. If the ratio of credit used to credit available is too high, that's a strike against the score. But the opposite is not true.

 

yes it hurts your credit. if you pay a little each month, it will look like you are able to handle payments and that you are stable

 

Are you kidding? Maxing them out and paying them off in a short period of time does look bad. It doesn't negatively impact your score but it doesn't look good and it wont RAISE your score.

 

Ok the you need a cosigner period. to get any kind of rate under 10%

and you will be looking at a payment of 400 to 450 a month for 60 months.

350 x 60=$21,000 You still have to pay Tax Title and License Fees. Which comes to about 10% of the sales price in LA county. Then add in interest.

You will be around 425 per month ar less depending. No way you can get to 350 a month, unless you put more money down.

Thats it in a nut shell