The basics and a little info first.

I am going to be buying an evo8 in the near future, within the next 2 months. Seeing as how this is my first new car purchase i would love some help from you all since you are "local" to me (i live in the Anaheim,CA area) and have experience with this.

I make ~3200 gross a month and have a 577 score for credit. The questions i have are, should i head to the dealer to get the car and try for financing then or can anyone recommend a good reliable online loan center that would give me better rates.

Looking at all the good and bad posts on this board, i have pretty much resolved to going to HB mitsu to get the car. It looks like a pretty unanimous vote that they are the best given a choice.

Anywhoo, any recommendations or overall advice would help a new car newbie.

 

Try www.peoplefirst.com. You can negotiate with them on the rates. Good luck.

 

Wait for the MR. It's only a few more months. You will not be sorry.

 

im looking for a new evo too, any idea who WONT mark up an MR?

 

Can any friend or family memeber help cosign your loan? The reason i say this is because your credit score seems pretty low.

Here are the American public's credit scores

Credit score Percentage
499 and below 1 percent
500-549 5 percent
550-599 7 percent
600-649 11 percent
650-699 16 percent
700-749 20 percent
749-799 29 percent
800 and above 11 percent

From what I know, you will need a credit score of at least 720 to get the best rate. I know from a home loan perspective, the difference between having a credit score of mid 500 to mid 700 can cost you more than 3.5 percent. Don't know if this is the same for car loan, but it shouldn't be too far off.

Can you get a home equity line of credit? I think my bank is offering me the rate of 3 or 3.5%. Another reason why i would go for the Home equity loan is to avoid paying for full coverage insurance.

 

With a credit score like that, I think you will have a hard time getting a normal dealership/bank loan. And if you do get one, it will likely be at a credit card interest rate....12-15% APR.

But just to make sure, you should try to get preapproved for a loan by an online source such as eloans.com. If they approve you, you can just use their loan.....and if they approve you, you may well approve for normal dealership type loans.

SC~