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Originally Posted by cheryl000  Just be careful because there are a lot of places that will loan money to people with little or bad credit with terrible terms. My husband bought a car with a 21% interest rate once. Make sure that you understand everything and ask the right questions. Luckily it was only a $12,000 car and we had a down payment of about half. I was able to get approved by my credit union for 7% a couple months later. Thank god for refinancing!
The way we do it now is we either trade in or use a down payment for half of the cost of a vehicle(about $5k), the other half is paid through a secured loan which is much cheaper than a car loan (about 7k). Research the loan and make sure that you can afford the payments.
We ALWAYS buy used, I will NEVER buy a new car unless I get filthy rich. IMO that money can go to better places like savings, retirement, paying off debt, etc. To me a good, used car can do the same thing as a brand new one, just take me from A to B. I've seen too many people buy brand new cars and have it break down within a couple of years and have nothing to show for it but debt.
Also, make sure that you don't stretch yourself too far in a car loan. I had a friend who thought she was getting a good deal by rolling her debt from an old car and loan into a brand new car with a new loan. She ended up making $800 payments and couldn't afford to put insurance on it. My husband leased a car once and ended up getting a couple of speeding tickets. His insurance shot up so much that he was working 5 jobs just to pay for everything. So my advice is to make sure that your payments aren't too high in comparison with your income.
Anyways, I know I sound old, but I'm only 25. I have been where you were at and got denied when I had a full time job just because I had little credit. Sometimes you have to work your way up to it. Try to join a bank or a credit union. Cell phones are also good revolving credit. But don't be surprised if you have to work your way up to getting a larger loan with smaller loans. Just know that if you work hard, you can get anything you want in life in time.
By the way for people who have to have a new car every couple of years, leasing is a better option than car loans. But read the terms carefully.
Good luck! |
I am with Wachovia right now. I will go to the credit union, just for savings if I get the governement job that I applied for. I would do a cell phone, BUT Josh and I just got a cell phone togethor, and the contract isn't up until 2009, so that doesn't really help me any. I am going to call Bank of America today to see if they do a secured visa, that will be a good start, I think.