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Locating a lender if you have some rough patches in your credit history is not always the easiest thing to do

Our experience

If you’re someone who is credit-challenged you may be wondering why it’s so hard finding a lender on your own.

We can understand the frustration because at Auto Credit Express we’ve been helping consumers in this situation since 1992. We even created a website so car shoppers with less than perfect credit can study such topics as repossession as well as today’s subject, why locating a subprime auto lender on your own is so difficult.

It all comes down to credit scores

For car shoppers with fair to good credit – which usually means a FICO score of at least 640 or more – checking the interest rates online with banks, credit unions and even captive finance companies like Ford Motor Credit is usually the best way to find the lender with the lowest rate.

But if your credit scores fall below 640 or you have a limited credit history and no co-signer with good credit, the issue of finding a lender that is able to approve you can be more difficult.

Subprime auto lenders

Right now there are at least 30 national or regional lenders that cater to higher-risk car loan applicants and their lending requirements can vary widely.

The biggest hurdle for car buyers with poor credit, however, is that nearly all these companies are indirect lenders. To receive a credit decision from one of them, you’ll have to submit an application through one of the franchised new car dealers they are affiliated with (most of these lenders don’t work with independent used car lots).

Searching for a dealer

You can begin your search by calling around to the various new car dealers in your area, but in most cases you’ll be instructed to stop by and fill out an application in person. You may get lucky (remember, this is often a shot in the dark) and receive an approval.  If you don’t, however, it can end up being embarrassing as well as a total waste of your time.

But there is another option.

Thousands of applicants every year find that the easiest and least stressful way to locate one of these dealers that is to go online and submit an auto application through a web site that caters to credit-challenged consumers such as ours that can be found at www.autocreditexpress.com.

There you’ll find a resource section that includes informative videos as well as a number of auto loan calculators that will walk you through both the screening as well as the application process.

It all starts here

That’s because at Auto Credit Express we work with dealers that understand a broad range of credit issues and can offer applicants their best chance for approved auto loans.

So if you’re ready to establish your car credit, you can begin now by filling out our online car loans application.

Choosing the right kind of car can increase the chances of successfully reestablishing auto credit

Part of the process

Once you’ve have an auto loan approval, it’s time to decide which of the vehicles you’ve qualified for will help you successfully establish your car credit.

This may sound odd especially if, in the past, you’ve qualified for a traditional auto loan. But after two decades of helping applicants with less than perfect credit here at Auto Credit Express, we’ve come up with some suggestions to help you through this particular credit repair process. Specifically, it has to do with choosing the right kind of car.

Keep the budget in mind

Often, credit-challenged buyers with approved auto loans want to finance a van, larger sedan, or even a full-size SUV.  But choosing something like this can lead to problems later on.

In the first place, due to the higher than normal interest rates charged by subprime auto lenders, the monthly payments of many of these types of vehicles put them at or over the limit of most budgets.

Secondly, more expensive car insurance and lower fuel economy also adds to their costs.

Auto Club survey

According to a recent AAA survey, the cost of fuel is among the most important items that can lead to an increase in vehicle operating costs. Based on driving 15,000 miles per year, this is what AAA has determined are the average costs of operating a vehicle based on its size and type:

Small sedan – 43.3 cents per mile or $6,496 per year
Medium sedan – 56.2 cents per mile or $8,436 per year
Minivan – 62.0 cents per mile or $9,301 per year
Large sedan – 70.2 cents per mile or $10,530 per year
4WD SUV – 73.9 cents per mile or $11,085 per year

The total costs allow for depreciation as well as fuel, tire, and car insurance expenses – all important considerations if you have bad credit.

Year over year costs

The report also noted that “The small sedan category experienced the smallest increase of the five categories of vehicles, rising only 2.9 percent from last year to 43.3 cents per mile or $6,496 per year, based on 15,000 miles of yearly driving. The minimal increase was primarily due to the increased popularity of small sedans led by higher fuel prices. It resulted in the small sedan category being the only one where depreciation costs were lower than last year, falling 1.9 percent.”

This means that buyers, regardless of their credit, can save over $2,000 a year just by choosing a small sedan instead of a midsize one – savings that can be used to shorten the loan term or lower the payment and free up money to pay other bills.

The Bottom Line

Financing a vehicle if you’re someone with less than perfect credit means that it’s time to get practical when picking one out. By doing this and making your monthly payments on time, the next car you buy will qualify for a lower interest rate.

We do have one more suggestion: at Auto Credit Express we assist people with credit issues in finding a dealer that can offer them their best chance for an auto loan approval.

So if you find yourself in this situation and you’re ready to reestablish your car credit, you can begin now by filling out our online car loans application.

Choosing the right kind of car can increase the chances of successfully reestablishing auto credit

Part of the process

Once you’ve have an auto loan approval, it’s time to decide which of the vehicles you’ve qualified for will help you successfully establish your car credit.

This may sound odd especially if, in the past, you’ve qualified for a traditional auto loan. But after two decades of helping applicants with less than perfect credit here at Auto Credit Express, we’ve come up with some suggestions to help you through this particular credit repair process. Specifically, it has to do with choosing the right kind of car.

Keep the budget in mind

Often, credit-challenged buyers with approved auto loans want to finance a van, larger sedan, or even a full-size SUV.  But choosing something like this can lead to problems later on.

In the first place, due to the higher than normal interest rates charged by subprime auto lenders, the monthly payments of many of these types of vehicles put them at or over the limit of most budgets.

Secondly, more expensive car insurance and lower fuel economy also adds to their costs.

Auto Club survey

According to a recent AAA survey, the cost of fuel is among the most important items that can lead to an increase in vehicle operating costs. Based on driving 15,000 miles per year, this is what AAA has determined are the average costs of operating a vehicle based on its size and type:

Small sedan – 43.3 cents per mile or $6,496 per year
Medium sedan – 56.2 cents per mile or $8,436 per year
Minivan – 62.0 cents per mile or $9,301 per year
Large sedan – 70.2 cents per mile or $10,530 per year
4WD SUV – 73.9 cents per mile or $11,085 per year

The total costs allow for depreciation as well as fuel, tire, and car insurance expenses – all important considerations if you have bad credit.

Year over year costs

The report also noted that “The small sedan category experienced the smallest increase of the five categories of vehicles, rising only 2.9 percent from last year to 43.3 cents per mile or $6,496 per year, based on 15,000 miles of yearly driving. The minimal increase was primarily due to the increased popularity of small sedans led by higher fuel prices. It resulted in the small sedan category being the only one where depreciation costs were lower than last year, falling 1.9 percent.”

This means that buyers, regardless of their credit, can save over $2,000 a year just by choosing a small sedan instead of a midsize one – savings that can be used to shorten the loan term or lower the payment and free up money to pay other bills.

The Bottom Line

Financing a vehicle if you’re someone with less than perfect credit means that it’s time to get practical when picking one out. By doing this and making your monthly payments on time, the next car you buy will qualify for a lower interest rate.

We do have one more suggestion: at Auto Credit Express we assist people with credit issues in finding a dealer that can offer them their best chance for an auto loan approval.

So if you find yourself in this situation and you’re ready to reestablish your car credit, you can begin now by filling out our online car loans application.