Fsking Credit Scores

[burton160w]

Aight, so I'm sort of in the market for a new car as you guys may have known. I gave up the SMART car idea, but I'm possibly looking at a MINI. This is a few months down the road since I want to ride the Coug till she croaks.

But I have a slight problem - I'm eighteen.

That means my credit is the low right now I grabbed my score report from work and it's at 637. I don't know exactly how that stacks up nationally, but what I do know is that I'm having a tough time finding someone who will loan to me.

I have two credit cards, one is through my credit union and I've used it a lot and payed it in full each month.

What can I do to get my credit score up in a short amount of time. I don't have a cosigner which makes it tough. I know I have no problem making the payments, but finding some place that will loan the money I will need is a *****.

[marinofan]

637 isn't bad at all. definitely financable. Anything over 600 we could get financed when I sold cars and it was all conventional banks. Job time and age might be where your problem lies. Your credit score is good/decent. a 650 qualifies for Lease with Dodge

[thousandlegs]

Originally Posted by marinofan

Job time and age might be where your problem lies. Your credit score is good/decent. a 650 qualifies for Lease with Dodge

I agree with Mario

+1

[marinofan]

Originally Posted by thousandlegs

I agree with Mario

+1

*grumbles*

[20COUG00]

put down a down payment, if you tell them you'll put down 1 0r 2k, they'll let you have the loan, when i was getting my car i didn't have the credit to get the car, but they said is i put down 2k i can have the loan, which i did. Offering a small down payment might help.

[The Jamie]

try going through your credit union.

[thousandlegs]

another thing to consider is the credit limit on your cards. if it is too high then they will look at that almost as if the card were maxed out.

<fact>
let me explain...they are concerned, not only with the amount of debt that you have but also your debt to income ratio. (arbitrary numbers here) if you have a credit card with a 10000 limit and one with a 5000 limit and based on your credit score the lending institution thinks that you can handle a debt of 15000 for the car they may not give the loan because you could have the car loan and then max out your cards for an additional 15000. if you lower your credit limit then there's not as much risk on the lender's part because you won't be able to add an additional 15000 to your debt.

i learned that from the federal reserve today.
</fact>

[CougarGuy1802]

money down does work. im a salesperson at a chevy dealer. i wouldn't expect a tahoe or somethin though. i'd aim for somethin below 23,000. even a lease

[Blackcoog]

You may need to get someone to co-sign if you don't meet all of the requirments. As mentioned above you need to be at your job for so long and credit card maxes can affect your credit score even if there is no balance on them.

[Jorgen]

It takes time to build credit man. Seems like you are doing alright for having such a short credit history. I don't know your exact situation financially but I woudl hope if you think you can afford a car payment you can afford to put that cash aside for the next few months and be able to show up with a couple grand down. That seems to help a lot, my last explorer previous to my wifes new one was being financed through a credit union, they were much better to work with once I told them I could give them a thousand or two down on the car, the interest rate went down everything worked much better.

Dad speech (not a dad but you get the idea):
Don't **** yourself on credit especially credit cards. This car loan will do wonders for your credit if you pay it all ontime (ahead of time works well too) as it will vary the type of credit used, revolving v. set payment loan. Just don't over extend on this car, I know it is nice to have the best car you can afford sometimes but have a very managable payment and no CC debt is much nicer in the long run. When I was 18 I started building up some credit then got a little CC happy and was pretty loaded with the payment for my cougar (had it 7 years and still drive it do that was worth it) and a few credit cards that were near max because I just had to buy new **** that I probably have thrown away or given to good will by now. It definately takes longer to get things straightened out than it does to **** them up with your credit. But if you use it right credit can become as important as how much money you actually have.