Since this thread is back. I should update on what happened with my credit. My car shipping got delayed 1.5 months. In the meantime, I had paid off a large chunk of the 0% apr credit debt I had. My vintage credit score had jumped back by 30 points (735). When I went to pick up the car from Gupton, they just checked my vintage TransUnion score and did not even make a hard inquiry on my credit report. They said I was Tier 1 and that was the end of it.
12 Likes
Heyyyy congrats! Conclusions to stories are always great.
2 Likes
Awesome. Love reading happy outcomes like that. 
2 Likes
Americans.
Long live the RAV4, Dancing with the Stars, and Chili’s®
2 Likes
I made an observation in a recent thread that a new account isn’t necessarily going to noticeably impact your credit scores.
Here is the ultimate expression of that point, using the Experian FICO 8 (tops out at 850) as a reference point, with an additional update.
Relevant Timeline:
3/25/22 - Experian FICO 8 was 847
4/4/22 - New auto loan reported to Experian (score remained 847)
5/6/22 - Experian FICO 8 moved up to / maxed at 850 due to other changes in my credit file
Keys to this:
Payment history: no late payments, ever, on any account that’s reporting
Relatively long credit history: average age of accounts is between 9 and 10 years
Thick credit file: Dozens of open and closed accounts reporting
Extremely low revolving (credit card) utilization: Balances reporting are well under 1% of total revolving limits
Installment history: at least one open installment account with a relatively low balance compared to the original loan amount
Inquiries: Make very little, if any difference. I have 3 reporting on Experian, but two are older than a year (FICO 8 ignores those completely), plus one from six months ago when I opened a Citi credit card for an $800 sign-up bonus.
Your good credit is there to leverage. Use it every time it makes sense.
14 Likes
It’s like I wrote that myself. This x1000. Started young as a car aficionado so always was opening auto loans and paying them off quickly and as my income grew my loan amounts grew as I wanted better cars. That in itself and low credit card utilization is what propelled me to the usual 840-850 score.
3 Likes
This guy fuchs
1 Like
If you need a loan and have no alternate options a subprime loan and work on paying it off ASAP, or refinance asap when your credit improves.
Not quite sure I would take this advice. Do buy here pay her places even report to credit bureaus? I thought they just GPS track your car and repo it the first day your payment is late.
Building auto credit is best to take a small loan at a reasonable rate (5 to 9% for lower credit). Look for cars known to be reliable with high mileage like Hondas and Toyotas. I would start by trying to finance less than 10k.
Look for local credit unions and rate shop with them.
3 Likes
I think it’s time to merge the thread with some other appropriate thread.
Plus even if they did, you don’t want “Last Chance Auto Credit” on your credit report.
Especially with newer or imperfect credit, credit reports are often manually reviewed, and this would be a red flag for a future credit analyst as a sign of past financial distress… even if the account was handled perfectly and there is no “damage” to the credit history / score caused by things like late payments.
4 Likes
Both of you make excellent points. More than fair.
I think the way I should’ve phrased it is find alternate routes, paying off debts then refinancing if necessary to a more reasonable apr is the way to go. I’ve edited to reflect that.
What is your highest credit score?
What type of car are you looking to buy? New or used? Have you ever had an auto loan?
Fyi, check out this credit thread for more info: The Credit Thread.
Subprime interest rate is usually dependent on money down. Used car dealers and even franchised ones can get you set up with one. “Credit Acceptance” is a big one.
Be wary of interest rates but even more on extra blessings, warranties, negative equity, etc.
1 Like
How bad is bad? You really only need a 730 - 750 credit score.
Fixed it for you.
1 Like