People often wonder if they get turned down at a dealership because of something they said or did wrong. The truth is, that may actually be the case! #1 DO NOT LIE TO YOUR SALESPERSON!!!! It is human nature to try to "win" at most things you do, misrepresenting your situation to try and "trick" the system will do more harm than good! The more truth the salesperson, finance manger and sales manager knows, the more likely you are to obtain financing for an automobile. #2 YOUR CREDIT 'SCORE' IS NOT THE ONLY FACTOR Credit Karma and other score monitoring websites are a great guide but when it comes to purchasing a car, dealers use an 'auto enhanced' credit scoring system inside the three bureaus (equifax, experian, transunion). False Score? Whats that? Example: Your credit score is 724 which is a great score! But, the only line of credit on your report is a CapitalOne credit card with a $300 limit. Finance companies look at that. They do not want to loan $20,000 to someone who only has up to $300 in available credit. Example Two: Your credit score is 589 which is well below average. But, your trade lines (house, car, credit card, furniture etc.) are all paid perfect and medical bills/student loans are killing your score. You pay your bills and will get Approved! #3 THE VEHICLE MATTERS! Finance companies track everything! Including the year, make & model of the autos they loan money against. Statistics show if the vehicle is not running or covered by an extended service contract, the customer will stop paying. If you show up wanting a Mercedes Benz (luxury brands score HORRIBLE because of the cost of repairs and maintenance) and get turned down, it might be the car! If credit is an issue, consider something practical until you re-build your credit! Car payments are one of the biggest credit building factors in your credit profile! You can live in your car, but you can't drive your house! Well, most of us anyways. Call me with any questions, I'd love to help. -BT
