Question......

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(poinciana @ Nov 19 2007, 04:30 PM) [snapback]541652[/snapback]</div>

your going to probably generate a lot of responses on this one

have you had a repossession or filed bankcrupcy?

except in bankrupcy or judgements, the information on your credit report can only go back 7 years.
my dealer didnt look at my entire credit printout, just my score, and knowing what exactly is on your credit file or your credit score before going to the dealer will help.

in some situatiuons the dealer will say your ok but the financing will fall through and dealers vary rarely ask you to take the car back. if you do not qualify for the 0 or 4.9 % offer they may still find financing for you from someone else.

i would just show up to the dealer, maybe bring in a cosigner to see if one is needed. if you do not
purchase the car, the worst thing that will happen is the dealer will hit you with an inquiry and those
disappear under a year, i think

purchasing a car will not improve your credit rating. credit ratings are only influenced by revolving
credit accounts. a car loan is a mortgage, and those do not affect your credit rating

a repossession will show up, but as long as you make the payments on time, it wont increae your
fico score.

you can get your credit reports free once a year from annualcreditreport.com, and you will not have to
sign up for any memberhips to do it (like freecreditreport.com), it will not give you your official fico score
though, and knowing that before hand might help.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(poinciana @ Nov 19 2007, 01:30 PM) [snapback]541652[/snapback]</div>

Whatever you do DO NOT FINANCE THROUGH A DEALER. They love to find someone in your circumstance and suck the life out of them.
Join a credit union, they will be glad to work something out for you that is actually in your benifit.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(seasalsa @ Nov 19 2007, 05:48 PM) [snapback]541689[/snapback]</div>

my credit union wanted 7-9 % or something i forgot the exact number, toyota gave me 4.95% i was shocked.

captial one auto finance was a joke. they said i was approved and i was shopping for a car while the loan package came, and when the loan package came it said 10% and 15,000 $ approved. i did not use it


when going to the dealer always refuse anything they offer this includes warranties, maintaince plans, lojacks, vin etching on winshields, carpet and paint protections, gold coating on toyota emblems, gap insurance etc etc

those all can be purchased cheaper on the internet and theres no rush on anything, even the extended warranty can be purchased before the 3 years and 36,000 warranty is up. the maintaince plan i think
has to be purchased before 6,000 miles or something.

the car dealer is going to care more whether or not this customer is going to get his paint waxed, or
buying his $3000 warranty package then if he has low or bad credit.

 

There is NO CREDIT REQUIREMENT for buying a Prius. There is only a credit requirement for borrowing money. I've never borrowed money. I strongly advise everyone against borrowing money unless it is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. A luxury car like the Prius is not a necessity.

If you cannot pay cash, I recommend a recent model Civic or Corolla in good condition.

If you really want to borrow money to buy a Prius, visit your banker about a loan. He won't care what kind of car you're going to buy with it. He'll only consider whether he believes you can pay back the loan, and what interest rate he'll charge you. And if you can show that you have an adequate, stable income, and convince him that you are a reliable person, he'll give you the loan.

And you can post on Prius Chat without owning a Prius. There are no requirements for posting here, other than the common-sense rules of posting which apply to everyone. And if you are genuinely interested in the Prius, you will be quite welcome here.

 

Second that. Borrowing money to buy a new car is an expensive mistake. Keep the one you have running until you can buy one with cash. You will be much better off and happier for it five years from now.

 

Instead of straining to the max to get something you can barely afford, why not get any used one with less than 100K on it, get paid off in a hurry, and now you can save up money at your leisure, get something newer when you're good and ready, not have to walk around wondering how much interest you're running up every day?

 

financing a car ... builds credit... if you never build credit and you buy a house then you're kinda screwed.

Think bout it this way.... if you have a high apr.. you're gonig to pay what... an extra maybe 2 to 3k, now if you never built your credit and you buy a house... how much extra money are you going to be paying because you're not in tier 1.

Many people that can just pay it off are in tier 1 credit therefore their answer may be a little different. If you have bad credit and you want to build your credit.. you should consider financing. Anyone can correct me if you think i'm wrong. It's my opinion and i don't have exact number to prove it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(poinciana @ Nov 19 2007, 10:00 PM) [snapback]541769[/snapback]</div>

Well, the best way to find out if the dealer will give you financing with your credit rating is to just go in and ask. I haven't seen any signs in the Toyota dealers' windows, but the used car lots make a big deal of "100% acceptance", so I'd imagine that there's a good chance they'd work something out with you. You might want to ask your bank/credit union before you go so you have an idea of a potential counter-offer. It might also be worthwhile to consider leasing for a year or three to build your credit rating before buying outright.

I'm in a somewhat similar situation with an old car that's "on it's last legs". Last summer, I sunk over $1000 of repairs into it, then it was stolen (twice!) and that racked up another $2200, followed by another $700 shortly thereafter (which was probably damage from the joyrides not noticed right away). For a 10 year old car that still made funny noises after all that, I figured it was done (that, and after it was stolen I didn't like being in it any more, the "ick" factor) and started my research to decide what to replace it with... but my dad had a good point when I discussed it with him. As much as the car moans, groans, shakes, rattles, and even leaks, it hasn't ever once left me high and dry by the side of the road, or even refused to start outright, so it's not really on its last legs until that happens, and while the repair cost looks to be more than the car is worth, it might be the last one so wait until the next repair estimate comes up before getting rid of it. Cross my fingers and touch wood, but it's still going 13 months later -- and while none of the odd noises have gone away, no new ones have cropped up. And all the while I've been able to put away money for the down payment on the Prius to come...

Now, I don't know you at all, so try not to take this the wrong way, but... if everyone around you is telling your not to strain your budget with a new car, then maybe you shouldn't strain your budget with a new car. There are a number of ways one can get a bad credit rating: a billing error somewhere along the line, a mistaken report sent to the credit agencies, identity theft, fraud, an illness or emergency or layoff making ends meet impossible, and of course: being bad with money. If it's the last case for you (and again, I'm just some random guy on the internet, so I don't know your personal situation), then it can't hurt to get a second opinion from a trusted friend, accountant, or debt counsellor. Make sure you're not being overly optimistic when you figure that you can easily afford a new Prius, even at inflated/penalizing loan interest rates; don't neglect to leave a cushion in the budget for savings/emergencies, etc...

 

I'd strongly recommend checking with a local credit union first for financing before heading off to the Toyota dealer. The credit union will give you a fair offer without trying to cheat you for whatever they can get.

Just knowing your financing situation before going to the dealership makes the purchasing process much less stressful. Many times the dealer will counter offer with a better intrest rate, but hey if they don't no big deal

I would also recommend that before you go to the dealer that you schedule an appointment with their internet sales manager which should give a price advantage over just walking in.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(poinciana @ Nov 19 2007, 11:00 PM) [snapback]541769[/snapback]</div>

If you really can afford it, then make sure that the loan has no early repayment penalties and pay it off over the next few months. If the biggest payments you can make will barely allow a loan with a 60 month or longer term, then you really can't afford it now.

Keeping the most expensive used car running is always less expensive than paying off the loan on a new car. You can buy a whole lotta repairs for $500 per month.

 

Shop for financing Before you visit the Dealer. Show up, at the dealer, with a Bank Draft.

Check with your Credit Union- Bank (s)

The Dealer will check your credit record.and depending upon your score charge you accordingly.

Low score equals a High Rate

High Score equals a Low rate.

Cheers !!