Are you tired of hearing the word ‘No’ when it comes to a car loan? I explicitly wrote How To Buy A Car With Bad Credit specifically so that you could hear the words ‘yes’. Who am I, you ask?

I spent 14 years in the automobile business as a Finance Manager so I believe it’s fair to say that I know a thing or two about getting a loan approved and financed, irregardless of your past credit history.

Remember, regardless of your past credit history, you still need a car, want a car and most of all, you deserve a car. You should also be treated with respect and presented with choices. I’m going to teach you how to get hand-picked selections when financing a bad credit car loan and getting your approval the easy way. I know a few insider tips about Ford Motor Credit and all the other big name lenders that may help you here. First of all, all lenders now purchase deals based on what is called a beacon score, which is the same as your credit score. There are three credit bureaus that make up the package. Each lender will choose whichever credit bureau(s) they prefer when looking at your credit or a combination of bureaus. I highly advise everyone to have all three credit bureaus pulled when checking your credit and to pay for the credit score. If you only look at one bureau, you’re only seeing part of the whole picture. Keep in mind that each credit report will have different information listed on it. Bad credit car financing is an art and there is a skill to it. If your credit score happens to be around 600 or higher, Ford Motor and GMAC will look at your deal with the intention of purchasing it; there are a few exceptions. They are as follows: 1- You cannot have had a previous Ford Motor or GMAC repossession- 2- If you have had a repo with another lender, it needs to be a year or older; if you have had 2 repo’s, forget it and move onto another lender. 3- You can be freshly discharged from a bankruptcy, have a high enough beacon score and qualify for a loan with Ford Motor and GMAC. You just can’t have any negative credit after the bankruptcy was discharged. With the exception of these three things, beacon score will play a large part in your approval. Staying within your financial means is another, so be realistic. If you make $2500 per month and have $1200 going out, don’t walk in all high-and-mighty and tell the Finance Manager that you will only have an Expedition or nothing. You’ll end up with nothing.

In order to effectively use my system, you are going to have to know what your credit looks like and what your credit score actually is. Otherwise, you are working in the dark. Pay for the credit score or it’s just almost useless. With the credit score, you will know whether or not you qualify for a lender such as Ford or GMAC. Also, the higher the score, the lower the interest rate. Got it? With a bad credit loan, the higher the beacon score, the better.

Let me explain websites like cars.com and the like: They collect applications for car loans online. They then have a network of dealerships that PAY them for the leads. These are generally dealerships that have departments that specialize in getting you financed, regardless of your credit. These departments pay for these leads, so most take them very seriously, as they are their bread-and-butter, so to speak. If you have a lower than usual credit score, a current repo or just plain, all-around bad credit, this might be the way to go. If your credit is really, really bad, remember that you are going to need some cash or a paid-for trade in that’s actually worth something. O.K., now for the step-by-step system that I promised. First, take control of your car deal! You need to be in the driver’s seat, if at all possible. Go online and run a copy of a tri-merge, which is all three credit bureaus combined, plus pay for your credit score.

This is the new Federal law that actually entitles you to receive a FREE copy of your credit bureau once per year and with some other exceptions. This is not a credit monitoring site. You have to run each bureau separately; Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Then, you have to pay for the credit score seperately. So as to hold down on confusion, here’s the scoop: Each credit score for each separate bureau will be different. That’s why a Tri-Merge is called what it is called. You can run a specific bureau called a Tri-Merge from one company and you actually get one bureau (it’s actually all three combined but the credit score is also one credit score combined). It’s more expensive and generally runs around $34.00 but it just depends on your preference.

Now, with your credit score in hand and a copy(s) of your credit bureau, look at your credit. Do you have anything strange on there that is not yours? If so, it’s time to fix it. You should review your credit bureau at least every 6 months to a year. Plus, if your identity has been stolen, you will know quickly. P.S. you can also have a warning placed on the bottom of your bureau that simply states “Do not extend any credit on my behalf without contacting me first. Work # (111)222-3333 Home#(222)333-4444 Cell# (333)444-5555.” Call or write the credit bureaus and request that this is done. You can now do this online for free. Do a Google search for all three credit bureaus listed above;Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

In part two, I get into the process of picking out what you want to purchase, how to know your limit, what the payments will be, how to figure your debt-to-income and what NOT to do once at the dealership. I will show you how to accomplish all of this at home on your computer first before you ever step foot on a car lot. I’ll also coach you how to shop the car lot and never have a salesman in sight. Then I give you all the tips and tricks you will need once you have a check in hand to complete the deal and handle the finance office.

Alicia Guidry spent 14 years in the retail automobile business as a Finance Manager. You can check her site out at:
Bad Credit Card Applications