Can You Get a Car Loan with Bad Credit? Part III of III

Another idea is to go to a credit union and become a member. Credit unions are famous for having less strict rules about giving out financing for car loans, even if you have bad credit. Plus, they like to be good to their members, so it is good to be a member for a while. If you apply and you have been a member of the credit union for about a year, maybe less, they will be more apt to overlook credit blemishes.

That is not to say that a bank won’t give you a car loan. Perhaps you have a bank you love, and you had a loan with them once before that you paid in a timely manner – they will be willing to do business with you again. However the reverse of that is true as well – if you had a loan with them and you defaulted on it, or you were consistently late with your payments they will be less likely to take a chance on you.

A co-signer is always a possibility as well. You can have someone with good credit sign with you, for this tells the banks that if you default on your car loan they can go after your friend. They will screen them to make sure they can afford the loan should they need to come after them for the money instead. Plus, this will give you good credit, and you can always refinance the loan once you have shown them that you are not a credit risk.

The most important thing you can do is go talk to a dealer and tell them your problem. Tell them you are going to need a bad credit car loan, and see if they can help you. If in any way they can, they will – they don’t want to lose your sale. If they can’t help you in their dealership, they might have other options for you. Either way, you will know what your chance are, and if you need to explore other options or if you just need to go try another dealership.

If you get an aggressive finance manager, they will be able to get a lot of things done that others won’t, so if you get turned down go talk to them and see if they are that type or not. If not, you might want to try another car dealership to see if that one is willing to earn your business.

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