I always like to answer questions that I get asked often. Financing and automobile with bad credit can be very difficult. Beware; not understanding how the system works can cause you big problems.
As President of Credit Education for CureMyScore.com, my first answer would be to understand how credit and credit scoring works. Ideally, consumers would work on improving their credit prior to attempting to make an automobile purchase. Many consumers have no understanding of how credit scoring works and think they are doomed for life. This is never the case.
I personally do not do auto financing but I know many people who do. I decided to go right to the source to determine the number one reason people get denied for automobile financing. According to Gary Lee, the General Manager at Century 3 Chevrolet, “it all depends on the customer, most often customers are denied due to their credit scores or lack of income.” The higher the credit scores, the easier it is to get financed. Mr. Lee offered a tip for those with impaired credit, “by making a 10%-20% down payment, the chance for approval is much greater.”
Here are a few tips for those of you who have impaired credit and don’t have the time to improve it:
I hope this gives you a better idea of the challenges that exist when attempting to buy an automobile with bad credit.