Tag Archives: poor credit

Approved Loan Store Helps Customers Avoid “Sin” of Car Buying

NBC news affiliate WPTZ recently published a story about the 7 “sins” or pitfalls that consumers make while shopping for a car. The usual pitfalls were included like not doing research before going to the dealership and picking a new car that isn’t as nice over a used model of a better car.

The third “sin” of car buying, though, was one that Approved Loan Store understands very well. Not knowing your financial status (including your credit score) before going into a dealership is one of the biggest mistakes a consumer can make when shopping for a car. If your credit score is below par, you could wind up getting rejected several times and getting unnecessary inquiries put on your credit report. The article recommends applying online through a service like Approved Loan Store so you can get more information about your available options. They also noted that these services expedite the process and lead to a better and more informed decision.

No matter what your credit situation, Approved Loan Store wants to help you get into a new or used car today! Fill out our auto loan application here, and keep up to date on the latest auto news by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter. Also, check out our YouTube channel and watch video testimonials by real Approved Loan Store customers!

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High Auto Sales Predicted for March

Will March be the best month yet this year for American automakers? U.S. auto sales have continued to surprise even the most optimistic analysts, and now, it is expected that March sales will make the beginning of 2012 the best quarter in four years.

The Fiscal Times attributes the soaring auto sales to two factors. First, the economy is improving. It might not always seem like it, but the economy is improving slowly but surely. Second, car buyers are having an easier time finding financing. Part of that is due to services like Approved Loan Store which help people with poor credit and good credit alike get into a car.

Car ownership is an important part of economic recovery. Rising car sales are not only a sign that people have money to spend, it also shows that people are taking steps to avoid future problems. Car ownership has a strong correlation with less dependance on public assistance because employees are not dependent on public transportation and are not limited to employment options close to bus lines or subways. The fact that people are choosing car ownership is very encouraging to both U.S. automakers and Americans hoping for economic recovery.

Will you be shopping for a new or used vehicle in March? Make your search easier by applying through Approved Loan Store here, and make sure to like Approved Loan Store on Facebook and following Approved Loan Store on Twitter to keep up with the latest auto news and trends.

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Bad Credit? Get Approved!

At Approved Loan Store, we like bad credit, and we love making it easy for you to get a new or used car today! We have interest rates as low as 6% and every kind of make and model. Stop wasting time shopping around, and let us find the best deal for you! Click above to apply today!

Survey: Car Ownership Leads to Less Public Assistance, Welfare

A recent survey of low-income Americans showed that car ownership can be the difference between a continued struggle or getting off of public assistance altogether.

The survey was conducted from 2007 to 2010 and included 445 loan recipients who were on public assistance. Of those recipients, a shocking 82 percent got off of welfare, accounting for $18.2 million in savings. Even more shocking, the program cost less than half of what was saved in public assistance money.

For millions of Americans, a car is essential to work. Public transit is not always available, or if it is available, it has been scaled back with bus or train lines closing or running on a limited schedule. When a family goes through a financial crisis and does not have access to a car, getting back to a normal life is an uphill battle. This study shows that if more people with no credit or damaged credit can get into a car, everyone benefits. The car buyers can rebuild their credit and open themselves up to more job opportunities, and less people will need to rely on public assistance.

Approved Loan Store is here to help. Good credit or bad credit, we want to help you get into a new or used vehicle. Fill out our auto loan application here, and like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to keep up to date on the latest auto loan news.

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Men or Women: Who are the Better Car Shoppers?

Cars and cars culture have long been considered a man’s world. Whether or not that is a sexist viewpoint is up for debate, but the stereotype of a car nut is a rough-and-tumble man. A recent study, however, is shaking up the notion of gender and car knowledge.

According to the study, more than two-thirds of women paid to get a third-party inspection on an out-of-state lease transfer compared to only 54.5 percent of men. Women buyers were also more likely to ask the right questions about the car including safety performance, the ownership and incident history, and how the car will function under specific conditions. Their male counterparts were much more interested in the aesthetics of the car, its engine performance, the vehicle’s technology, and its driving performance as a whole.

What is really interesting about the study, though, is the implications for future women car shoppers. When the study was broken down based on age, there were significantly more women ages 21 to 30 getting a third-party inspection than men. 42.3 percent of men, less than half, got a third-party inspection while 78.2 percent of women opted to get the inspection. This means that young women are being smarter, being more careful, and overall being more practical than men their own age.

No matter what your age, gender, or credit, Approved Loan Store wants to help you get into a great new or used vehicle. Fill out our car loan application here, and like us on Facebook to see testimonials by real Approved Loan Store customers. Also, make sure to follow us on Twitter to get the latest news and updates from Approved Loan Store.

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Volvo’s Pedestrian Airbags Stun Geneva Motor Show

Car safety technology has advanced dramatically in recent years with every kind of protection put into place for the driver. In a bold new move, however, Volvo is looking beyond just the safety of the driver and passengers and creating new safety features for pedestrians.

The Volvo V40’s pedestrian airbag was unveiled this week at the Geneva Motor Show. A video of the airbag in action has gone viral, and people already want to know when pedestrian airbags will be coming to the United States. In the video demonstration, the Volvo V40 collides with a crash dummy which falls onto the hood of the car. When the airbags deploy, the hood tilts back and slows the crash dummy’s speed towards the windshield, and the U-shaped airbag cushions the crash dummy and prevents them from flying through the windshield without completely blocking the driver’s view.

Sadly, it seems that Europeans will be getting Volvo’s pedestrian airbags long before we do, though I’m sure that American-made automakers are already working on their own versions. Still, the Volvo V40 demonstration is a fun look into the future of cars, and hopefully it will inspire more inventors to dream and come up with the next big thing in car technology.

Looking for a new or used car? Approved Loan Store can help! Fill out our car loan application here, and like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to keep up to date on the latest auto news.

Auto Loan Delinquency Drop Means Good News for Customers and Auto Industry

February was a great month for the American auto industry. Sales were up and surpassed most analysts’ expectations, and in another bit of good news, more people are making their car payments on time.

Near the end of last year, auto loan delinquencies dropped to 0.46 percent. During the same time in 2010, delinquencies were .59 percent. This might seem like a tiny percentage, but it is actually fairly unusual to see such a low delinquency rate near the end of the year. Transunion’s automotive vice president Peter Turek explained, “Normally there is a seasonal upswing in auto delinquency rates…auto delinquency rates have shown upward movements between third and fourth quarters averaging in excess of 5 percent. Ending the year flat is particularly interesting because the number of new auto loans coming onto the books has consistently increased since the end of the recession, a primary driver of which has been an expansion in lending to consumers in the subprime market.”

What does this all mean? Well, more people are getting car loans. More car loans at that point in the year should mean more delinquencies, but one of the reasons why so many people are getting auto loans is to rebuild their credit. People are still in recovery mode, particularly with their credit health, and auto loans are a good option for re-establishing credit. If they don’t make their payments on time, then their credit won’t get any better. All around, this is a win-win for the auto industry and customers. For the auto industry, sales are up and delinquencies are down, and for customers, their credit will continue improving.

Good credit, bad credit, or no credit, Approved Loan Store wants to help you get an auto loan. Fill out our auto loan application here, and like us on Facebook to keep up with the latest auto loan trends. You can also see video testimonials from real Approved Loan Store customers on YouTube.

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Ford SYNC’s New Texting Feature: Safety Feature or Another Driver Distraction?

As concerns about texting while driving are on the rise, Ford SYNC is heading off concerns with a new upgrade which will keep driver’s eyes on the road and off their phones.

The Ford SYNC previously let drivers make calls, play music from iPods and other music devices, and access directions through voice-activated technology. There are also emergency features built in. SYNC will call 9-11 if the car is in an accident. Now, Ford has added more voice-activated controls for tablets, including texting. If prompted, the SYNC will even read back text messages to the driver.

The issue of “distracted driving” as it has been coined in the media is a contentious one. Even with these upgrades, the MyFord Touch technology and correspondingly the Ford SYNC have been under fire from consumer groups and the press for being difficult to use and prone to glitches. Critics of the Ford SYNC would argue that these upgrades and new features could be just as distracting as calling or texting while driving, if not more so. The driver is still dividing their attentions between driving and their call or text. Hands-free or not, these features are still a distraction.

Readers, we want to hear from you! Do you currently have any hands-free phone devices in your car, and do you think the Ford SYNC is a step forward or just another driving distraction? Leave a comment below, and head over to our Facebook page to vote in this week’s fan poll. If you’re looking to get into a new car, head over to our Approved Car Loan page today!

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Debunking Common Credit Score Myths

What’s your credit score? This is a question that defines so much in our lives. It determines loan rates, the ability to refinancing a home, credit card rates, and the list goes on. Your credit score is a magic number that’s kept in secret by the major credit score agencies because for the longest time, FICO didn’t want consumer to even know that these scores were out there. They sure weren’t even going to let people know what exactly went into giving a score. It wasn’t until early in 2000 that the curtain was pulled back a little and customers were given a chance to see their FICO scores. This was due to tremendous pressure from both politicians and consumer advocates. Now people have a better understanding of what they can do to improve their credit scores to give them a better shot at the best rates. That knowledge, however, is a double sided coin that has lead to many myths being passed along to improve scores.

One such myth is as long as you handle finance properly, then the credit score will just take care of itself. The problem with this thinking is that a credit score doesn’t simply examine your financing health. Credit scores tell lenders how likely you’ll default based on how you handle credit which is why having no credit can be just as bad as poor credit.

Another rampant myth in credit scores is that to have a good score you must carry a credit card balance. What’s being reported to the agencies is the balance from your last statement, not a leftover from when you got the statement and paid it. This myth can cause people to carry debt that is completely unnecessary under the belief that it affects a credit score in a positive manner. This is not true, and you should pay your bills in full anyway just to avoid interest.

Next myth that needs debunking is that you should never close an account if if can be helped. This falsehood exists because people are under the impression that closing unused accounts can help scores. That just isn’t true. Having unused or available credit can actually be seen as a low-risk factor viewed favorably by FICO. Closing a credit card removes available credit. Just shutting down unused accounts will not instantly improve your score.

These are just a few of many of the credit myths that have managed to weave their way into society. It’s hard to blame anyone seeing as how the credit agencies keep everything about the process so secretive. For anyone looking to finance a car, it’s important to have a grasp on your credit score. That being said, Approved Loan Store is looking to work with you, should you have excellent or bad credit. Go to the website today and check out how they can help you find the car or truck of your choice at an affordable price with the best rates. Follow on Facebook as well so you can view all future tips and news.

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Low Income Drivers Struggling to Find Reasonable Auto Insurance

Car Insurance is something that many drivers struggle with. By law, they are required to have it for their cars. The problem is that many have issues with even affording it. Due to things, such as credit problems, many are not getting a fair chance to get reasonable insurance.

The Consumer Federation Of America recently released a study called, “Lower Income Households and the Auto Insurance Marketplace: Challenges and Opportunities.” The study shows some of the ways that low income consumer are being denied economic opportunities in the auto insurance market. A couple of the major auto insurers are even refusing to sell policies to low income customers. The ones that do sell them are often at much higher premiums and give much less coverage.

The startling number the study reveals is that a third of low income drivers don’t even have insurance. That means that low income families have an incredibly hard, almost impossible, time getting qualified for an auto loan. The Consumer Federation of America is wanting state regulators to lead a charge in getting something done. They are asking for low income families to be able to get access to insurances by lowering minimum liability coverage requirements, by creating low income purchasing programs, and starting a program that will reward safe drivers.

Buyers shouldn’t have to be concerned if the insurance deal they are getting is for the best. They should be concerned about getting the car they want. Approved Loan Store is looking to make sure that buyers get the best deal for a car loan. Check it out today on their website and be sure to follow ALS on Facebook to stay up to date on all the latest news and offerings.