Tag Archives: TransUnion

Getting an Auto Loan After a Repossession – It’s Possible!

After going through an auto repossession, is it impossible to get approved for an auto loan? The answer is that, surprisingly, it is possible, and with the current availability of auto loans, it is probable that someone could get approved.

Here are a few tips to give you the best possible chance at getting approved before even walking through the door.

Check Your Credit Report – A repossession won’t be a deal breaker if the rest of your credit history is in order. Maybe you made a few mistakes in the past or went through a job loss or medical emergency, and you missed a few payments. Maybe the repossession is one mistake in an otherwise decent credit history. It is important to get a copy of your credit report and your FICO score so you know where you stand. A repossession will put a dent in your credit score, but if you have otherwise kept up with your other loan or credit card payments, your credit score might not be as bad as you think.
Bring Money and Your Documents – If you expect to get an auto loan that day, you will need a valid driver’s license, recent pay stubs, utility bill that proves residency (electric, not cell phone), and either a W2 from the previous year or last year’s federal tax return. Also, the chances of getting approved are improved if you bring money to put down, so bring whatever you can reasonably afford.
Keep An Open Mind – Is it possible to get the car of your dreams, even if you have gone through a repossession? It is possible for some people under specific circumstances, but you might find a better deal if you go in with an open mind. Maybe instead of the new car you have been eyeing, you decide to go for a nice pre-owned vehicle and get a better rate or lower monthly payments.

Are you ready to get into a great new or used car, truck, or minivan? Now is the time to buy, and Approved Loan Store can help you find the car you want at terms you can afford, even if you have credit problems! Get started today by filling out our secure online auto loan application here, and for more auto news and buying tips, like Approved Loan Store on Facebook, follow Approved Loan Store on Twitter, and subscribe to Approved Loan Store on YouTube!

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Auto Loan FAQ: What is Bringing Down My Credit Score?

At Approved Loan Store, we work with a wide range of customers every day. For some of them, they have gone through the car buying process before, and this is their second or third car. For others, however, we are helping them purchase their first car. Buying your first car with good credit can be intimidating, but buying your first car with poor credit or no credit can be downright frustrating. Over the next few weeks, we will answer some of our most-asked questions here on the blog, and we encourage our readers to comment below with any other questions you would like us to address!

Question: I just looked at my credit score for the first time in, well, forever! Wow, I didn’t expect it to be that low! I pulled a free copy of my credit report, but after looking over it, I realized that I don’t know what I should be looking for. What accounts on my credit report are bringing down my credit score?

Answer: First off, here is a tip for reading your credit report. Your credit report is basically a compilation of your lines of credit, both open and closed, and a detailed account of your payment history on each account. The first thing you want to do before worrying about late payments, charge-offs, etc. is to review the list of accounts and see if anything doesn’t look familiar. Identity theft is more common than you might think, and your score could be low because someone opened accounts in your name. If you don’t recognize an account, it is important to start the dispute process with the credit bureaus immediately either on your own or with a professional company like My Credit Specialist.

If all of your accounts check out, the next step is to look over your payment history. Were you 30 or 60 days late on your credit card? Also, don’t forget to look at the status of the account. Typical status descriptions include “In Good Standing,” “Open,” “Closed,” or “Charged Off.” The best possible status for an account is open and in good standing. Closing an account like a credit card can actually hurt your credit score because you have less available credit, raising your credit utilization. You can read more about credit utilization and how it affects your credit score here (http://blog.approvedloanstore.com/2013/08/auto-loan-faq-how-is-my-credit-score-calculated/).

Finally, take a look over your accounts and find the oldest open account. Part of a person’s credit score is based on the length of their credit history. If your oldest account is only a few years old, the best way to improve that score is continuing to pay it on time, apply for other types of credit like an auto loan, and have patience.

Still have questions about credit and the Approved Loan Store program? Give us a call toll-free at 877-217-2217, or visit us online at www.ApprovedLoanStore.com. You can also get more car buying and credit tips by liking Approved Loan Store on Facebook, following Approved Loan Store on Twitter, and subscribing to Approved Loan Store on YouTube!

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Getting Approved: It’s Not Always About Credit

Want to hear the credit industry’s best-kept secret? It is possible to have a great credit score and still get turned down for an auto loan.

Every day at the Approved Loan Store, we work with customers who have been turned down for auto loans at other dealerships. Many of our customers have bad credit or no established credit, but there are some people who come to us with a good or great credit score and can’t get approved for an auto loan.

How is this possible? Most of the time, they have made their payments on time and maintained a low balance on their credit cards which explains their stellar credit score. Unfortunately, their credit reports lack variety and a long credit history. John Doe might have paid his credit card on time for 10 years, but if that credit card is the only account on his report, he probably won’t be approved for an auto loan. Jane Doe might have a couple of credit cards and her student loans listed on her report, but if those credit cards have only been open for a year, she isn’t likely to get approved either.

Yahoo! Contributor Jennifer Budd ran into this problem when she tried to trade in her 1997 Nissan Maxima for a new car. Despite her 737 credit score, she was denied by three different banks before finally getting an approval. She discovered that she was turned down because she only had one credit card listed on her report. While she should be commended for paying that card on time for over ten years, she needed more variety on her report.

Whatever your credit situation, Approved Loan Store wants to help YOU get into the car you want at terms you can afford! Get started today by filling out our secure online auto loan application here, and for more auto news and buying tips, like Approved Loan Store on Facebook, follow Approved Loan Store on Twitter, and subscribe to Approved Loan Store on YouTube!

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Auto Loan FAQ: How is My Credit Score Calculated?

Question: I want to improve my credit score. What is my credit score based on?

Answer: A credit score is based on a number of factors including length of credit history, payment history, credit utilization (credit used compared to credit available), and variety of credit. To have an optimal credit score, a person needs to show the ability to obtain credit and make payments on time. They need to have a variety of accounts such as credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, or other personal house loans because it shows they can budget and manage several accounts at once.

Improving a credit score takes time, patience, and careful planning, but we have two tips we would like to recommend for improving a credit score. First, pay down your credit cards. This will lower the overall credit utilization and boost the score. Second, add some variety to your accounts such as an auto loan with the Approved Loan Store. We work with clients who have subprime credit every day and help them get an auto loan at terms they can afford. If you make your loan payments and all other payments on time, the credit bureaus will see another positive account, and your credit will improve.

Still have questions about our program? Give us a call toll-free at 877-217-2217, or visit us online at www.ApprovedLoanStore.com. You can also get more car buying and credit tips by liking Approved Loan Store on Facebook, following Approved Loan Store on Twitter, and subscribing to Approved Loan Store on YouTube!

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Auto Loan FAQ: How Can I Pull My Credit Report?

Question: I have no idea what is on my credit report. How can I get a copy of my credit report?

Answer: The best and easiest way to get a copy of your credit report is through AnnualCreditReport.com. You can pull a free copy of your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit reports, and if you want to view your credit score, they give you the option to purchase the score for a reasonable price.

Past delinquencies, unpaid accounts, and public records can all affect your credit health, and as a result, you might have to pay a higher interest rate than someone with a good or above-average credit score. Reviewing your credit report gives you the chance to catch any mistakes and set the proper expectations for yourself as you move forward in purchasing your vehicle. If your credit has suffered in the past, it might be a better idea to buy a lower-cost used car and make all payments on time. As you make your payments on time, you will establish a positive recent credit history, and then you can trade it in later for a new vehicle at a lower interest rate.

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Auto Loan FAQ: What is a DTI?

Question: What is a DTI, and what does it have to do with my approval?

Answer: DTI stands for “debt to income.” It is the amount of money owed by a person including rent, utility bills, car insurance, credit card bills, etc. compared to the income earned by that person. A person’s DTI determines how much they can afford to pay for their car each month. People with less debt and higher income will obviously have more options available. They can make a down payment or negotiate higher monthly payments for a lower interest rate.

Consumers that don’t have an optimal DTI, however, should still apply through the Approved Loan Store. Our special finance representatives have years of experience helping customers to get into cars, especially customers with challenged credit. As part of our one-on-one customer meetings, the special finance representative will explore all available options and find the best plan to suit each customer’s needs.

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Getting an Auto Loan Approval with Low or No Credit

Here at the Approved Loan Store, people ask us every day how we help people with poor credit or no credit to get an auto loan, particularly if they have been turned down at banks or dealerships. In today’s blog, we will shed some light on our program’s requirements and why meeting each of the requirements improve the chance of getting approved.

To qualify for the Approved Loan Store’s auto buying program, applicants must fulfill the following requirements.

Valid driver’s license
United States citizen
18 Years of Age or Older
Verifiable income of $1800/month minimum
Steady employment
No open bankruptcy

The first three requirements should be fairly obvious. Without a driver’s license, it is impossible to drive any purchased vehicle. Also, any lender will require documentation proving age and citizenship, so this is nothing out of the ordinary for any consumer getting an auto loan.

Consumers are usually most interested in the last three requirements. First, our customers need a verifiable income of $1800 so they can prove they are capable of paying an auto loan. W-2 workers only need to bring in pay stubs proving their income, but self-employed workers will need their tax filing paperwork from the past 2 years which has been prepared by a professional. Without the pay stubs or tax documents, the special finance representatives cannot verify your income, and the car buying process cannot move forward. Steady employment goes hand-in-hand with our income requirement. If the consumer cannot prove steady employment over the past year, a lender will be unlikely to approve their auto loan.

Finally, consumers with open bankruptcies cannot qualify for our program. When someone declares bankruptcy, it means that they cannot pay their debts. Banks are not going to approve an auto loan for a consumer who has stated that they cannot pay their current debts. A consumer who has declared bankruptcy cannot apply for an auto loan until the bankruptcy is discharged.

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To Co-Sign or Not to Co-Sign, That is the Question

In the Coen Brothers’ film The Hudsucker Proxy, there is a scene where Noville Barnes, a fresh-faced, ambitious young lad, goes to take a look at the city’s jobs board and makes a terrible discovery. Nearly every job available requires at least five years of business executive job experience, and he has almost no job experience at all. He cannot get a job without experience, and he cannot get job experience without first holding a job.

Establishing credit is a very similar experience. In order to get approved for a credit card or an auto loan, lenders want to see a history of paying credit cards and loans on time, but it is impossible to establish that payment history without first getting a credit card or loan. Consumers with no credit are stuck in a frustrating cycle. If they do somehow get approved for a credit card or loan, they can end up saddled with high interest rates, fall behind on payments, and end up with a poor credit history which is almost as bad as no credit at all.

For these reasons, I had difficulty reading the article “Why You Should Never Co-Sign for Your Kid.” The author takes the definitive stance that parents should “never” co-sign for their children. She seems to take the stance of tough love, saying that no credit is “no big deal.” It might seem like a big deal right now, but there are many circumstances under which a teenager having credit is necessary. I hate to say it, but what if something happened to the parents? What if there was an accident or a long illness and their child had to take on more financial responsibilities for the family? An emergency situation would hardly be the time to try to establish credit.

Even if nothing that drastic occurred, I will want my teenagers to be able to obtain low interest rates by the time they are living on their own. They will already have to deal with high student loan interest rates, and while I personally plan on helping them pay for college, many families can’t afford to do so. Are they supposed to worry about establishing credit when they are already facing a mountain of student loan debt?

I am not saying that it is always a good idea to co-sign a loan with a family member. There are plenty of circumstances where co-signing for a loan is not advised, but I don’t appreciate the author issuing a blanket statement that parents should never co-sign a loan for their child.

Readers, what do you think? Would you co-sign a loan for a family member, or do you think it is a bad idea? Leave a comment below, and let us know what you think!

Is your credit keeping you from getting an auto loan? Approved Loan Store wants to help YOU get into a new or used car! Good credit, bad credit, no credit, we will work with you to get a car you want at terms you can afford! Get started today by filling out our secure online auto loan application here, and for more auto news and buying tips, like Approved Loan Store on Facebook, follow Approved Loan Store on Twitter, and subscribe to Approved Loan Store on YouTube!

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Getting a Car Loan with Bad Credit: The Advantage of Trade-Ins

At Approved Loan Store, many of our customers ask about trade-ins when they set up an appointment. Can they trade in their car, and if they trade it in, how much will it help in buying their new car? In today’s blog, we are going to do a quick run-down of how trade-ins work and what advantage they can give to car shoppers, especially consumers with poor credit.

First off, how does a trade-in work? Let’s say that I have a car worth $14,000, and I currently owe $7,000 on it. I’m ready to buy a new car, but my credit isn’t good enough to just get a loan outright. Typically, I have three options available to me. One, I can hold onto my old car and save up enough money to make a large down payment on the new car. Two, I can hold onto my old car and find a co-signer with good credit. Three, I can trade in the car and put the value of it towards the new car.

The trade-in value of the vehicle can be calculated by subtracting the value of the car from how much is currently owed on the vehicle. For example, if I trade in the $14,000 car, it will count as about a $7,000 down payment on my next car. Note that the value of my hypothetical car is not how much the car was worth on the day that I bought it but rather what it is worth now. My hypothetical car has almost certainly gone down in value from the day I drove it of the lot. There are resources like Kelley Blue Book which list vehicles and their approximate trade-in values, so before I go to my Approved Loan Store appointment, I can know approximately what my vehicle is worth and how much I will be putting towards my new car.

Still have questions about trade-ins? Call Approved Loan Store today at 877-217-2217 and set up an appointment with a special finance representative today!

Is poor credit or no credit keeping you from getting the car you want? Approved Loan Store wants to help YOU! We will work with you and explore every possible option to get you into the car you want at terms you can afford! Get started today by filling out our secure online auto loan application here, and for more auto news and buying tips, like Approved Loan Store on Facebook, follow Approved Loan Store on Twitter, and subscribe to Approved Loan Store on YouTube!

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TransUnion: One-Third of Approved Auto Loans Are Subprime

With almost a third of all auto loans going to subprime buyers, it has never been easier to get an auto loan.

Figures from Experian and TransUnion, two of the 3 big credit bureaus, show that more people are getting approved for auto loans, and 32 percent of those auto loans are going to subprime borrowers. All these approvals for subprime borrowers have surprisingly not had an effect on the number of buyers who are delinquent 60 days or more on their payments. If anything, the rate has actually gone down from .94 percent in 2009 to .74 percent in 2012.

Industry insiders are attributing the low rate of delinquencies to consumers making their auto payments a higher priority. For many of these subprime borrowers, this is more than just buying a car. This is also a chance to rebuild their credit history and improve their credit score.

At Approved Loan Store, we work with customers every day who have a wide variety of credit standings. Some have stellar credit while others never established a credit history or they are struggling with subprime credit. We work with them to get a great car at terms they can afford, and we can do the same for you too!

Are you ready to get into a new or used car today? Get started by filling out our secure online auto loan application here, and for more auto news and buying tips, like Approved Loan Store on Facebook, follow Approved Loan Store on Twitter, and subscribe to Approved Loan Store on YouTube!

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net