There are a number of issues that have to be dealt with in your situation.

To answer your first question, individuals are often able to finance a new cars as well as a 2 to 3-year-old low-mileage used cars with second chance auto loans. Because of the price of new cars and the higher interest rates associated with these types of loans, if you do qualify for a new car it has to be affordable – in most cases under 18K or so.

Even though your bankruptcy was discharged over seven years ago, there still may be records in your credit report showing that they were part of a BK.

The bigger issue is that you’re an independent contractor and not a salaried employee. This is not necessarily bad in and of itself, but lenders that offer subprime loans look for proof of this income. In your case, this means they will require 2 to 3 years of income tax returns that show an adjusted gross income (after you expense everything out on your schedule C) of the $35-45 per year that you claim you make.

If you do have this proof and debt out (meaning your expenses are reasonable for your income and, therefore, your debt-to-income ratio isn’t out of whack), then you should have a reasonable chance of qualifying for a second chance auto loan.

With your lack of credit (no car loans or credit cards), you need to plan on coming into this type of loan with at least 15 to 20% down – the more the better (in fact with 50% down you’d probably qualify for any reasonably-priced new car).

But even if you don’t qualify for the new car you want, right now it’s more important that you take the first step to re-establish your car credit. At this point in time, a 2 to 3 year old used car that is either certified or qualifies for a service contract (preferably covering the entire loan term) would put you on the road in the right direction.

One more thing: if you limit the loan term to 36 to 48 months, you should be able to trade out of this car in 18 to 24 months and into a new loan with a lower interest rate (provided you pay the rest of your bills on time).

Best of luck to you.

There are a couple of reasons that some lenders don’t lend to dealer employees which includes but is not limited to a possible conflict of interest. In addition, salespeople are mainly paid on a commission basis, making it difficult to predict an actual yearly income. Typically this does not apply to administrative dealership employees.

In addition, though there are lenders that will work with $1600 minimum income, many bad credit lenders have increased or at least been more “tight” recently at a minimum of $2000 per month.

There is a good chance you can get a loan, but it may be because you have not run into the right dealer with the right lenders and vehicles. Another reason also could be that you don’t budget for a vehicle based on your debt to income. In other words, without knowing your monthly bills, it’s hard to know whether or not you might qualify for a car loan.

There are some banks that will work with you even though you have a repossession on your record. You will have to pay a higher interest rate on your new loan but that can come down as the more positive credit you maintain will offset those negative accounts over time.

If you are willing to co-sign the loan, you’ll have a much better chance at getting approved – especially if the repossession is less than a year old. In addition, the chance of an approval will also be dependent upon how much of a down payment you can bring to the table. My guess is that with a FICO score in the 500 range and a repo showing on his credit report, you’ll probably need 15 to 20 percent down.

If this is the case, I would suggest applying online at https://www.autocreditexpress.com/sem.

The first thing I would suggest doing is filling out our secure online car loan application at http://www.autocreditexpress.com/sem. If you have any questions before doing this, you can contact our customer service department at 866-902-4403 or by emailing us at support@goacegroup.com.

Unfortunately, for security reasons, we are unable to take customer credit applications over the phone.