The type of bad credit you have is as important as your FICO score if you are applying for a subprime car loan.

Your credit file

Getting a car loan with a history of bad credit is more common than you may think. At Auto Credit Express, for more than 19 years we have been helping people with all types of poor credit buy a car and reestablish their credit at the same time. The type of car loan a consumer qualifies for, however, depends on the kinds of items listed in their bad credit history.

Types of credit

As an example, if a majority of the bad credit history listed in the credit files from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion is from non-applied for credit items, the car loan you may qualify for will most likely be at better interest rates and terms than consumers with a bad credit history from applied for credit items. Here is the difference:

Non applied for credit history

Sometimes items show up on a credit report that aren't credit items at all - they are bills that went unpaid, or are other amounts owed, that ended up at a collection agency. Many of the most common non-applied for items include such entries as:

• Bad Checks
• Medical Bills
• Utility Bills
• Civil Judgments
• Tax Liens

While these bad credit history items will definitely lower your credit score, rarely will they prevent you from getting a bad credit car loan.

Applied for credit history

Items on your credit history that you applied for show up regardless of your payment history. In other words, they can raise or lower your score (By their very nature, non applied for items can only lower you score. If you pay your bills on time, non applied for items will never show up on your credit report). Common applied-for items include:

• Car Loans
• Mortgage Loans
• Credit Cards
• Personal Loans
• Home Equity Loans

Most applied for credit history items will not prevent you from getting a car loan, especially if they happened a while ago and are now resolved. There is, however, one bad credit history item that would result in most lenders declining your credit application: repossession.

Specifically, if you've had a recent car repossession, and the car loan involved with it was not included in a bankruptcy, it will be nearly impossible to get auto financing through a subprime lender.

Looking on the bright side, if your bureau report does not includes a repossession outside of bankruptcy and you otherwise meet the minimum car loan qualifications, there is a good chance you should be able to get a bad credit history car loan.

The bottom line

At Auto Credit Express, our business is to help people with bad, blemished, bruised and tarnished credit buy cars and reestablish their credit at the same time. For more information regarding bad credit history and other types of subprime car loans, feel free to visit our web site at www.autocreditexpress.com.