Consumer Car Buying Advice Blog

Consumers with bad credit and realistic expectations can take advantage of year end new car incentives on an affordable car vehicle to keep their monthly payments low and their interest expenses down on a bad credit auto loan.

Credit repair and car loans

At Auto Credit Express we are in the business of helping people reestablish their car credit by filling out our online credit application and financing either a new or a newer pre-owned vehicle with auto loans for bad credit. By doing this, many of our applicants have been able to raise their credit scores and reestablish their auto credit by financing a vehicle through one of our affiliate dealers.

But the process of reestablishing your car credit can be more expensive than necessary if you choose the wrong car. A vehicle that’s too costly can also stretch the budgets of many credit-challenged consumers and, in a worst case scenario, even result in repossession. If this happens, the only remaining choice for most buyers is a tote the note dealer. It also means that rebuilding your auto credit has to be put on hold for at least a year, since most bad credit auto loan lenders will only consider applicants if a repossession is more than a year old.

The right vehicle

It may sound odd, but our customers rarely ask what kind of car they should get with a bad credit car loan. They know what they want and, unfortunately, it’s usually not a small to midsized car. But getting a dream car with a loan designed to reestablish your credit is not the best idea. Here’s why:

Ditching the dream car idea

While many credit challenged customers want to buy a large crossover or another type of expensive vehicle, buying anything of this kind really doesn’t make any sense at this point in time. The high interest rates charged by bad credit lenders will put the payment at the very edge of most budgets, while the insurance costs will make owning it even more expensive.

The alternative is to finance a small to midsize car and, if your budget can handle it, financing it for the shortest term possible to save on interest expenses. By financing a car for a shorter term, you should be in a position to re-finance or purchase a newer vehicle in two years or less at a lower interest rate. Carry this second contract for another two years and, with other improvements in your credit, you could be ready to finance the car of your choice at close to normal interest rates.

New or used

In order to do this, most bad credit car loan customers choose an affordable used car. But there is another choice. Picking out an affordable new car also has its advantages.

New cars are usually more reliable than used cars, but often the added expense puts them out of reach for many auto loans for bad credit customers. Fortunately, new car incentives, usually in the form of “customer cash”, can not only lower the price of a new vehicle, it can also contribute to the down payment requirements of many subprime lenders.

With nearly four weeks left in August, bad credit auto loan buyers still have time to take advantage of the following deals on some very affordable new cars:

Top 10 August new car deals

Today, we’ve taken the time to combine the most affordable new vehicles in the U.S. with their current rebates to come up with the ten most affordable vehicles for the month of August, 2010. It should be noted that all vehicle prices include destination charges, but not the taxes or official fees that vary by state.

#10 – 2009 Kia Rio5 LX
Base price – $14,020
August rebate – $2,500
Price before taxes – $11,520
The Rio5 is the hatchback version of Kia’s most affordable model. Add in the best warranty in the industry along with a hefty $2,500 rebate and you have a real winner.

#9 – 2010 Kia Rio base model
Base price – $12,390
August rebate – $1,000
Price before taxes – $11,390
A $1,000 rebate plus one of the best warranties in the industry makes the 2010 Kia Rio base model an excellent value.

#8 – 2009 Kia Spectra base model
Base price – $14,245
August rebate – $3,000
Price before taxes – $11,245
The Spectra is a larger car than either the Rio or the Yaris and comes with Kia’s 5 year 60,000 mile basic warranty plus an additional 10 year 100,000 mile power train warranty.

#7 – 2010 Nissan Versa base model
Base price – $10,730
August rebate – $0
Price before taxes – $10,730
The 2010 Versa is one of the great automotive values for August, coming in at less than $11,000 before taxes and fees.

#6 – 2011 Nissan Versa base model
Base price – $10,730
August rebate – $0
Price before taxes – $10,730
The Versa is one of the really good automotive values for April. Even though there is no rebate for August it still comes in at less than $11,000 before taxes and fees and it’s a 2011 model to boot.

#5 – 2009 Hyundai Accent base model
Base price – $10,690
August rebate – $0
Price before taxes – $10,690
Imagine getting a new car for under $11,000 before taxes and one of the longest warranties in the business. Although it is getting harder to find one of these, the 2009 Hyundai Accent is the most affordable car for August and should be on any bad credit car shopper’s short list of vehicles.

#4 – 2010 Chevrolet Aveo 5 LS
Base price – $12,835
August rebate – $2500
Price before taxes – $10,335
The 5-door hatch version is a step up from the base Aveo and offers a few more amenities in addition to the added versatility and cargo space of a hatchback. Throw in a $2,500 rebate and you have a great value for car loans with bad credit.

#3 – 2010 Hyundai Accent
Base price – $10,690
August rebate – $500
Price before taxes – $10,190
The Accent carries the same industry-leading warranty as the Kias. As such, bad credit car loan buyers will probably not need to buy an extended service contract.

#2 – 2010 Chevrolet Aveo LS
Base price – $12,685
August rebate – $2,500
Price before taxes – $10,185
Chevrolet’s least expensive sedan is built by GM’s Daewoo subsidiary in Korea and has the added advantage of being able to be serviced at any Chevrolet dealer.

#1 – 2009 Kia Rio base model
Base price – $12,190
August rebate – $2,500
Price before taxes – $9,690
A $2,500 rebate, a selling price of under $10,000 plus one of the best warranties in the business makes the 2009 Kia Rio the winner for August.

The Bottom Line

Rebates and customer cash are a great way to not only make a vehicle more affordable, but also contribute towards your down payment. In the case of the 2009 Kia Rio, you can buy a vehicle that would normally have a retail delivered price of over $13,000 (in most states) for around $10,500 in most states, after all taxes and fees.

Everyone needs a car. Before you buy a car from a local Tote the Note, We Finance Everyone car dealer, consider applying for a bad credit auto loan from Auto Credit Express, a leading national car buying service for people with bad credit. Our credit application is encrypted so your personal information is secure, and you can fill it out in the comfort and security of your home.

So why not begin the process of rebuilding your credit by filling out our online car loan application now.

Tags: august new car deals, auto credit, Bad Credit, car credit, chevrolet aveo, credit, Credit Repair, credit score, hyundai accent, kia rio, kia spectra, new car deals, new car incentives, nissan versa, repossession, tote the note

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