Consumer Car Buying Advice Blog

FICO answers a few questions that might be of interest to credit challenged consumers applying for horrible credit auto loans

You should know

As someone applying for a problem credit auto loan you need to understand how credit scores work.

We understand the need for this because we’ve been a part of bad credit car sales for twenty years here at Auto Credit Express. As a result of this involvement, we even created a website so consumers can research such issues as gap insurance and child support income as well as today’s topic, FICO scores.

One of the best sources to explain credit scores would certainly be the people from FICO, who not long ago conducted a joint “TweetChat” with Bankrate.com.

Here are a few of the questions and answers from that session that should be of interest to anyone applying for bad credit auto loans:

TweetChat questions and answers

Does my credit score determine whether I get credit?

Your score will likely play a big part in that decision, but lenders won’t all view your score the same way. That’s because lenders have different tolerances for risk. Some lenders will require a higher score than others do for the same basic credit product. Also, lenders often will consider other information in addition to your score as they make their decision. This can include information from your credit application (such as income, length of time on your job, own vs. rent), any prior credit experience you have had with that lender, and the value of the property (auto or real estate) you want to buy.

What can I do to significantly improve my credit score in the next couple of days?

There are no quick fixes when it comes to improving your credit standing. Getting a good FICO® Score is the result of maintaining responsible credit habits over time. The most import of these habits are:

• Pay your bills on time
• Keep any credit card balances low
• Apply for new credit only when necessary

You also should check your credit reports for accuracy. You can get your reports for free once each year from www.annualcreditreport.com.

Does checking my own credit report or credit score hurt my FICO Score?

No. When you check your own FICO Score or credit report, the resulting inquiry on your credit report is ignored by the FICO scoring formula and will never hurt your FICO Score.

Are the FICO Scores sold to consumers by myFICO.com an approximation of the score lenders see?

FICO Scores sold by myFICO.com are precisely the same scores used in credit decisions by thousands of U.S. lenders and other businesses, large and small. Other websites may sell scores that imitate the FICO Score in look and feel, but they use different formulas, have different score ranges, and may mislead people into taking inappropriate actions with their credit. Genuine FICO Scores are always clearly labeled as such.

The Bottom Line

Understanding how credit scores work is an important step in your credit repair.

Another important step, if you need a car and have bad auto credit, is that at Auto Credit Express we specialize in placing our applicants with dealers that can give them their best chance at getting approved for a bad credit car.

So if you’re ready to take that first step in improving your car credit, you can begin now by filling out our online car loans bad credit application.

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