Back to School Cars for Credit-Challenged Buyers

Finding the right back to school vehicle can be a challenge if you have less than perfect credit. We take a look at four of the most affordable and highest rated back to school cars for credit-challenged buyers.

Going Back to School while Repairing Your Credit

Back to school time can be tough for both students and parents that have experienced credit problems.

We were reminded of this recently when the editors at Kelley Blue Book came out with an article titled "10 Best Back-To-School Cars."

According to Jack R. Nerad, of Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com, "Every parent believes that a good back-to-school car is practical, functional, safe and affordable, and every student believes it's far more important to have something fun and stylish. Our annual 10 Best Back-to-School Cars list has something for everyone, including cars that both parents and kids can agree on."

So, we took a look at the list and were able to pare it down to four vehicles that could be affordable for borrowers with credit issues – those with an MSRP of under $17,000 (all are equipped with a manual transmission, an automatic is usually $1,000 to $1,400 more). Here's what we came up with (with their placement on KBB's list in parenthesis):

1 (1). 2015 Honda Fit
MPG: 29/37/32 city/highway/combined
Horsepower: 130
MSRP: $16,470

3 (5). 2015 Nissan Versa Note
MPG: 27/36/30 city/highway/combined
Horsepower: 109
MSRP: $15,005

4 (8). 2015 Ford Fiesta sedan
MPG: 28/36/31 city/highway/combined
Horsepower: 120
MSRP: $14,915

Here's what Jack R. Nerad said about the number one car that also made our list, "The 2015 Honda Fit came to the head of the class once again as our No. 1 Back-to-School Car this year. The Fit might just be the most versatile vehicle on this list, able to carry as much gear as a small crossover, yet boasting a much smaller footprint and better fuel economy. The list also contains other terrific choices that are as fun-to-own as they are affordable to own."

Here are balance of KBB's choices, which we deemed too pricey, with their placement on Kelley's list in parenthesis, were the 2015 Mazda Mazda3 (3), 2016 Honda HR-V (4), 2016 Scion iM (6), 2015 Chevrolet Colorado (7), 2015 Subaru Impreza (9) and the 2015 Mini Hardtop 2 Door (10) (5).

The Bottom Line

Not all borrowers with credit issues, students or parents, will be given the option of financing a new car, but if they are and the approval is through one of the franchises listed above, they probably wouldn't go wrong choosing any one of these "back to school" cars.

Here's another tip: Auto Credit Express helps applicants that have experienced car credit problems find dealers that can give them their best chances for car loan approvals.

So, if you're ready to take that first step in reestablishing your auto credit, you can begin now by filling out our online car loan request form.