Even buyers with questionable credit can receive a free credit score to help them determine if they meet the financing qualifications for a car loan
We know the best things

While the best things in life are not always free at least in this case it happens to be true even for car shoppers with problem credit that want to know where they stand before applying for an auto loan.

At least that's our take on it here at Auto Credit Express where for more than two decades we've been helping consumers with bad credit find the kinds of new car dealers that can offer them their best opportunities for car loan approvals.

But in addition to that no-cost service (it's true, we don't charge for this service) there's something else these consumers can get their hands on that won't cost them a dime – and we're not talking about credit reports.

Get your Credit Karma

As far as getting things for free, just about everyone knows that one credit report per year from each of the major bureaus falls into this category. But practically everything else, including FICO scores, normally requires shelling out a few bucks.

In the case of credit scores, this usually means signing up for a service or combination of services offered by one of the three credit bureaus that can cost upwards of $15 per month or more.

In fact, this was the only game in town until San Francisco-based CreditKarma.com jumped into the game four years ago. Here's how the company explained the move back in December of 2008:

Credit Karma, a resource that helps empower consumers to actively manage their financial health, today announced an agreement with TrueCredit.com, a leading provider of credit reports and consumer credit education, that will enable consumers to obtain their TransUnion credit scores at no cost. Both companies believe that it is more important than ever to provide consumers with the tools and information to better understand how lenders are evaluating them.

"We are proud to partner with TrueCredit.com to provide consumers with the chance to access their score for free," said Kenneth Lin, founder and CEO of Credit Karma. "Credit scores are a window into one's financial health, and Credit Karma remains committed to giving consumers free access to that score as well as educating them about the tools they can use to understand it."

Just a small catch

One thing to note: this particular FICO score comes from TransUnion, so you need to keep in mind that your credit scores can vary from bureau to bureau. This means that your scores from Equifax and Experian will be different (at least to some extent) from the one you receive through the Credit Karma website.

There is one other small catch: in order to receive your score through Credit Karma you'll have to click through offers that are based on your credit score from various marketing companies in order to view the results.

To obtain your free TransUnion credit score from Credit Karma, visit their web site at: http://www.creditkarma.com/.

As we see it

While it's not perfect, one free credit score is certainly better than none and it should give you at least an idea of where you stand, credit-wise, in situations such as car finance with bad credit and unemployed.

The other free service mentioned earlier can be found at Auto Credit Express where we specialize in helping applicants find car dealers that can give them their best chances for approved car loans.

So if you're ready to reestablish your car credit, you can begin now by filling out our online car loans application.