Bad Credit

If you don’t have any credit, it makes it difficult to take out a loan, get a credit card, and even rent an apartment. So, what do you do when you don’t have any credit?

Typically, people who are looking for an auto loan tend to pick out a car first and look for financing second. This process may work for someone with good to great credit, but for many people—especially those with bad credit—the process works differently. And choosing the right dealer to meet your needs is important.

Buying a car with bad credit can be a challenge. You may face many bumps along the way such as a high interest rate, limited vehicle selection and down payment requirement. But, all of these things can be overcome with a little preparation—and the right dealer. Here, we look at the four things that you will need to provide to a dealer to get a subprime auto loan.

These tips for preparing to take out an auto loan with bad credit can guide you toward more informed choices along the way.

Some of the obstacles facing consumers have to do with specific requirements of bad credit auto loans, specifically related to job and income. Here, we outline the three key factors subprime auto lenders use to qualify someone—ability, stability and willingness to pay.

Your finances and your credit go hand in hand. When your finances are in order, you put yourself in the best position to succeed in the realm of credit. And when your credit is in good shape, your finances can become all the easier to manage. Unfortunately, when either your credit or your finances are in disarray, things can get out of hand fast.

Getting approved for a car loan becomes more difficult if you have bad credit, do not have a job and your only income comes from benefits such as Social Security or disability.

We have all heard the commercials where excited salespeople tell us that if we just come down to their lot—we’re approved! But, once we are there, there is a lot of fine print to consider. Let us break down this common slogan to give you a better understanding of just what it means.

If you need to finance a car and have imperfect credit, your employment history matters to subprime lenders. For this reason, we are often asked questions pertaining to time on the job.

If you have credit problems and rely on self-employment income, most subprime lenders will require that you prove what you make by showing them your tax returns.