When you have bad credit and are on a tight budget, where do you find places in Los Angeles that have a wide array of good, cheap used cars? While we don’t know for certain the specific vehicles you can find on each dealer’s lot, we can tell you the types of bad credit car dealerships where you can find cheap used vehicles in Los Angeles, and their basic requirements for approval.
Types of Car Dealerships in Los Angeles
No two bad credit car dealers in Los Angeles are the exact same, and it can be hard to pick the right one for you. While Auto Credit Express can help you find a dealership to work with, let’s first explain the differences between the two most common types of dealers you could work with:
- Special finance dealerships – Special finance dealers work with subprime lenders. These lenders offer bad credit auto financing to borrowers dealing with unique credit situations. Subprime lenders consider your credit score, but they also use outside factors to qualify you, such as income, employment, and residence stability, to name a few.
- Buy here pay here dealerships – Buy here pay here dealers are also lenders, and finance the vehicles on their lots in-house. For the most part, these dealerships don’t run credit checks, and base approvals on borrowers' income and down payment. It’s easier to get approved for a car loan with one of these dealers, but they may not report your loan or on-time payments to the credit bureaus, which means you can’t improve your credit score with one of these loans.
What to Look for in a Cheap Used Car
Now that you know the types of dealerships in Los Angeles to work with, what should you be looking for in a cheap used car?
Ideally, you want something under 10 years old with less than 100,000 miles on the odometer. However, the most affordable used vehicles may be over both of these numbers, and, in many cases, that’s okay.
With plenty of cheap used cars that can work for you, you need to make sure to look for these three things when deciding on one:
- Reliability and safety – Not all used vehicles are the same when it comes to reliability and safety, but a cheaper price tag doesn’t always mean it’s cheap to maintain. Pick out a few different cars, research their reliability and safety ratings, and check out owner and expert reviews.
- Price point and budget – Check used vehicle value estimates on valuation sites such as NADAguides. You can also use our Payment Calculator to get an idea on just how you can expect to spend each month. You don’t want to overspend and break your budget, nor do you want to underspend and settle for a clunker.
- Fit for your everyday needs – What do you need the vehicle for? If you have a family of four or more, you probably need to consider a crossover or SUV. If you only need a car to commute to and from work, then a sedan is likely going to be the cheapest route.
Getting Connected to a LA Dealer Near You
When you feel confident about getting started on your used vehicle buying journey, let Auto Credit Express be the first stop. We're teamed up with dealers all over the country that know how to help borrowers with bad credit get financed.
Don’t go driving around Los Angeles only to get turned down time and time again. Start the process of getting matched to a special finance dealership near you by submitting our easy and secure auto loan request form right now!
