New Vehicle Financing - What Rate Can I Get?

Kirstie_H · October 2006

Share advice on financing rates for new vehicles!

fades_spins · October 2006

hey all,

I had a good FICO score of about 720 when I financed my new car 3 years ago. Through my credit union I got a decent interest rate of 6.4.

As luck would have it, I was rear-ended last Friday and found out my car is a total loss. My credit score has plummetted to around 550-600. I'm afraid I'll be turned away when attempting to finance whatever car I end up getting.

Once my insurance pays off my car, will my FICO score go up since my debt-to-earning ration will have improved? If so, how long will that take to show up on my credit report?

jchan2 · November 2006

If your credit rating is stellar (like mine) then a lot of the time it pays off to shop around for a great car with a great financing deal on it- the last car I financed was my 2004 Infiniti I35, at 1.9% APR for 36 months, which was far below the rate I would have paid if I had gone to my local bank for financing. (I still have about 1 year and 3 months on my loan)

If you can afford the higher payments, it pays to only have a 24 or 36 month loan as your rates will be lower and you will be less "upside-down" because of the shorter loan term.

If you're a savvy negotiator, I recommend looking for a car with a great financing rate AND some dealer marketing support. When negotiating, you can walk away with a larger discount.

casolorz · October 2007

I am assuming I won't be getting manufacturer financing, who should I try to finance with?

joel0622 · October 2007

Capital One. They have a very aggressive online financing dept as long as your beacon score is at least 520.

casolorz · October 2007

I noticed that from the costo site the capital one rates are better, is that true? we don't have a costo in town though.

joel0622 · October 2007

You don't need a costo (whatever that is) to finance with them. Just go here cap one and apply. Now if your credit is a little weak which I am assuming it is due to the fact you think you can't get financing at the dealer (the easiest place to get it)don't think you will get the published rate on there site, it will be higher.

casolorz · October 2007

We have credit on the mid 600s, but from what I have read honda financing (trying to get an acura) is pretty picky.

greanpea68 · October 2007

You don't need a costo (whatever that is

Costco is the same thing as a Sam's Club.

casolorz · October 2007

Yeah but sams doesn't seem to have rates as good as costo, of course I have a sams card cause there isn't a costo in town.

joel0622 · October 2007

You are basing things off of there best published rate though. If there are some discrepancies in your bureau those published rates may be useless to you.

Karen_S · February 2008

A national newspaper is looking to speak to consumers who have had a tougher time getting a car loan recently. Please respond no later than Feb. 15 with your daytime contact information to Chintan Talati at ctalati@edmunds.com.

Karen_S · April 2008

A reporter from a large daily newspaper hopes to speak with consumers who have had difficulty obtaining credit for a vehicle purchase. If youve had difficulty, please respond to ctalati@edmunds.com with your daytime contact information no later than Friday, April 18, 2008.

needtofinance · May 2008

Hi all...we are in need of a new car but are in the process of rebuilding our credit. We really need the car ASAP as ours is about to die.

Here is the situation: Fico credit scores range from 515-548. We have 2 good car accounts with never lates on one or two of the reports (i think TU and EXP and not EQ) from about 1999-2000 that were paid in full, as agreed.

On ALL THREE reports we have several collections accounts, all over 2 years old and one of those is for American Gen. Finance where we took out a title loan. It shows a $0 balance/sent to collections status as a finance loan with a $550 balance.

Again, most of our bads are at least 2 years old and nothing has over $700 account balance. Many of the bads are medical bills from 2 years ago when I got very sick and had to have surgery. Our finances went way down during that time...which was the reason for the title loan and not being able to pay it back

Anyway, do we stand ANY chance of getting financing from anywhere? We bank with Wachovia and did call them and apply and got a big, fat no.

We found a Honda Pilot-2008- with only 5 miles on it for $24888.00. Is there any hope for us?

Thanks for any help you can give.

black_tulip · May 2008

"Thanks for any help you can give."

Pay your bills.

" Many of the bads are medical bills from 2 years ago"

Buy health insurance instead of SUVs.

"We found a Honda Pilot-2008- with only 5 miles on it for $24888.00. I"

Buy cheaper cars instead of SUVs. Imagine for a moment that by some fluke, you are able to "buy" it. Are you then going to stiff your creditors for the gas bills?

"Is there any hope for us? "

Only if you learn to live within your means.

volvomax · May 2008

If you do get approved, the rate is gonna choke you.
You are looking at high teens to low 20's.

Personally, I'd find a cheaper car.
I'd also look domestic as Ford Credit or GMAC may be more willing to give you a more humane rate.

joel0622 · May 2008

"Thanks for any help you can give."

Pay your bills.

" Many of the bads are medical bills from 2 years ago"

Buy health insurance instead of SUVs.

"We found a Honda Pilot-2008- with only 5 miles on it for $24888.00. I"

Buy cheaper cars instead of SUVs. Imagine for a moment that by some fluke, you are able to "buy" it. Are you then going to stiff your creditors for the gas bills?

"Is there any hope for us? "

Only if you learn to live within your means.

What an [non-permissible content removed].

Kirstie_H · May 2008

OK, let's check the hostility. Unless the poster has a time machine, retroactively-applicable advice won't help and just comes off as being self-righteous.

greensuv · May 2009

We now have an Affordability Calculator which helps you figure out the price range of the cars you should shop for based on your desired monthly payment: http://www.edmunds.com/apps/calc/CalculatorController?pmtcalAction=affordability- -

arg4 · January 2010

Hey I guess, there has been new reforms in auto loans. Isn't it?

Please share, I would like to know about it

Kirstie_H · January 2010

My message, which you responded to, is about 3.5 years old, so there wouldn't be anything "new" about that.

If you have questions about auto loans, please be specific - however, since this site focuses on the North American auto consumer, our information may not apply to your situation.

arg4 · January 2010

Hi,
This happens to almost all the car owners. The reason is simple, the depreciation rate for a vehicle is more (For a luxury cars, this is far higher!). After paying their EMI for a year or two, every car owners will find they are paying more for a loan where it real worth (present worth of the vehicle will be less due to depreciation, market condition, technology etc, etc.,)

Like (more than) paying the insurance, the best thing you can do is to try for car loan modification.

I hope autoreliefgroup can help you in this case!

arg4 · January 2010

Hi All,
I have observed many pf the car owners are paying more for their cars. :confuse: It seems they have not noticed that their car has depreciated almost 10% - 20% or even 30% but still pay for that 100% amount. How many of you have similar situation?

Wonder how to get relieved from this?? :confuse:

New Vehicle Financing - What Rate Can I Get?

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