Kiamo

Well, I was all ready to go up and buy an S2000, but I got denied for the loan. Reason being I have very little credit history. I buy everything with a check card (no credit cards) and my last 2 cars I bought with cash. All I have is my student loan, which doesn't matter much. I make plenty of money and would have no problem affording it, but that seems to not matter.

I was told I could get the loan with a co-signer, but I don't have one available. I was wondering if anyone had any advice as to what I could do in this situation?

SIIK2NR

Depending on who you went with you can always try another source. Someone will loan you the money. Maybe you will be required to put more down or pay a higher APR.

You need to start establishing more history as you already know. Paying cash isn't going to do it.

Credit Union maybe?..

Cubs2k

This sums it up nicely. Sub-prime lenders may do the loan for you but with higher rates and larger down payments.

Napoleon Dynamite

I had the same low credit problem when buying a used s2000 at the local honda dealer, because I just graduated college. About a week earlier I couldn't even get a Verizon cell phone b/c of my "bad" (really NO) credit. When going to finance the car through Honda, I put a fair amount down (3,500) and only financed for 3 years. They ended up giving me a rate of 3.9% no problem, which is pretty good for a used car. I asked them how I was able to get this good rate, having such little credit, and they said it was because of my large down payment.

I would go back and try again offering a larger down payment. BTW, I did have to verify what I make at my job by showing them a pay stub.

-good luck!

afwfjustin

I put down 5000 on my s2k but I cannot verify how much I make, so my percentage rate is 9.24, which isn't bad considering it's a used car from a private seller and the loan is through my bank.

slalom44

The problem is that you have a low credit score, primarily because you have no credit. To raise your credit score, here are some suggestions:

• Get a credit card and start using it instead of your debit card. Your debit card does nothing for your score because it does not have any available credit.
• Get a total of 3 credit cards or lines of credit. For example, a gas card, a department store card, or even an installment loan for something. The available credit that you haven't used factors into your credit score. Don't get any more than 3 lines of credit because it will start reducing your score.
• Use your credit card to pay for everything you can - don't pay cash - and pay off the balance if you can.
• Whatever you do, don't be late with a payment.
• After a few months with this much credit, your credit score will bounce up. If your score is around 500 or less, you're not going to get a car loan.

A big part of the equation is the ratio of how much available credit you have compared to how much available income you have.

TR-S2K

Use your credit cards to pay for everything that you need, not what you want, and can pay off when the payment is due. Otherwise, you will pay very high interest rates to credit card companies.

DiamondDave2005

Try a credit union, if you have access to one. They're usually better at looking at your individual circumstances.

I had the same problem in 1990 when I went to buy my first new car (Ford Probe). I ended up with an 18.5% APR loan because I had NO credit history (I had just arrived in the US 9 months earlier).

Last time I checked my rating, it was 808, which is a long way up from zero

Dave

silver/black

Don't depair no credit is WAY better than bad credit.

Look here---- http://www.fico.com.

The credit card advice above is good and will boost your score but also
open a checking account and a saving account you can usually get a free checking accout with direct deposit.

Getting a stable mailing address too.

lukemc01

I was about to say that 9.24% is pretty high, until I read further and saw that someone else once financed for 18.5% - Wow. I may be in the minority here but, it might be better to wait a year, establish a good credit history (the above posts contain some great suggestions), monitor your credit history (www.freecredit report.com, or some other site) and save for a bigger down.