So you think that you have a low fico credit score, but what does that really mean? Well the meaning of a low fico score is different depending on who you might ask or be applying for a loan thru.
As far a fico scores go if you have fico score over 800 then you probably need to read no further because your credit is awesome. A 700 plus fico score is still a great credit score to have and you also should possibly save your time a stop reading this article. A 600 fico and above means that you probably should pay attention to what the rest of this article is about because chances are if you are not careful you’ll have the low fico score that we are going to talk about. A fico score from 520 to 600 should take notes because you’ll need them. Anyone with 520 and below well you are the one with the really, really low fico score.
For the most part as far as auto loans are considered if you have under 650 to about 620 fico score you have a near prime credit score, the closer to 600 the higher credit risk you are. If your fico credit score is below 620 and above 520 your credit would be considered sub prime in many auto loan programs. With a 520 fico credit score and below you will still be considered sub prime credit, but the bad part is as far a most auto loan lenders are considered you will be an auto decline. Most auto loan lenders credit systems will auto decline 520 and below credit scores.
So what a low fico score means to getting an auto loan depends on the lender but for the most part any fico credit score below 520 is considered low. If your fico score is below 520 you can still get approved for an auto loan, it just limits your options. Most lenders that approve low fico scores (or any fico under 520) will do it on an exception based program. There are some lenders out there that don’t look at the fico score as the over riding factor when approving an auto loan. Some lenders will look at the time on job, amount of income, the loan to value of the vehicle, and several other factors before making their decision.
If you have a fico score under 520 and need to get an auto loan it will help your chances of getting approved if you can do a few things. First you need to be sure that you are applying for your auto loan in the right place. This means that you need to be applying for your auto loan with a professional company that deals with bad credit and low fico scores on a daily basis. Your best bet is to find a Special Finance Department to handle your loan application. Special Finance Departments are setup up at auto dealers for the soul purpose of helping customers with bad credit and low fico scores get auto loans. Also Special Finance Departments will have more outlets for customers with low fico scores and bad credit to get approved for auto loans.
Once you have found a Special Finance Department try to supply the following to them to help make their job easier and your chances of getting approved easier.
Bring a pay stub preferably computer generated if you have one and make sure it’s not older than 30 days.
Bring a copy of a utility bill: cable, water, power, or phone.
Bring at least 6 complete references name address and phone numbers.
If you are self employed bring 2 year of tax returns. If you don’t have your taxes then bring in some bank statements some times auto lenders will exceptions with bank statement for self employed consumers.
Bring money down if you have it, the more down the better auto lenders like to see some customer investment.
This should help you started if you have a low fico score and are looking for an auto loan. For more information about bad credit or if you would like to apply for a bad credit auto loan click here.
