Does anyone have any suggestions of specific car dealerships and/or financing resources for people with not-so-hot credit?

I've been doing one of those "credit repair" programs for a year and a half but it's slow-going. I had been planning to wait to buy a much-needed new car, but my current car died a few days ago and the repair costs exceed the bluebook value and my commute is very long... so it makes more sense to get a new one.

I am going to hit up my credit union and am debating trying CapitalOne, but was curious to see if any dealerships are currently offering decent rates to people with unperfect credit.

Thanks in advance :-)

why do you want to go more in debt? don't be a moron and buy a cheap beater.

I'm not a moron.... I have a long commute so I don't want to buy something that's going to require more repair bills in the near future.

That's the way to make friends, Alex. Oh, wait...

Rather than get it in the rear by using poor credit to get a loan at a questionable financing company, it's better to get a cosigner  to get a good rate with a decent company.

hey if I wanted to make friends I'd join the rotary club. I want to prevent this girl from making a mistake. buy a used honda. they are affordable and run forever.

i'm w/ alex, buy a Toyota/Honda beater, such as a Corolla/Camry, CRX, toyota small truck, etc.
where's your commute from/to?
maybe public trans? ie CAL/BART? (add a bicycle if needed)

I kinda would like to chime in and also encourage you to think about getting a used car around $5 to $8K. That can probably get you a 8/9 year old car without tons of milege on it... may be worth looking at.

Credit Union?
They offer Signature Loans.
"Low" rates and it doesn't matter what you buy.

FYI. I have a '92 Civic (City Car) I bought 3 yrs ago w/ 120k miles.
Drove it straight on into Las Vegas. 40mph hwy!!!!!
$2000

Good Luck!!

D'oh! 40mpg.
car has 140k miles now.

Move to walking distance from work. Unless you're living at home or have kids in a good local public school or own you own house, a long commute is going to cost you a lot in the long run.

I know that Toyota Dealerships have a pretty good 'Bad Credit' Program going on, it wouldn't hurt to ask. But PLEASE stay away from those little ma & pa car dealerships - not only do they jack you with financing, but they jack up the car too.

I would totally get a used 'reliable' car for a long commute and make sure that it has warranty.

All this talk about damaging your credit blah blah blah - if you make on time payments everytime, it can and will boost your score.

Before getting into anything, make sure you can afford it =)

Thanks for all the advice so far.

To answer a couple of your q's - I drive from Livermore to Redwood City....so public trans is not much of an option. I bought my current (2000) model used and it has been a money pit, so that's one major reason I'm leery of buying used again. I need a warranty. And no, I do not have 8k laying around. My car's dead and I need to get to work, etc., etc... not an ideal situation. Yeah, I do plan on relocating when I can afford it but right now transportation is the priority expense.

(and my credit is bad because of student loan drama, I do have a good job and can make payments)

Sorry if that comes off as defensive, I just saw a lot of questions.

I totally understand your situation. Go do you what you need to do.

See PM and tell him I sent you.

p.s.

Stay away from Crap one.

Thanks Big J. Got it :-)

Michelle- I know a couple people who've done auto financing through CapitalOne but it seems a little scary to me.. I appreciate the heads up.

md- Nope. I went to Ex'pressions (in Emeryville) back before they were accredited and the only financing available was through this scamtastic loan company out of San Ramon..... drama ensued... and they reported everything 3x. It's taken a while to clean up.

your best bet is to get a loan through your bank

i have navy fed and they negoiate directly with the dealer to get really good pricing
your bank will help you out with structured payments and that sort of thing
dont forget though just because you know what your car payment is going to be every month
you also need to find out how much your car insurance is going to be
since you will be taking a loan that means you need to get full coverage

I know you said you don't want a beater, but you'll be paying sooooo much in interest if your credit isn't good. My '98 Honda has 140K miles and runs great--no major problems that need fixing. It's probably only worth a few grand. If you bought a good older used car like that, then you could pay yourself car payments for a little while until you have enough money for either another car or a decent down payment and by then your credit will be repaired.

If you really want a loan, definitely start with your credit union (or a few other credit unions). Credit is pretty tight right now, so it might be hard to get a loan if your score is really low (below 640).  Also, your credit union might be able to give you better credit repair tips than the place you're working with. I know the credit union I work for does (Valley Credit Union). Sometimes credit repair places aren't the greatest. We used to have them contact us for some of our members' credit issues, but it would've always been better for the member to just come to us directly. I lot of credit repair can be done easily on your own.

Good luck with everything!

Michelle "lipgloss remover" B. says:

I know that Toyota Dealerships have a pretty good 'Bad Credit' Program going on, it wouldn't hurt to ask. But PLEASE stay away from those little ma & pa car dealerships - not only do they jack you with financing, but they jack up the car too.
_____________

I was in close to the same situation Melissa T. is in 8 years ago.. Tracy Toyota helped me out, they sent me home with the car saying the would find a finance company. They did the company was Americredit. The interest rate was 25% but my car was dead and I was borrowing a friend's car to get to work so I jumped on it because Berkeley Toyota and Oakland Toyota laughed me out of the showroom when I told them I was on a consumer credit counseling plan, they were very rude. I know Tracy is a long ways away from Redwood city.. but if you can make it :-) I think they would help you.

^
25%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG! I never knew it could get that high.

Me and my hubbies credit isn't so hot either. We went to Capitol Nissan in San Jose and they sent us home w/2 cars and told us not to worry that they would find someone to finance us. there was a lot of back in forth providing information to the companies and they got us financed. They just wanted to make sure we could make the payments, which weren't a problem for us, just past credit issues.

RJ "I have reviewer's block" A. says:

^
25%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG! I never knew it could get that high.
____________

I know.. I got reemed.. but I REALLY needed a car, and I was commuting pretty far so I felt I needed a new one (after having 3 used ones that only lasted a few years each). It's paid off now and has been for 3 years. :-)

You can always get a used car and still finanace it. Too bad you dont have a good friend who trust you enough / a family member who trust you who would put a car loan in their name for you. Makes a huge difference in interest rate...

Anyways, good luck with finding a good reliable car.. sending you plenty of good thoughts.

Also keep in mind that even if you get a crap interest rate through the dealer, as long as the pymts are do-able for like 1 year, you can always refinance the loan at your bank, credit union or wherever for a BETTER rate.....thus showing you're a good credit risk & you have your car when you need, you didn't settle, & you're continuing to build your credit

yeah well, this guy has a heroin problem.

Melissa, you're fine. Try the dealerships used lots (where they resell lease option vehicles back with low mileage). Done business with Honda out in Dublin a few times and it even doesn't have to be a Honda. My ex convinced me we had to have an infinity SUV after my Honda was stolen (his folks have a sick place in squaw valley). Can't wait to get rid of it now.    

Your student loan drama shouldn't hold you back. Your interest rate on your loan may be a bit higher though. Honda hooked me up with a credit union on my last purchase who has been amazing to work with and wish to stay with them for life.

The co-signer thing well, if mom & dad can do that fine but know the resale value of a car shrinks faster than you can pay & you'll be upside down on the payments for years to come.

I know lease options require a chunk of at least 2k up front & have mileage restrictions, but requires a much smaller monthly payment which may be a better option. Be careful & know of all the limitations & requirements though (since they'll nail ya on the mileage) & your current commute nix's this option unless you are seriously planning on moving soon.
Good luck!

Because car loans are secured by the car, they are frequently available from just about any dealer even to people with sub-prime credit.  You'll pay a higher interest rate, but you can probably still qualify for a lease or a loan.

stay clear of credit repair programs they're scams.
that's probably why your credit score comes up as a risk.
work with the company that financed your student loan directly.

credit repair and consolidate programs are no good.

I'm with Richard on the Credit Union tip.  Even if you come in with a high interest rate, you can refi as your credit score improves thus lowering the rate.  Best of luck!!

Cars are bad investments, regardless of what it is.  Take out a loan of just a few grand from your credit union and buy a cheap car to get you by for the next year or two, and plan on making reliable payments on the loan.  That should help you fix your credit a bit, without getting even further in debt.  If your credit gets better then sell the car and get something better for you, if necessary.  At a certain points cars stop loosing value, so if you get a car for just a grand or two, you can usually sell it for around the same price you bought it for in a year or two.

My personal thing is to live within biking, walking or reasonable transit distance to my job, have a cheap (less than a grand) beater car for convenience, and not make car payments.  I have a credit score close to 800.

Maritza C. says:

Me and my hubbies credit isn't so hot either. We went to Capitol Nissan in San Jose and they sent us home w/2 cars and told us not to worry that they would find someone to finance us.
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Finance contract AFTER the fact? NEVER!!!!!!!!
Never.
Never.
That's a blank check. Very very risky imho.
The "Dealer" just wants cars off their lot.

I hope it worked out!!!!!
*yikes*

I've got to echo the 'beater' fans here.

Cars have gotten insanely more reliable over the last 15 years or so. Defects used to be measured in one per hundred, then one per thousand. Engineers now use units of 10,000.

Use Consumer Reports consumerreports.org and their used car guide to choose a handful of cars with great reliability records that meet your needs, find a dealer or (better yet) a Craig's List private party who has what you want. Before buying, get it checked out by a mechanic so you aren't buying a lemon, something with hidden crash damage or (worst of all) a fraudulently retitled Katrina car. Its not even that big a hassle... you can do it all on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

My guess: for $5K you can something that will safely and reliably transport you for 100K miles. You may not get that new car smell, but that's all you'll miss.

Good luck!!

buy a honda/toyota.....

there's a reason why people steal them....it's cause they have solid parts!

i got my dealio through costco/capital one...but  i had excellent credit.... i would give it a shot.... or compare with your local credit union they usually have some programs...

I just did a search of a few areas. (This is assuming that you want a used car 2005 or newer.) There is a place in Dublin called ACAcars.com of Dublin. I put in an int erst rate of 15.9%, no money down for 48 months. It pulled up 3 cars that have between 32,000 and 50,000 miles. Two of them are 2006 and one a 2004. Two are Kias and the 2004 is a Hyundai. The payment would be $252 a month on either of these three.
I know that people say all kinds of crap about Hyundai and Kia. I thought so too until 2004. I had a 1992 Nissan Sentra Se-r that had 240,000 miles on it. I drove it to S. Carolina and gave it to my 16 year old niece. A few months later I bought the base model Hyundai Accent to use for a commuter. I lived in Concord and work in San Leandro. (I got the "1 at this price" car on sale for $4999 and had a/c added for $1200 more.) Anyway, that car is sitting at almost 150,000 miles right now and I have never had any problems with it.
If you don't want a used car, with the economy the way it is, there are some pretty good deals out there right now. I traded in my 2005 Ram Truck for a 2008 Ram 1500 Hemi blah blah blah. (I owed $21,000 on the 2005. The 2008 was listed at $36,950 on thew sticker. After rebates and going back and forth with them for 4 hours, I paid $19,800 for the 2008 Ram.)
I went with my brother-in-law last week when he was looking at a 2008 Charger. They wanted $28,800 and offered him $23,500 after rebates but without the "$2.99 gas deal" Chrysler has right now. After a little over an hour of back and forth, he paid $20,600 WITH the $2.99 gas deal.
Whether you want new or used, there are many deals out there, you just need to know where to look. When is also a big factor. You need to go into a dealership on a slow day during the week towards the end of the day. More than likely sales have been slow or even null for that day. Everyone above gave some really good advice. If you want a new car, you can go to a dealership tomorrow and drive home a new car. The thing is, can you afford the extra money of $300-$400 a month for a year or so? You will also get a better interest rate on a new car.
Good luck.

If your credit is bad and you're going to have to pay high interest on the car...

Credit bad meaning you're not flush with cash...

Long commute as in xxxx miles per day and probably filling up the tank more than once a week...

You might also want to factor in high insurance and gas into your high monthly car payment and see if you can still afford it.

Might make the longer commute more bearable.

Keep in mind that with lower credit scores, the higher your interest rates are. I know 25% may seems ridiculous, but that's the result of having low scores. Why do you think credit card companies still have cards with 14-24% APR? Because people with bad credit will take it.

And why they take it? To BUILD their credit. No bank (WFB, BofA, Citibank) will give you loan (mortgage, credit card, auto loan) because they generally takes only people with good credit and not wanting to deal with the risk of having the person paying back the loan.

I am not saying that high interest loan is OK, but look at it from the bank's perspective.

I agree with some of the other yelpers. ...... find a used Honda.  They are great cars!! If you keep the oil changed they should run forever.  I am on my 6th Honda...not cause I had to, because I wanted to.  The one I have now just got serviced about 6 years of no tune up or anything major other than oil changes regularly.  I had new front breaks, 4 new tires, a new battery, and some thing, that i can't remember the name of now.....that was cracked and replaces.  I would say that's pretty darn good for no service in so long!  I have friends that have Hondas they have had forever and they love them.  As for the bad credit. Just be honest right away so there are no suprises.  Tell them about it and ask for help.  Most of the time they will help you.  I would go to a dealership too.  Not any fly by night place.  

Good Luck!!

This thread may be dead but I will agree on getting a honda. I had some repairs on mine but nothing ever major  & even the biggest repair was replacing the radiator on my birhtday drive to the beach which only came to $250 back in the late 90's. Seriously. I've had 2 (a civic in 1980 & an accord in the 90's). We drove the civic into the ground. My dad use to take it on back road hunting trips instead of his monster 4 wheel drive lift kit truck.  

I sold my ancient 94 accord (though it was a sweet looking thing) to my boss & heard she still uses it for commuting to work. Surely, she's had to do some major repairs by now like the suspension. But these little buggers just keep on going providing you don't crash them up or blow a head gasket.

Loved having years of not having a car payment (after making 4 years worth) & still having a reliable car for several years after.

Good luck!

I thought I'd hop on and update, in case anyone's curious on my decision....

I ended up buying a (new) Honda. I shopped about 5 different dealerships (and their financing) along with my credit union and Costco/AAA's respective programs. I ended up getting financed at 6.99% (better than I hoped for) through Autowest Honda out in Fremont. I'm going to Yelp the hell out of the various dealerships and such and will come back with links in the next day or so...

Don't do it.
The economy is geared right now to not be in your favor AT ALL.
Trust me, lenders are not going to be kind.
Buy cheap and date a mechanic.

Well you have a reliable New car now it sounds like.

I just hope you seriously looked into a Signature Loan from that credit union before all things were said and done.

Enjoy.

Hey Melissa..
Glad to hear you got your car issue resolved. 6.99% really isn't that bad of a rate. Congrats on your new car. I do like Fremont Autowest Honda.. that's where I got my car too. I totally wrote them a super review.. the manager saw my review on yelp and actually sent me a note to thank me too (he sent it as a business owner).
Congrats again!!

thanks!

christina - i actually told the store manager that i was planning to yelp them :P so i'm sure someone will reply.

Yeah 6.99 is not bad, especially if your credit is not so hot. Nice goin..

Congrats and good luck! Hondas rock. We had an Accord many years ago that had 225,000 miles on it when we gave it to our daughter.

I hear Nino Motors works with anyone...

Congrats on the new car. Your credit can't be as bad as you thought if you got 6.99%. I wouldn't even think about re-financing the loan ever. Just curious if you got the financing through Honda itself. The finance company for the car maker will usually give you a better rate. (Although 99% of the dealerships will tell you the opposite. I was pre-approved through Chrysler Financial when I walked in to buy my truck. They kept telling me they wanted to run my credit because they "could get me a better rate somewhere else". I was pre-approved for 2.4% through Chrysler and that was only 1 inquiry on my credit. If there is only 1 inquiry on your credit, it won't lower your score at all. If they "run your credit", it can be up to 5-7 inquiries from different banks. I have had my new truck for almost 5 months now and my score wasn't effected at all. It actually went up 14 points.) Congrats again.

Thanks, all :D

Antonio - yeah, my credit score turned out to be more "fair" than bad. The credit repair co I worked with actually bumped it 100 pts in the past year, which was a pleasant surprise when I ran my report a couple weeks ago :)

Philip - I paid 21k for a Honda CRV EX (invoice is usually about 23-24k) so I think I did ok. I did end up buying the Honda Care (bumper to bumper service plan) for 120k/7 years just because of my commute, which ended up being about 1600.

Here are my billions of (or 4) Honda reviews if anyone's in the market and/or curious --

Autowest Honda (where I bought it): yelp.com/biz/autowest-ho…

Livermore Honda: yelp.com/biz/livermore-h…

Honda Tracy: yelp.com/biz/honda-tracy…

Dublin Honda: yelp.com/biz/dublin-hond…

First of all I was on the other side for 10+ years as a Finance Director. I pretty much saw everything that could be seen, that is the reason why I got out of the business. There is a lot of misinformation that is floating around here, and some is true. There are definitely some horror stories out there about people who got screwed by a dealership. With the changes in the market and the tightening lending requirements, two things are for sure. Dealers will be more aggressive in their sales tactics, and credit will be harder to obtain if you have poor credit. A lot of transactions that were mentioned to members where questionable. Since my new business is to help people that were screwed before, I guess I should say that before I say anymore.
What also confuses a lot of people is the negative equity and how dealers add that on to the loan, the guidelines (LTV ratios, PTI, DTI etc.) that they have to follow in order to get the loan done. BUT you will be surprised how many rights and remedies consumers have. There are little known laws that definitely benefit the customer.
I agree that whoever says that a car is a investment, is a straight bs'er. What investment depreciates more and more as you own it longer? Nothing, its a depreciating asset. But, not everyone likes to take public transit, nor is it convenient for them to do so. Also not everyone has a perfect score, nor A CO-signer. Some people are too embarrassed to ask for one, so you can not group everyone into the same category. If you guys have any questions send me a message, I can definitely give you some insider info and ways to achieve what your trying to do.
In regards to the people that are advising you to fix your credit first, its a double edge sword. Yes in a sense that is correct if you fix the errors and raise your score you will get a better rate. But that takes time, if you have it so be it, but some people don't have that luxury. Also not to mention that you can always refinance your loan, while you repair your credit to get a lower rate. Just my 2 cents.

I saw this case on Judge Judy where  this girl took out a loan with an annual interest rate of 99.9%.  That makes 24% look like a real deal.