Bad Credit Blog

Car buying can be an extraordinarily stressful experience if you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s like playing a game where only one side knows the rules. And that side is the dealership. So to even the playing field here’s some simple car buying rules to help you truly get the best deal on your next car.

Once you’ve found the car you want, it’s time to sit down with your sales rep to negotiate the terms of your contract. After a little back and forth on price, figuring out your interest rate, and calculating your monthly payment, you’re ready to sign on the dotted line, right? Not so fast. You’ve only taken the first step in car buying.

When you read the fine print you may find that additional fees and charges have found their way into your contract – including add-ons you didn’t necessarily ask for.
Most people in the middle of the car buying experience are so focused on getting the best interest rate and negotiating the most affordable monthly payment that they’re unconcerned with the fine print of the contract. By the time they get to the step where they review and sign the paperwork, if the sales rep is throwing industry terms at them that they don’t fully understand, they become exhausted from the entire process and just want to get it over with.Here are a few insider tips to make sure you don’t regret signing those papers.

First Rule Of Car Buying - Read the Fine Print

While this seems pretty obvious and self-explanatory, it’s amazing how trusting the car buying consumer can be. Honestly, the last time you bought a car, did you read and fully understand the contract before you signed it? Probably not. Most people don’t. Some unscrupulous car dealerships are betting on that.

Because most people don’t read the fine print, some sales reps can slide in additional, undisclosed charges or extras with huge mark-ups to their profit.

Also, make sure there are no blank spaces on your finance contract that can be filled in later - wherever there are blank spaces, write in “$0″ or “N/A.”

Second Rule Of Car Buying - Typical Extras

Most of us are familiar with learning about the standard features of a vehicle and then figuring out which additional features we are willing to pay extra for. But here are some extras to look out for when reviewing your contract

• Fabric protector
• Car alarm (this includes LoJack)
• Paint sealant
• Credit life insurance
• Window etching
• Extended warranties
• GAP

The value of such extras depends on individual customer needs and situations. If the sales rep attempts to tell you that some or all of these extras are “standard” for every vehicle on the lot, ask to order your car from the factory, or suggest the dealership trade with another dealer that hasn’t pre-packaged their vehicles. Extra products can add thousands to the negotiated price of the vehicle.

The Problems With Extras Occur In Two Areas

First - Rather than suggest specific extras individually priced, the sales rep lumps all the products together and pushes you to buy them as a package.

Second - Unscrupulous sales reps can add thousands of dollars to the amount financed for these products, but not disclose the price increase until the last possible moment, when the financing contracts are being signed.

Ask for a Menu System Disclosure

The best disclosure method I’ve seen in years involved using a menu system. On a separate sheet of paper the rep produces a document that includes:

• The negotiated price of the vehicle or trade difference
• The additional price of suggested extras (these can be shown as various option packages that may save money when bought in combination and as individually priced options)
• New totals initialed by both parties. This procedure makes sure that any suggested extras are properly explained and disclosed. It also allows the customer time to consider each item separate from the longer and potentially confusing finance documents. The final numbers from the menu should get carried over directly to the finance document.

Your best bet when car buying - as always - is pre-approval for a vehicle loan. With pre-approval you will know how much you can afford for a new vehicle, and will be able to leave a little room for warranties and GAP, without getting duped by the dealership into purchasing unwanted items and paying for them with higher payments or longer terms.

If you want to purchase from any dealership you choose then we highly recommend getting pre-approved for a loan from RoadLoans or HSBC Auto.

If you want to work directly with a dealership that has a relationship with the lender then DriverLoans or Harbor Credit are great companies.

All of these lenders are major nationwide banks. They will treat you right, regardless of your credit situation.

Your wallet does not have to go through the ringer when purchasing a new vehicle. You can protect yourself from blindly signing an unfavorable car deal by doing your homework, going to a car dealership with a good reputation, being prepared, asking questions, and double checking behind your sales rep.

By Scott Conklin

For more credit help, please visit our site. We have been there and know how bad credit can affect everything, including your health. Take a look!

If you know someone struggling to quit smoking we found a great site that offers genuine  help. You can Quit!!

Here is a great site for some wonderful Christian articles, short stories, plays, family stories, Bible studies etc by Kathy Kearney. Check it out.

No one wants or expects to get duped by a car dealership. Unfortunately, it happens more often than it should. If you’re in the market for a new vehicle, protect yourself by recognizing the most common car dealer tricks and traps.

Scams happen on the car lot everyday. These aren’t the clever and amusing schemes you’ll see in movies like Catch Me If You Can or Matchstick Men. Car lot scams are nothing more than simple, petty tactics used by unethical dealers to trick you into spending more than you have to. You can avoid this by being Pre-approved before going car shopping .

Dealers love to say that they’re looking out for your best interest; but they aren’t always sincere. Here are some things to watch for:

VIN etching. Your dealer might recommend having the car’s windshield etched to deter theft. Not a bad idea, but politely decline if he wants to charge you a premium for the service. You can buy a VIN etching kit online for $20 to $30.

Loan guaranty. Ignore any claim that your dealer makes about paying off your loan if you find yourself unable to meet that obligation. If you default and the dealer pays it off, you’ll end up owing money and fees to the dealer instead of to the bank. Either way, your credit rating will be shot.

Affordable payments. Some dealers will want to negotiate with you on the car loan payment , rather than on the price of the car. They might say that they’re trying to make it more affordable for you. But it’s more likely that they’re trying to confuse you into paying too much. What’s another $1,500 when you’ve already agreed to pay $25,000? Some dealers like to strong-arm you into paying more by adding in fees after you’ve already agreed on a price. Here’s how they do it:

Dealer prep. Every dealer will try to charge you dealer prep costs. Your job is to know ahead of time what the standard costs are for that car by checking an Internet site, like Edmunds.com. Try to negotiate these as low as possible. And never pay more than another dealer would charge, or more than what’s listed on the sticker.

Extended warranty. It’s your decision to purchase or not purchase an extended warranty. Period.

Bait and switch APR. You buy the car and take it home. A week later, you’re notified that, due to a problem with your loan approval, your interest rate and monthly payment are being increased. The bait-and-switch APR scam is one of the most frustrating tricks a dealer can pull. Avoid this by arranging for financing before you walk into the dealership.

In this storyline, it isn’t the con artist who’s the clever one-it’s you. Keep an eye out for the warning signs and head for the door if you suspect someone’s trying to rip you off.

Ref: MortgageLoan.com

BY: Catherine Brock

For more credit help, please visit our site. We have been there and know how bad credit can affect everything, including your health. Take a look!

If you know someone struggling to quit smoking we found a great site that offers genuine  help. You can Quit!!

Here is a great site for some wonderful Christian articles, short stories, plays, family stories, Bible studies etc by Kathy Kearney. Check it out and be sure to sign the guest book.

So your old car has finally bit the dust! You knew it was coming it was just a matter of when. The time has come to replace the old run down car with a new one.

Most of us have been there and done that so we can identify with your dilemma. However this situation is yours exclusively so you will have to answer certain questions to figure the next move. If it has been quite a while since you went car shopping you may suffer “sticker shock” when you shop. Let’s see if we can help you make this easier. After all life is hard enough without any extras thrown in!

If it has been awhile since you filled out a credit application here are some things the lender will be checking.

• Your credit score
• How much money you make
• Where you work and how long you’ve been employed there (two years of steady employment is what they are looking for)
• Your current credit cards and their balances according to the credit report
• How often you make on-time payments vs. 30, 60, 90 days late – and how recent were the late payments
• Whether you own your home or rent

The first two things are easy to prove. If you don’t know your credit score you will want to find out so you won’t be surprised or embarrassed. You should order a copy of your credit report to check for errors and fix those. There are three agencies (Equifax is the largest) that gather data from creditors. This information is then used to tally your credit score. They use a complex system and we explain that on our site . But the credit agencies make mistakes - sometimes lots of them - so you need to check your report for these errors.

We strongly advise getting pre-approved for your loan unless you like the headaches associated with shopping for a new car. Being pre-approved guarantees the amount of the loan and also guarantees the interest rate you will be charged. Then when you go shopping, tell the sales consultant how much you are approved for (and stick to it) because they will try to talk you into something that costs more money and of course a higher rate of interest if they arrange financing and higher monthly payments because they will make more money on the deal.

Check your local paper for pricing and the internet, but be sure to get pre-approved first so you will know how much you can afford.

Study our articles on car negotiating and verbal sales tricks that dealerships use to confuse you and get more money from you. (Car Negotiating Verbal Tricks) (Car Negotiating The Four Square)

For more credit help, please visit our site. We have been there and know how bad credit can affect everything, including your health. Take a look!

If you know someone struggling to quit smoking we found a great site that offers genuine  help. You can Quit!!

Here is a great site for some wonderful Christian articles, short stories, plays, family stories, Bible studies etc. Check it out.

So you need a new car but think you can’t get one.

Why not?

A friend of mine said that to me the other day and that’s exactly what I asked him – Why not?!

He and his wife had been late on a couple of credit card payments and he thought that this would make banks “laugh him out the door.” Not wanting to be humiliated he was not even willing to try.

If you are in the same boat, “let not your heart be troubled.” We have some great news; you can qualify for the car of your dreams and not break the bank to do it.

Here’s some simple steps to help you get the best deal on your next new vehicle.

Order a copy of your credit report. That’s not earth shaking news but that is the first step. You have to know where you are in order to know how to get how to get where you want to be. Order one here for free: Click Here.

All right, you have your credit report – what do you do with it? You carefully read it and check it for errors. Nearly 80% of credit reports contain errors; which means yours has a very good chance of having mistakes. Look for the most common mistakes - creditors paid off that still show as open, accounts that are not yours, loan balances or amounts owed that are not correct.

Highlight the errors. I love highlight pens; they are wonderful. Highlight anything that is wrong. You have the right to challenge anything that you feel may be inaccurate, untimely, misleading, biased, incomplete or unverifiable (questionable items). If a credit bureau can’t verify the accuracy of a disputed listing, then it must be removed from your credit report.

There are two approaches you can take next. If you are in NO HURRY you can write and challenge every questionable item and wait because this will take some time. The reporting agencies receive thousands of letters and from the time they write to the lender you are challenging there will be at least a 30 to 45-day period. You may or not get the item corrected. OR YOU CAN TAKE THE 2nd OPTION.

You can hire a professional law firm to dispute and have them removed for you. A law firm carries more clout than you or I do as individuals. PLUS they guarantee results. We have thoroughly investigated this field and know that there are many companies willing to take your money - but in the end you get absolutely nothing in return. That’s not the kind of credit repair we are talking about. We are talking about guaranteed results from a major, reputable law firm – period! That’s why we recommend (and ONLY recommend) Lexington Law .

Now that your credit is clear of errors, it’s time to get financing for your new vehicle.

There are several ways to get financing for a new or late model car. But let’s just look two for the sake of time.

Walking into a dealership and applying for financing after you’ve selected a car. This is the #1 way to guarantee that you’ll pay more interest than you have to! As ex-car salespeople we know all the tricks a dealership will try to pull. From lying to you about your credit score (because they get a percentage of the interest rate, so the higher the better for them), to telling you that you’re “approved” when in fact, you aren’t! (After you leave the dealership they’ll send your information to all the major banks and hope one approves you. Then they call you back to ‘resign” the contract and often your payments are $50 or more higher than you originally agreed to!)

The way to guarantee that you are getting the best deal is to be pre-approved for your loan first. With pre-approval you know exactly how much you are approved for, take the check to the dealer of your choice, make your selection and drive out. With this system, and it’s so simple you will wonder why you didn’t think of it yourself!

Major Tip: Don’t let the dealer tell you they can get you financed for more car! Remember they have a vested interest in the deal and they are NOT looking out for you. Once you’re pre-approved shop within your budget. Try it – apply for pre-approval now!