New Car Finance & your Credit ScoreBy staff writer, LotPro.comThe first step in new car finance is to know your credit score – sometimes called a FICO score – as well as what is on your credit report. You can obtain this information by requesting a free report (you are allowed one from each bureau per year) or by paying for a copy of each or all three. You can also, for a fee, request your credit score along with your credit report. There are also web sites where you can obtain your score at no charge, as well, one such site is CreditKarma.com. Once you’ve received your credit report, check it for accuracy. If there are any omissions or mistakes, each bureau (Transunion®, Experian and Equifax®) has a procedure that you can follow to make corrections to your credit history. With your credit report in hand, you’ll want to decide on a budget. To help you out with this, most top tier web sites will offer a number of different calculators that will help you determine how much vehicle you can afford. You can estimate payments, compare buy and lease options as well as explore whether it might make sense to use a home equity loan or equity line of credit to finance your next vehicle. Once you’ve worked out a budget, the next step in new car finance is to begin your research on your next car. There are numerous web sites that can furnish you with basic new car information. Other sites explore the topic in more depth, with information on dealer cost, invoice pricing, rebate information and special finance offers from the various captive finance companies. Other online sites, such as those from the various enthusiast magazines, offer their own perspectives on performance, quality and durability (many keep vehicles for long term tests). Finally, for truly unbiased ratings, Consumer Reports web site (you will need to purchase a subscription) offers testing, long-term durability as well as true dealer cost (including holdback) information on all models sold in the U.S. After all your comparisons, it’s time to narrow down the field to three or four different models. Visit each dealer and take each one out for a test drive, then visit use at LotPro.com for a competitive new car price quote. |
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