Minimum Credit Score Needed to Purchase a Car

A car loan is needed if you are planning on purchasing a new vehicle and don’t have the cash or trade-in to cover the required total.

Getting approved for a car loan, however, can depend on a few variables, such as:

• Employment verification
• Income – How much and how dependable that income is
• Credit payment history
• Assets and net worth
• Credit score and more

Out of those facets, your credit score can significantly impact whether or not you are approved for a car loan and how low your interest rate will be. Having a good credit score will not only ensure that you are approved but will also lower the interest rate considerably, decreasing your payment significantly.

As far as a minimum credit score needed to be approved, that can vary depending on the lender. Some lenders are willing to risk approving a loan to someone with poor credit because they can mitigate some of that risk by hiking up the interest rates. Car loans to borrowers with poor credit tend to pay 3 to 4 times as much as someone with good credit. Poor credit is usually identified by having a credit score between 501 and 600, while a “bad” credit score is considered less than 500.

Check Your Score Before You Apply
The general rule of thumb when applying for a car loan with a low credit score is that you will need a score above 500 to get approved. Lower than that, and it is highly unlike that you will get approved and, instead, you will only be damaging your credit further by applying. You could decrease your score each time a potential lender runs your credit.

If your credit score is below 500, but you recently went through bankruptcy and no longer have any debt, it is not unlikely that lenders will line up to give you a car loan even with poor or bad credit. That is because it isn’t as risky for them to lend to you since they know you no longer have any other debt to worry about. But, again, you will likely have to deal with a very high-interest rate and payments.

The best route would be to work on increasing your credit score as much as possible before applying for a car loan. That way, you can be sure that your application will get approved, your interest rate will be lower, and your car payments will be much easier to make.

About CreditRepairEnforcers.com: 
Get the benefits and experience of a firm that concentrates on helping people with credit problems without paying huge setup fees. Credit Repair Enforcers has successfully removed erroneous, unverifiable, outdated, and inaccurate information from our client’s three credit reports for over 20+ years. We assist with all things credit repair and credit building. We have helped people who need assistance with personal, business, and corporate credit repair and credit building. Credit Repair Enforcers fight for your credit rights!