Buying
a Car: Evaluate Yor
Credit
Just because you've figured out what you can
afford, it doesn't mean lenders will agree. That's
where your credit report comes in.
You are a credit report
Lenders decide how large a
loan you qualify for strictly
by looking at your credit report. It's nothing
personal.
They don't care what you
look like, what you think about the status
of your personal finances
or how nice you are to small
animals. They only care about the numbers that
appear on
your credit report.
The credit
report will tell them your
credit worthiness (How well
have you paid past debts?), financial
means (Do you have sufficient
income to repay a loan?) and
debt structure (Do you have too
much debt to be able to
take on more?).
For more specific
information on what is contained
in a credit report, read the
Credit Report section of
our Credit Card material. Get
a copy of your credit report
It's important that you know
how good your credit is. If
you don't have good credit,
you probably won't get as good
an interest rate, and that
will increase your monthly
payment. You also may not be able
to get as large a loan, meaning
you may not be able to buy
a more expensive car, even
if you think you could afford
the monthly payments.
Get a
copy of your credit report
and you'll be looking at
the same information that lenders will look
at
to
decide on approval of your
loan. You can see in which
areas you are deficient and work on
them. It also gives you a
chance to make sure there
are no errors
on your report. It would
be a shame to let your good
credit history be
marred by a mistake
on your credit report.
The
three main credit bureaus
are:
If you
have been turned down for
credit in the past 60 days, you're
entitled to a free copy
of your credit report. Otherwise these
companies will provide
you with a report for
a small fee. Even
if you have to pay,
it is well worth it.
Why don't you go ahead
and get a copy of your
credit report now? You can come
back to this information
when you get
back - it'll still
be here.
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