If you're a car buyer in the market to buy a car and have bad credit, chances are you've been approached with advertisement that tells you that you can buy
popular cars for bad credit no matter what your credit looks like. Many of these ads are from buy here pay here or "tote the note" dealers that have guaranteed credit approval programs. So how do you, as a consumer, sort through all this information?
It can be very difficult. Most dealers that advertise "guaranteed credit"
bad credit car loans are buy here pay here dealers. These car dealers loan the money to buy the car themselves so they don't require a credit check and you make your payments weekly, bi-weekly or monthly directly at the
buy here pay here used car lot. And while a no credit check is needed for the car loan, this type of bad credit car loan will do little to improve your FICO score (also known as a credit score). These dealers rarely report your positive payment history to the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion), so making payments on time will not improve your credit score.
Another way to buy a car with bad credit is done by applying for credit at one of the national auto finance companies. Getting a car loan with one of these auto finance companies is more difficult than a "in-house financing" car dealer, but the sort of vehicle that qualifies for these lending programs is generally much newer with far fewer miles. Additionally interest rates are comparatively lower and the auto finance company reports your good payment history to the three major credit reporting agencies, thus by making your payments on time, you will improve your credit rating.
Regardless of your choice, In-house dealer financing and auto finance companies combined have lending programs for nearly any credit score and down payment situation.