If a recent economic event such as change in employment, large medical bills, divorce, or legal troubles has turned your good credit to bad credit you can rebuild your auto credit and regain a good credit score with the help of a bad credit auto loan. Many lenders are willing to help those who at one time had a good credit score and now have bad credit, especially if they can identify a single economic event that caused the good credit rating to turn to a bad credit score.
To help you through this process, we suggest using the many types of auto loan calculators.
Many times when a consumer's credit turns from good to bad they end up losing their vehicle, either through bankruptcy proceedings or repossession; after that happens, most consumers end up getting a bad credit auto loan through a bad credit auto lender. Since for most people this is the first time they haven't purchased a vehicle in the conventional manner, they may find that an
auto loan calculator can provide a much needed guide in helping determine how to navigate through the process.
Getting a car loan after a bad credit experience provides a great opportunity to raise your credit score. When you purchase your car here are some things to consider:
The first loan after bad credit will be at a higher interest rate than you are used to. Because of this, you may find that you need one of the many auto loan calculators that can help you compare payments to various interest rates. By comparing one of your past interest rates to the current one that you qualify for, you can see the impact the higher rate will have on your monthly payment.
In the future, you will qualify for a better rate if you make you payments on time.
One thing to keep in mind is that unless you can come up with a sizeable down payment, the higher interest rate (which you can determine with auto loan calculators) usually means you'll have negative equity in your vehicle and you may not be able to refinance or trade in the vehicle until � the loan term has expired (for example: 36 months on a 72 month loan).
Before you buy a car after bad credit, you will have to decide what is most important to you. If re-establishing your credit is important to you we would recommend buying and financing an inexpensive car with a loan term of 36 months or less. Auto loan calculators can be indispensable during this process. They can demonstrate how your payment is affected by a change in interest rate, a change in term, a change in down payment as well as a change in selling price (a different vehicle).
Note what we mean about a change in selling price: After a bad credit experience many people choose to purchase an expensive vehicle with a monthly payment that just barely fits within their budget. Often, these vehicles are financed for a 72 month term. After 18 months, when their credit rating has improved, it's nearly impossible for them to trade their vehicle in and get a newer car with a lower interest rate. So use auto loan calculators wisely. If you choose to purchase and finance a vehicle for 72 months after a bad credit experience, plan on keeping that car, and your higher interest rate, for quite some time.