A co-worker of mine needs to get a new truck. Her '96 Olds Bravada just blew it's engine and it is not worth fixing. Her problem is that she has bad credit...I don't know how bad, but she said bad. She makes 70-80K so it's not like she's in terrible shape. She has no mortgage and no previous car payment so that's not an issue. She's been single for years and her daughter is in med school so no issues there.

Is she better off leasing or buying?

Anybody know of any particularly good deals on mid-size SUV's? She's not sure what she wants but mentioned she saw an Envoy and like that.

Thanks for the help....thankfully I've never had to buy with bad credit so I'm not so familiar with how that works. She's a great lady so I want to help her out....

 

tell her to go to her local banks and ask them for the rates of intrest and loan amount that she can get. Then go to the dealership and ask what financining they can get her. Whichever is better for her is the one to take. Also if she wants, puting down a large downpayment will help her. Also tell her to consider paying cash.

 

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But really, her #1 priority is to fix her credit. If she makes 70-80K a year, she should be able to afford a decent economy car in full, and that's what she should be looking at, rather than financing a higher priced car.

 

i got a car with bad credit, a 2000 tl-p black on black no navi with 26,000miles for $21,000 (like $30,000 after all the taxes and fees) . i put only $1,500 down but pay $503 a month.

 

My wife's colleague is in a similar predicament only she insists on getting an upscale brand.

I would definitely agree that she needs to focus on something like a Civic or Corolla, get the bad credit (and debts) cleared up/paid off and then take it from there (hopefully having learned a lesson or two).

 

She makes 70-80K, is single, has no mortgage, and has bad credit ?? Shit, she must be really bad with money...

She should have no problem getting a car... She's just going to have to be willing to pay 12-20% interest on the loan... The dealerships will love to sell her a gas guzzling SUV, and have her pay the extra interest... She can always refinance the car at a lower rate once her credit gets re-established.

My sister claimed bankruptcy (due to a divorce), and was upside down (owed more then it was worth in trade in) in her 01 maxima and she got into a 06 Civic Sedan with no issues (other then the higher interest rate).

 

If she's never had a mortgage or car loan, it may be tough for her to get a loan. This is bad because she has never experienced a long term loan before. Yes, she can get financed, but I would say she'll be paying almost 15% on a used car.

 

around here there are used car dealers that work with people who have bad credit. find out if theres something similar there?

 

taxes and fees are ~10% of purchase price. there something seriously wrong if you walked out the door owing $30k for a $21k car.

 

From my experience, I had a 500 credit score when I tried to get my 1st new car. I had no credit. The only way I could get anyone to fiance me was with a co signer. Didn't matter how much I put down, or what bank I went to. They all said the same thing. Even with the co signer my rate was 10.8% This was on a $30K car. I got ripped off on the car as well. I paid it for 2 years then sold the car, paid off the loan, & my credit was a ton better I was able to lease my next car myself.

 

Downpayment. Anyone can get a loan for a car... now you might get a 16% interest rate and have to put 50% as the downpayment, but if you make 70-80K, shouldnt be too much of a problem... do that and pay it off, all payments made on time, and next time you will have less of a downpayment, lower interest rate and a little better credit. Remember... car salesman don't get paid sheeeit if they don't sell cars, so they will do whatever they can to sell you one.