Credit Score Question

[happily single]

I have medicore credit. I am in the market for a new car and went to Carmax. I didn't like their offer to I went to two other dealers. This was all within 3 weeks.

I checked my CreditKarma Score (something I do weekly) and my scored DROPPED 23 POINTS because "YOU HAVE HAD 11 INQUIRES INTO YOUR CREDIT".

I was under the assumption that if you apply for financing for the same thing (ie: mortgage, car loan) within a period of time it would not affect your score greatly. But 23 FREAKING POINTS!!!!

So my question is: There is anyway I can fix this?

 

[Nayan]

Anytime you look for a loan and they do a "hard look" to see if you are credit-worthy it dings your credit. Since you said you have 'just okay' credit, those dings cost more points. Nothing you can do about it sadly .

 

[tvguy]

No, the system worked the way it was supposed to. For all they know, you were buying 11 cars.

 

[daughtersrus]

No, the system worked the way it was supposed to. For all they know, you were buying 11 cars.

3 dealers shouldn't result in 11 inquires.

 

[bdcp]

3 dealers shouldn't result in 11 inquires.

It would if they were having trouble getting the loan. A car dealership might have tried 2-3 loan companies to get an approval.

 

[littleelf]

I don't think 23 points is a big swing, really. Scores fluctuate all the time. Unfortunately, if your score is borderline not that good, it can make a difference. Time will improve it.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Remember that Credit karma is not a real score.

I get my credit score monthly with one of my credit card statements. It's the same one that Credit Karma uses and my Credit Karma score is off by over 40 points. Just because Credit Karma has your score dropping 23 points, it doesn't mean that it actually did. I have read its not uncommon to see a large number of inquiries when applying for an auto loan.

 

[DOREEN1779]

Most dealers will do at least 2 hard inquiries. An example would be if you are comparing financing options. Let's say you want to see if you qualify for Ford Credit 0 % financing. They will run an inquiry. If you do not qualify, the finance department will search out GE Capital, Bank Of America, ect... Each resulting in hard inquiries.

 

[bubblesaunty]

The same thing happened to me a few weeks ago. I searched loan shopping and found that it was normal to loan shop when buying a car or a house. I read that if the pulls were done in a 14 day time frame they counted as 1 pull according to the credit reporting agencies. I was pre approved by my bank. Toyota had a zero interest promotion. I was in there on a Saturday when they were closing. The Manager said I did qualify for zero percent but they could not finish it up until Monday. According to my credit monitoring site they pulled my credit again Monday. I picked it up Monday afternoon ) All together 12 pulls and 22 point drop. I get monthly scores so I am waiting to see what my scores will be next month.

 

[disneyfab]

We took a lot of hits when we bought our last vehicle. We had our own financing through our credit union and the dealer wanted a chance to beat the rate. They were not successful and their attempts resulted in a ton of inquiries.

We contacted the credit bureaus and they deleted or consolidated some of the hits. But, they only did this for the inquiries that had car/auto in the name (i.e. ABC Bank Auto Financing). If it was just ABC Bank, they wouldn't delete or consolidate.

 

[FlyWidget]

I have medicore credit. I am in the market for a new car and went to Carmax. I didn't like their offer to I went to two other dealers. This was all within 3 weeks.

I checked my CreditKarma Score (something I do weekly) and my scored DROPPED 23 POINTS because "YOU HAVE HAD 11 INQUIRES INTO YOUR CREDIT".

I was under the assumption that if you apply for financing for the same thing (ie: mortgage, car loan) within a period of time it would not affect your score greatly. But 23 FREAKING POINTS!!!!

So my question is: There is anyway I can fix this?

When looking for financing for anything (but most commonly a car or mortgage) DO NOT sign anything allowing them to run your credit. As you've learned, it can affect your score. Tell them what you believe your credit score is (which you should always have a good idea of) and they will give you a conditional offer based on that. Once you know who you are going to finance with, THEN allow them to run your credit to begin processing the loan.

Sorry, but there is nothing you can do to change it now.

 

[Firefly09]

Why did you shop around for 3 weeks? I thought the key was to get all the inquiries togethe in about a 2-3 day span so that the lenders that you go to on day 3 may not necessarily see that you've had previous inquiries or any change to your credit that would make lending money more of a risk.

 

[supersnoop]

Some things to be aware of:

Depending on the version of FICO score, multiple inquiries will be considered as one as long as the happen within 14 or 45 days. This is designed so your credit score accurately reflects your attempts to access new credit. Depending on the version used, your "three weeks" might cause you trouble here.

Inquiries in the past 30 days should not be reflected in your score. This 30 day window is specifically designed to allow you time to shop around for the best rate without your score jumping all over the place because of inquiries.

Always, always, get financing secured before you go shopping for a car. Always. You'll know exactly what you can afford. You can always let the dealership try to beat your rate, but it will give you more power in the negotiation with less room for them to play games with your payment. I've heard way to many stories about people who were "approved" at the dealership only to be called back in to re-sign paperwork with a higher rate a week later.

 

[wiigirl]

It would if they were having trouble getting the loan. A car dealership might have tried 2-3 loan companies to get an approval.

That makes sense.

 

[happily single]

That makes sense.

This is exactly what happened. CarMax tried 3 places. I got an offer from one, but I wan't happy with the terms (This is my first loan in a very long time) and they didn't have the car I wanted on their lot-it was at another location.

Sooo I went to another dealer who had great reviews on Yelp, and very fairly priced cars. I spoke with someone twice before submitting my application, then when it was turned over to the finance manager I kept getting the "Its right on my desk, I'll call you right back" and then "I'm going into a meeting with the bank right now. I'll call you back in 1 hour". I finally decided I didn't want to do business with them. That resulted in several more inquires.

The reason is it taking me soo long is because I HATE salespeople and I really am dreading the thought of a car loan. But, I realize my car isn't going to last much longer.

Plus, if I buy a new car I could drive that to Disney and save myself some money on a rental car!

 

[alymae1010]

Remember that Credit karma is not a real score.

I get my credit score monthly with one of my credit card statements. It's the same one that Credit Karma uses and my Credit Karma score is off by over 40 points. Just because Credit Karma has your score dropping 23 points, it doesn't mean that it actually did. I have read its not uncommon to see a large number of inquiries when applying for an auto loan.

This.

Credit Karma is a FAKO, not FICO. It is helpful in estimating your score, but in my experience, it does not consolidate credit inquiries for loans like a FICO does. My Credit Karma score is around 50 points different from my actual FICO score.

 

[seashoreCM]

Hmmm. Would the dealer negotiate a lower financing rateto make the deal, without raising the price of the car?

By the way, the financing arrangements, down to the place to send the payments, needs to be filled out and approved by the dealer before you sign the papers and drive the car home. From various stories I have read on the subject, it seems as if you need an attorney with you to go over the papers before you sign.

 

[mill4023]

This.

Credit Karma is a FAKO, not FICO. It is helpful in estimating your score, but in my experience, it does not consolidate credit inquiries for loans like a FICO does. My Credit Karma score is around 50 points different from my actual FICO score.

Credit Karma is great as a free way to keep your eye on your credit. But not to get your score.
My Credit Karma score is almost 100 points different from my real FICO score.

 

[happily single]

Credit Karma is great as a free way to keep your eye on your credit. But not to get your score.
My Credit Karma score is almost 100 points different from my real FICO score.

I tend to disagree. I have received from FICO from Transunion and it was only about 20 points off from CreditKarma. I also (previously) received my score from Experian (I think) and it was only 5 points off from CreditKarma.

 

[NYCDiane]

My score on Credit Karma was 50 points HIGHER than my actual credit score.

I see other people are saying it was off by different amounts of points. I was hoping I could use CK as a guide but I guess I really can't. I pull my credit reports 4x a year but don't want to have to pay for my credit score that often (at $8 each! $24 for all 3!!! ). I guess I'm going to have to pay for my credit score at least twice a year just to keep track.