FICO vs Credit Score + Car loan

[*Seanaci*]

Ok. So I know that they are not the same...nor do they get used for the same reason. I also think if I remember correctly FICO is the score used when applying for a large loan (ie car or home).

Due to circumstances beyond our control, and lack of money, and a POS car that's had more work done on in the last 12 years than I care to list, my husband and I will be looking into getting a car loan after the 1st of the year.

We checked our FICO scores the other night and found that mine is 702 and his is 692. I know higher scores=lower interest rate, while lower scores=higher interest rate. What I can't seem to find is a scale for what is considered higher/good score, and what is considered a lower/bad score. Any help? Also, what is the likelyhood that we'll be able to get a loan with those scores?

Bear in mind, this IS NOT credit scores (as my credit score is around 690, and I don't remember what my husbands is).

Thanks in advance.

 

[Callie]

I bought a used car (only two years old) in September. My credit score was around a 730ish. They told me I would've qualified for one of the best rates, except that I'm only 21, and had never had a loan.

My mom's was slightly higher, around 740, and she ended up with just under 3%, so I think you should be get a pretty good rate!

 

[XYSRUS]

I recently got a new car and was told 725 was their cutoff for the best rate offered. I won't tell you my credit score but I will tell you I got the best rate offered.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

creditboards dot com will help you find the answers you are looking for...

 

[disneymagicgirl]

More info than you could ever need at ficoforums.com

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Also, it depends on where you go to get your car loan. DH and I have one blemish on our credit score. We moved right before the housing bubble burst, but we had a buyer and everything signed. Well, the buyers backed out after we were moved. So, long story, 18 months later we did a short sale. That was 4 years ago.

Our credit score is good, in the 700's, but it's not perfect. Our local credit union, however, looks beyond the credit score - it's a factor, of course - but they treat us like our credit was gold and always give us their very best rates. (We paid a second mortgage for 18 months until we actually had a buyer in hand, after all.)

I've heard this from other people, especially here on the boards - local credit unions/savings and loans are the way to go. They give good rates anyway, but they also look past one number and at what kind of person you really are.

 

[*Seanaci*]

Thanks all. I am slowly starting to feel better about being pushed into getting a new car. And we are credit union members...so were already planning on going through them for our loan.

I will most defense check out the 2 forums suggested as well.

Thanks again! Happy Holidays! °o°

 

[ccgirl]

Ok. So I know that they are not the same...nor do they get used for the same reason. I also think if I remember correctly FICO is the score used when applying for a large loan (ie car or home).

Due to circumstances beyond our control, and lack of money, and a POS car that's had more work done on in the last 12 years than I care to list, my husband and I will be looking into getting a car loan after the 1st of the year.

We checked our FICO scores the other night and found that mine is 702 and his is 692. I know higher scores=lower interest rate, while lower scores=higher interest rate. What I can't seem to find is a scale for what is considered higher/good score, and what is considered a lower/bad score. Any help? Also, what is the likelyhood that we'll be able to get a loan with those scores?

Bear in mind, this IS NOT credit scores (as my credit score is around 690, and I don't remember what my husbands is).

Thanks in advance.

It's hard to find a scale because it really depends. I will tell you with those scores you will most likely get a very good rate still. However, you are unlikely to qualify for the 0% financing promotion if it is offered.

Hope this helps.

 

[*Seanaci*]

It's hard to find a scale because it really depends. I will tell you with those scores you will most likely get a very good rate still. However, you are unlikely to qualify for the 0% financing promotion if it is offered.

Hope this helps.

Thanks. Not sure who is running 0% financing at the moment. But we won't even be shopping/buying until next month.

 

[Karlzmom]

Thanks. Not sure who is running 0% financing at the moment. But we won't even be shopping/buying until next month.

Edmunds dot com is a great site for all things car! This includes a section on incentives and rebates. All offers for the various makes are available, both purchase and lease. This includes, cash back, special financing rates, loyalty cash, 1st time with brand bonuses and the little known "marketing support." Anyone buying a new car should know what the dealer stands to make on the sale and work to negotiate it into the deal....It really does help and I've been able to swing some nice deals because I walked in the door knowing what was out there and available. The site also lets you build your car with the options you want and see the list price and the MSRP so you can negotiate in the margin.

I have also used my Costco membership after doing my homework and have been able to score a nice deal that way as well. A friend who used their Costco price was able to shave nearly $9K off on their car.

Good Luck and have fun..remember, the new car smell is fleeting so enjoy it while you can

 

[*Seanaci*]

Edmunds dot com is a great site for all things car! This includes a section on incentives and rebates. All offers for the various makes are available, both purchase and lease. This includes, cash back, special financing rates, loyalty cash, 1st time with brand bonuses and the little known "marketing support." Anyone buying a new car should know what the dealer stands to make on the sale and work to negotiate it into the deal....It really does help and I've been able to swing some nice deals because I walked in the door knowing what was out there and available. The site also lets you build your car with the options you want and see the list price and the MSRP so you can negotiate in the margin.

I have also used my Costco membership after doing my homework and have been able to score a nice deal that way as well. A friend who used their Costco price was able to shave nearly $9K off on their car.

Good Luck and have fun..remember, the new car smell is fleeting so enjoy it while you can

Thank you times a million! I will def be doing my homework when we return from our trip.

 

[Angrypenguin]

Hi OP, I know you mentioned that you're looking for a new car after the first of the year, but if you can, I highly recommend doing it now if it's possible. The reason I say that, is that it's the end of the year, so all manufacturers are trying to hit year-end numbers, as well as dealerships trying to hit year-end, so you could get a double whammy and save thousands buying now vs. buying in January or February.

Manufacturers in December tend to doll out the highest incentives (cash back, financing, etc.) worth several thousand dollars, and the dealerships themselves are usually willing to cut deals to make year end quotas (at or below invoice prices on cars). So you could potentially get invoice pricing (saving thousands) and throwing incentives on top of that (usually a thousand or two) and save big money. However, when moving to Jan/Feb., the industry starts slowing down and all the incentives tend to be minimal or disappear all together.

Good luck!

 

[powelweb]

FYI- for comparison car shopping, I've used Edmunds in the past, but a co-worker recently turned me on to truecar dot com when we were looking to replace one of our vehicles about a month ago and I found the info with local pricing very helpful.

Especially the charts and filters that let you know if you're getting a good deal or a great deal for your area on that particular car.

They have info on both new and used cars, too.

good luck

 

[*Seanaci*]

Hi OP, I know you mentioned that you're looking for a new car after the first of the year, but if you can, I highly recommend doing it now if it's possible. The reason I say that, is that it's the end of the year, so all manufacturers are trying to hit year-end numbers, as well as dealerships trying to hit year-end, so you could get a double whammy and save thousands buying now vs. buying in January or February.

Manufacturers in December tend to doll out the highest incentives (cash back, financing, etc.) worth several thousand dollars, and the dealerships themselves are usually willing to cut deals to make year end quotas (at or below invoice prices on cars). So you could potentially get invoice pricing (saving thousands) and throwing incentives on top of that (usually a thousand or two) and save big money. However, when moving to Jan/Feb., the industry starts slowing down and all the incentives tend to be minimal or disappear all together.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately I don't think we can do it now...as our down payment would be no more than $500. Although I suppose it couldn't hurt to look into it.

 

[*Seanaci*]

FYI- for comparison car shopping, I've used Edmunds in the past, but a co-worker recently turned me on to truecar dot com when we were looking to replace one of our vehicles about a month ago and I found the info with local pricing very helpful.

Especially the charts and filters that let you know if you're getting a good deal or a great deal for your area on that particular car.

They have info on both new and used cars, too.

good luck

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll be sure to look at the website you've suggested as well.

 

[girli565]

Right after we got married my husband and I needed to refinance his car in his name only or both our names. It was in his and his mom's name and getting insurance was a problem because she wanted to have us pay it all in full every 6 months and we just couldn't do that at the time. And she also nagged us about the car all the time. We needed to refinance before I killed her

I'd been with my credit union for over 10 years, have CCs and a car loan with them that have always been paid on time. They were wonderful and refinanced the car in our names even though my husband opened his account that morning. his score was in the 630's and mine was around 700. They refinanced his 2 year old car for about 2.4% and even lowered his payment by $50 and for a shorter loan term than he initially had. They really looked at the whole picture and not just our credit. I'm sure me being a member for so long also helped.

 

[cassandrap83]

Your credit scores are in the "good" range, and will get you an acceptable interest rate. You will most likely not qualify for a 0% rate.


I agree with PP to try car shopping now, before the New Year. You can get a car with $0 down often times.

 

[timmac]

Am I the only one doing a double take at the phrase "FICO and credit score aren't the same thing"?

Everyone has three credit scores, one for each of the three major bureaus. There are multiple methods available to calculate a score from a credit report, FICO being far and away the most common. When someone says "My FICO is X, but my credit score is Y", and provides exactly two numbers like that, it leads me to believe there might be at least a subtle misunderstanding at some point in the process.

 

[*Seanaci*]

Am I the only one doing a double take at the phrase "FICO and credit score aren't the same thing"?

Everyone has three credit scores, one for each of the three major bureaus. There are multiple methods available to calculate a score from a credit report, FICO being far and away the most common. When someone says "My FICO is X, but my credit score is Y", and provides exactly two numbers like that, it leads me to believe there might be at least a subtle misunderstanding at some point in the process.

Uh...guess I'm confused then. What is the difference between FICO and credit? I know I have 3 credit scores from the 3 bureaus. They all vary slightly. So what exactly is FICO? Is it an average of the 3 scores from the bureaus?

 

[timmac]

Uh...guess I'm confused then. What is the difference between FICO and credit? I know I have 3 credit scores from the 3 bureaus. They all vary slightly. So what exactly is FICO? Is it an average of the 3 scores from the bureaus?

Sorry for my delay in responding. A credit score is a means of providing a numerical score that (in theory) summarizes the risk/creditworthiness of a credit profile into a number. There are several different methods of doing this. FICO is one such method, and is overwhelmingly the most popular.

In other words, FICO is a type of credit score. (Other scoring methods include VantageScore and TransRisk, there's probably others beyond that too.)