Buy a Car with Bad Credit – It’s Easy!

So you want to know how to buy a car with bad credit or no credit?  Honestly, there’s no secret recipe for success. The most important thing to remember is you need to find a dealership you can trust to give you honest information and won’t take advantage of your situation.

Whether you’re young and just getting into the world of credit or you’ve had a rough time and your score isn’t great, buying a car can be difficult when credit isn’t on your side. But there are plenty of ways you can work with a dealership to finance a car.

Believe it or not, buying a new car with bad credit is actually easier than buying a used one when you have poor credit, so it’s not a bad idea to try for a new car first. Lenders know that new cars are less likely to break down and need expensive repairs, so they have more faith that you’ll have the money to make the payment. Plus, a new car is worth more to a lender than a used car, so they make out better if the car is repossessed.

If you’re goal is to buy a car with bad credit, you can also try to find dealerships that have a reputation for financing to customers with poor credit. These dealerships often don’t make money off these deals but instead aim to develop a relationship with the customer that will pay off for them in the long run through referrals, trade-ins, and maintenance performed at the dealership. Dealers and lenders will also be more willing to sell to you if you have a co-signer.

But you can still be taken advantage of by a dealership that will overcharge you by implying your credit is worse than it really is, so know your score and understand what it means before you go in. And know your budget—you may be able to qualify for a loan with higher payments and a shorter loan term if you’re rejected for a longer term.

Keep one thing in mind, though: don’t buy the car if you can’t afford the payment! 

Carter Chevrolet can help you buy a car, truck, or SUV, regardless of your credit situation… here’s how:

Buy A Car With Bad Credit

We like to refer to it as the best kept secret in the automotive industry.

If you live in Oklahoma, and are in need of a car or truck loan, and have bad credit, make sure to read on.

Did you know we have financing programs available to help you qualify for a loan and save big time money on your interest rate?  Let’s say you were planning on visiting a Buy Here Pay Here car lot and they approve you at the standard 21% financing rate and over charge you for the vehicle (simply because they can), and this vehicle has over 100,000 miles. They collect your down payment of $1,000 – $2,000, calculate your payments, have you sign a bunch of paperwork and you are officially upside down on a high mileage vehicle that has the potential to break down at any moment.

Let’s say you found Carter Chevrolet online first, read our reviews, and decided to check us out first before heading to that Buy Here Pay Here lot.  We sit down at a desk, discuss your current situation and decide to take a look at your credit profile with the bank.  We then show you a brand spankin’ new Chevrolet Cruze, and you fall in love.

Rather than paying 21% at a Buy Here Pay Here lot, we have a lender that can get you an interest rate of 10% or less in most cases. Sometimes, we’ve seen rates as low as 2.9% – FOR NOT THE BEST CREDIT. Crazy, isn’t it?  Here’s why and how it works.  The lender we use has an agreement with Chevrolet.  Let’s use that Chevy Cruze you test drove earlier as an example.

The new Chevy Cruze has a $1,000 rebate. Rather than you getting the $1,000 off of the price of the vehicle, Chevrolet will send this $1,000 rebate to the bank, and is essentially “buying down” your interest rate. Instead of paying that high, 21% interest rate that everyone else has quoted you, they have programs for sub prime credit financing (not the best of credit) on certain Chevrolet models each month where the rate can be significantly lower than you were expecting.  So, you might pay a little more for the vehicle you are buying because the rebate isn’t coming off of the price, but 9 out of 10 times, the interest rate savings is thousands of dollars cheaper, making your monthly payment a lot less.

What do I do next?

Our team at Carter Chevrolet in Oklahoma is ready and willing to help you.  We are experts in helping customers buy a car with bad credit.  You’re already on our website, so you’re one step ahead of everyone else.  Just fill out our secure and easy loan application and we’ll do our part to make it a hassle free buying experience.

Click here to complete the Loan Application