My husband and I are in the market for a new car (as in an 06) and we’ve been told that our credit is horrible and we would need a huge down payment and a co-signer. I know of about 5 different people who bought new cars and their credit is worse than ours and they managed to get no down payment and didn’t need a co-signer. How does that work.
I’m not sure how you know how their credit compares to yours, but that’s a whole other story.
Most ‘bad credit’ car loans wind up costing you a fortune – either in very high interest rates or high car price. My best advice is to fix your credit, then buy a new car.
While your credit is under repair, keep finding $500 cars to get you through. Even if one only lasts 6 months, you’re 5 car payments ahead, see?
Also, a downpayment should be seriously considered. Even if your trade is the downpayment, your monthlies are that much lower. Pay the sales tax up front as well. Why pay interest on tax? That makes no sense. If you owe more than the trade is worth, keep it! Trade when the value exceeds the remaining payments!