When my husband bought a car in 2005, he had the worst kind of credit rating...NONE. obviously he got the worst interest rate going. Its been over a year and Im sure he could refinance. We keep getting loads of offers in the mail, but both feel they are a scam. However, its ridiculous to pay the amount he is paying if he is now eligible to get a better rate after establishing a credit record. Yes?

So the question is how and where are the best places to apply to, that actually DO save money, not just appear to!??
I have heard that lending tree is a good resource? but my SO is paranoid about putting details on the internet....

thanks for any advice

Start at your bank?....

Find out your Credit Score forst.

Soooo....go to your bank, apply for a loan, and learn your credit score....

But don't start applying everywhere to see where you get the best deal. Each place you apply at will check your credit score... each "credit check" reduces your score. So after about 4 or 5 credit checks by places or yourself will decrease your score back down, or will appear you are financially not stable and seeking large credit.

Here's some tips:
1. Find your credit score
2. Shop around anonymously for rates based on your score (dont give them your SS#)
3. When you finally decide on where to go to refinance, then give them SS#

Some people said to go to your bank, you can, but local banks usually dont specialize in car loans (more likely home mortgage loans) and rarely give you the best.

well the original loan was through the car dealership's lending institution...His bank ( actually a credit union if that makes a difference?) refused a loan initially due to the lack of credit history... So he should try going back to his bank now? I'd heard it was bad to be refused with regard to credit history, and was worried about being refused twice. And that maybe would be better to go with an institution that is already offering, ie through lending tree...

Sorry, I'm not yet sure how all this works over here.




ahh, ok. Thanks

My credit union gives out tons of car loans at at a much better rate that the GMAC type people do...

I would try with your credit union again. Find out your score, let them know what it is and they'll tell you your chancesof approval and what rate you've gotten... credit unions are good at giving their members pretty good customer service in that regard...

Sorry to say most credit unions give pretty generous financial terms and approval rates to their members, so if you get refused by them, you may not have much luck anywhere else in getting a better rate...

thanks, will do.

One thing you could consider with those offers you get in the mail, is to look at the "balance transfer" rates on credit card offers, if he is getting some. Most people probably wouldn't think about that because of the bad reputation and generally higher rates that credit cards offer......but some are not bad at all.

A few years ago, I got an offer from American Express. I was approved for enough, that I was able to transfer all of what I owed to my credit union from their car loan, and transfer it all to the American Express. Not only did they offer me 2.9% at the time (was back around 2001....be hard to find that kind of offer now), but the transfer was also a "lifetime" transfer, meaning they wouldn't raise the rate, unless of course if I defaulted on a payment....but I never did.
I never used the card for anything else, and just used it to for my car loan transfer.

It was a terrific deal for me, and at the time was several points lower than the rate my credit union was asking.

I would just advise anyone who did try such a thing, to read the fine print etc....... Some balance transfer rates expire, then go through the roof. Some cards, like Discover have this silly policy where you have to buy something on the card each month, which seems like a pain, plus that remains on the card until you pay the transfer off, and at much higher rates. Also, never use the card for anything else , and register to make payments online, so you never have a missed payment due to it being lost in the mail etc.....

It's a suggestion........and worth a look if your husband is getting any decent offers in the mail.

just a point of clarity regarding multiple inquiries to ones credit;

multiple inquiries into a persons credit in a single period of time are seen as only 1 inquiry........say you are rate shopping and the companies inquire about your credit all in a 2 week period of time , the credit bureaus will show that as a single inquiry so as to not penalize you for trying to shop for the best rate.


http://www.mtgprofessor.com/A%20-%20Credit...your_credit.htm

thanks for the info!

Let us know how you get on Lisa, I too have financed a car for 1 year and was thinking of doing the same thing for the same reason.

I was in a similar situation. I had to buy a car while I still did not have any credit history. I inquired with my bank at that time, but they could not help me. So I had to accept the loan offer through the car dealership. The APR with that loan with ridiculously high!

Over the following months I continued establishing credit and not even a year after the purchase I went to a credit union and got it refinanced without any problems. They were very friendly and helpful and I lowered my APR by more than 10%!!!

Good luck!