Oh boy.... I'm officially having a bad day.

Well guys, it turns out I got denied financing. Why? I don't know how, but somehow my credit went from a 720+ four months ago to a 620 even though I haven't missed a payment on anything.

Fantastic. This is also my first car loan and I have no one to co-sign so it's looking like I'm screwed. I tried applying to AAA because I'm a member and they go through 3 different credit unions, but have yet to hear an answer back. I don't have the option to put more money down, either. Banks suck! I can lease a $53,000 Audi but not a $28,000 Subaru? Not to mention my fuel cost will go down... I don't get it.

I really wanted a low production number car, and it's looking like I'm going to have to wait ~6mo. before attempting to get one again. At this rate, I doubt I'll be able to get my hands on one until early next year (who wants to take delivery of a car in January?). I'm so heartbroken! After 3 years of waiting and 6 months of being glued to the FT86/Toyobaru forums I thought my time had finally come. Now I have to watch all you guys getting your cars and enjoying them, and I have to sit by and watch. The only silver lining to this cloud is that I still have a very nice car to drive in the interim, and I'll have 6 months to put together a hefty down payment. I don't even want to go into the dealership to see the car; I'll just get more upset.

Awww man I'm really sorry to hear about this. The mysterious credit drop to 620 sounds a bit suspect. At the dealer I think they have to show you your credit report after a "hard credit check." Keep in mind too many hard checks can lead to a reduced score and takes a year to reset. I think it will start to affect your score after about 3 checks in one year.

620 credit is average to slightly below, and quite frankly suprised they denied you any type of financing.

I wanna know what got me to drop 100 points in 4 months!!! That's friggin' ridiculous. I know I can afford the car; I would never have wasted anyone's time if I hadn't run the scenario a hundred times and made sure all my finances were in order. So aggravating.

Get a free credit history/report. I think you're allowed 1 per year or something. I'm comparing my credit right now with that of 5 months ago and I'm in the same boat as you, almost exactly. Something is fishy.

1 free credit report per credit bureau per year. If you have had a ton of recent inquiries on your credit that can lower your score as well.

The person at AAA Financial Services said it wouldn't matter anyway because neither student loans nor credit cards actually help you establish credit; they only hurt your score if you miss a payment. So I'm stuck with "limited credit history" until I can get a co-signer... this is horse $#!t.

I propose a username change to Financowned. :(

1. Thats false. Any credit history (good or bad) will help/hurt your score. Credit cards, student loans, car payments, mortgages. Some more than others however these ALL get factored in when your score is calculated.

2. Get a free credit report now and look at whats driving your score down

3. Too many credit inquiries can lower your score so if you have been shopping around for more than 30 days this could be a reason as to why the score went down

4. Can you put any more money down? Sometimes this helps secure the loan. Also not sure why they are denying you completely, 620 isn't great but you should still be able to secure a loan, granted it will prob have redic high interest rates.

5. Look at your income and how much debt you have. Maybe you're too leveraged to afford a 28k car even if your score says otherwise..

Honestly, sometimes its better to wait however it looks like you had a good score before and that you can afford the car, so I would keep trying...

Hey Turbowned. I was in the same spot as you. I bartend and pay for everything in cash so I hadn't built up a sufficient credit history. I did have a co-signer but despite their solid score, they didn't have a history either. Knowing my car was coming I got desperate.

I went to equifax, transunion, and experian and ordered up credit reports, and then looked at my credit history. There were a few things on there that were old and paid, but still linger around on your credit score. I started contacting people and getting them to agree to contact the credit reporters getting items wiped off my list. There were 1 or 2 items there that I paid out of pocket with a check by phone, but before I did that I got the people to agree to write letters to get it removed from my credit report as well.

Within four days my credit score jumped nearly 100 points, and while the credit unions wouldn't give me a loan for the full ammount of 28k, Scion did. They also went with another bank and got me a rate lower than the 3.05% that scion offers.

It may not be as easy as walking in and signing paperwork and driving that day, but it's still possible.

I would recommend looking into credit unions as well, they are usually more flexible than banks and also offer more competitive rates.

That's what I thought, but apparently it isn't enough to establish significant credit either way. Turns out I did miss the first payment on the credit card I took out in January; I just had no idea it was due already, but I paid 4 months' worth the next month, so... they sent me a report stating I was a 728 when I took it out. I've had no other inquiries since, just the ones to the dealer and to AAA Financial yesterday. Both of these guys inquired through credit unions (about 4 or 5 to be precise).

I don't have the option to put more money down, unfortunately. I just sent an e-mail to my father asking if he'd co-sign, but it's a long shot because he might as well be a dead-beat when it comes to finances. Love the guy, but he never helps me. Though it's through my company and has no bearing on my credit, I'm leasing a $53,000 Audi right now; you'd think It'd be no problem to finance a $28k Subaru! :bonk:

That's crazy! I'll hafta get a credit report and see if there's anything that can help me. One thing I wanted to do was to pay off one of my credit cards in full but I knew it wouldn't be reported for 30 days, so...

You could try calling the credit card company and ask them to remove the late payment record from your credit. Aside from that, I feel for you since you clearly want this car. But I also don't feel too sorry for you since you drive a very nice ride :)

I am sure it will all work out in the end even if it means waiting, and as you said, you will be able to build up a bigger down payment which is huge IMHO. I hate carpayments and prefer to pay cash when possible and or pay off my car within 2 years.

Good luck!

Could be a debt to income ratio if you already have the $53,000 Audi on your credit record. It could also be a debt to credit ratio issue if you have credit cards and loans that are all near their limit.

That sucks man, I know exactly how that feels... I was in the same boat, got denied by my credit union a week before my car was scheduled to arrive - and they flat out told me that a co-signer would not help. I was devistated. I talked to my dealership and they said that they actually have a number of banks that they work with, so they sent the credit app through - most of them declined the application, but luckily GM Financial (go figure) was the one to approve me.
Hopefully someone can get you approved.