Re: buying a secondhand car

That's a superb idea. Find out what your credit actually *is*, and
what your bank can do for you (two separate issues). It's my
understanding that some car dealers make quite a bit of easy money from
high-interest and/or long-term loans to customers who incorrectly
presume that they can't do any better. That "Come In For A Checkup
with Dr. Credit" booth may or may not contain a friend of yours...


See, with a loan, you're doing two business deals that can and should
be separated in your decision process even if ultimately the numbers
say you should do both deals in the same place -- one is buying a car,
and the other is renting some money. Lending is a competitive
business (and money is still fairly cheap these days), so learn how it
works and shop around. You might be surprised at how bad your
situation isn't, and you WILL be better off in subsequent decisions for
knowing exactly where you stand.

(As long as you're in there, talk to your banker about how to build
one's credit history from the starting line... and how to avoid
decisions and behaviors that are likely to worsen it.)

Meanwhile, check out the book described on
http://www.dontgettakeneverytime.com/
as well as
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menu-auto.htm

Best of luck,
--Joe

.

Relevant Pages

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