phillip

alright i have a question. considering that i am only 18 years old, i am intrested in getting a loan for a car. being just turned 18 for a couple months, comes my question:
would i be able to get a loan, considering my age, and that i have no credit basically? any hints or tips or anything would be helpful. i know there are older people on this board, who have cars in their own name and what not. what i dont want to do is have my mother/father co-sign cuz their credit is garbage. is there anything i can do, to maybe like be eligible to get a loan for a car? or what else could i do? build up credit or whatever. thanks

MattnTheHATch

being that you have no credit history, things like your time on job, time at residency, and income are going to make or break your chances. anyway you look at you can expect around 20% interest. just make your payments on time and refinance the loan with a bank or credit union to get the rate down.

if your navy then talk to navy federal or if you have a family member who is in the navy.

Aquavit

Get a small scale credit card through your bank and put something small on it, make the payments on time and after 3 months you get a mark towards good credit, then they'll consider you, otherwise, with no credit, you'll need a co-signer.

Corey

Listen to Matt. He does this stuff all day long.

Brock Obama

20% interest????

wow.

Fabrik8

Get a checking account with a Visa check card, and use it as a credit card (not a check card) everywhere you would normally use cash, like at the groc store and gas statiions. It's a credit card that deducts right from your checking account. Also get a traditional credit card and put small purchases on that, like CDs and things like that. You'll have high APR rates on these cards but it won't matter because you'll be paying them off as soon as you build a balance. Pay that card off like a saint, and be careful with your spending so you know exactly where you stand. The only way to get credit is to make credit.
You'll still have a high interest rate if you want to get a car loan, but the credit cards will help a ton. I would recommend a smallish loan, and not getting a expensive car, just something modestly priced. When you pay off that car loan, you'll be good to go for much better loan rates next time.
It's a big pain in the ass, but you have to prove yourself before you'll get good interest rates. You have to start somewhere..

TeamRR

wait for a navy federal auction. My 18year old brother got a 8,000 doller loan on the spot in 30 minutes, if you have nfcu?

Dr. 4.6

Get a student credit card. When I turned 18 I got a student credit card and even though I was not a student. The interest was 27% but I paid it off every month and soon after that I got better cards with less interest. I currently use a platinum plus visa with a $5500 limit and a 6.65% interest rate. The Mustang is entirely in my name and the loan was for 32k at a rate of 6.9% which was the lowest I could get on a new Mustang and I am 20. Also check your beacon score often once you start establishing credit. Mine is now 800 which means I can get anything. My dad works for Suntrust so I have been around this stuff forever. If you want the loan right now I would talk to a credit union, the have the best rates and the are more forgiving if you have no credit. Your rate with them would be like 8-12%. Hopefully that helps.

Keepin it Klean

I have a Visa Check card through Wachovia, I have always been under the impression that it does not help build credit, if someone knows for sure please let me know..

Dr. 4.6

A Visa check card does not help your credit becuase it is not an actual credit card it is a debit card.