Need help finding a car?

You’ve got the biggest sources listed, the only other thing i can think of is walking the used car lots of dealers. We have a “sell your own” consignment lot nearby, it at least has a lot of choices at various prices in one spot.

Get the word out to friends that you are actively looking and ask if they have any leads. A lot of times people are thinking about selling a car but haven’t gone through the motions of doing the work; hearing you might buy a car makes it easy for them.

And get your financing done ahead of time so that you don;t have to go through a long involved process. People want to sell you their car, not finance it too.

Big dealerships have websites and they sell used cars – mostly trade-ins. How’s your credit? Some places offer $0 down deals, but I’d still put something down. Unless you have no or bad credit, steer clear of buy here, pay here places. They screw you over with interest.

What’s your price range? What area do you live in?

@zenvelo I can’t get to a dealership because I’m not allowed to leave the house, but I’ll keep that in mind if I can find a friend to help me. I have friends knowing that I am looking already :)

@livelaughlove21 I don’t have any credit unless school loans count.
Big dealerships tend to be more expensive, but I will give that a try.

I’m in upstate new york (in the capital district)

My price range would be 3–5k if I get the loan I need.

@Kairi Okay, getting a car financed with no credit will be hard. Student loans count, but only if you’ve already begun to pay on them and have been paying on time for awhile. You may end up with a really high interest rate.

My husbands first truck that he financed had an 18% interest rate because neither of us had a sufficient credit history (even with a couple of credit cards). It took a couple of years to really get it to an acceptable level and he was recently able to get the truck re-financed at a little under 5%, decreased the monthly payment, and decreased the length of the loan. That’s something you can consider if you end up with a crappy rate now.

You can’t get, say a $1500 car and pay out of pocket for it? It won’t be a nice car, but you won’t have a monthly payment to worry about either. How much were you planning to put down?

Big dealerships are more expensive for a reason. They have better financing options and typically carry more reliable used vehicles.

Sometimes auto wreckers take in vehicles that are still safe and in running condition and they will sell them for reasonable prices.

Buy a car from a friend or acquaintance. They will often let you pay off a little at a time.

@livelaughlove21 I have to start paying them back this month, yes. I have to call the place and get my account reopened first (story for another time)
I’ll probably have to do the refinancing anyway.
I can’t afford to pay out of pocket at the moment, and I need to get a vehicle soon so I can do what I need to do. I was hoping to put down a couple thousand for it if possible.
Yeah, true. I can’t afford a big dealership right now though

@Dr_Lawrence Oh, I didn’t know what. I’ll have to look into it. Thanks!

@YARNLADY I don’t know anyone selling right now, but it’s definitely an option!

@Kairi What I’m saying is that if you can afford a $2000 down payment, why not just find a car listed for that amount so you don’t add to your debt?

If you do pick a smaller dealership and have to take a high interest rate, make sure they report to all three credit bureaus. If you’re going to be paying that much in interest, you’ll at least want your on-time payments to raise your credit score. You should really have established some credit history by now, and you’ll never be able to refinance later with no credit.

@livelaughlove21 I can’t afford it out of pocket. this is the amount of a loan I can afford to take out, based on the rates my bank offers.

I don’t have any credit at the moment, but I do have a bank card but I’m not sure if that counts. I had to get the bank account in secret, so I haven’t been able to do anything else, and I’m not all that fond of getting a credit card, but I will if I have to. I’m not sure how else to build up credit yet. I’ll try and go to a bigger dealership if it means I have lower rates. But I’ m going to see if there’s anyone that I know that is selling a car or something so I don’t have to deal with a dealership yet.

@Kairi Having a bank account doesn’t affect your credit. And in order to build credit, you need to get credit – either a credit card or a loan. In many cases, you need credit already established to get either of those things unless you’re prepared to pay a high interest rate or get a co-signer. Building your credit history takes awhile, but it’s necessary unless you plan on paying for everything in cash.

@livelaughlove21 ah ok. I figured it didn’t, but didn’t hurt to check. I have school loans, if those count?

@Kairi They only work in your favor after you’ve been paying on them for awhile.

@livelaughlove21 yeah, I just tried to get a loan from the bank, and the employee said that I can’t even qualify for $500 BECAUSE I have the loans