Stephen got a credit monitoring service to provide him with his reports from the three credit bureaus, as well as their three FICO scores. He was shocked to find his credit score was 560. He was reported as having defaulted on one of his students loans, which was incorrect. He was able to get that removed quickly. But his credit rating was still well below 650.

What should Stephen do now? Of course, Steven should work to repair his credit rating:

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  Pay all bills on time.


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  Stay at the same address for a few years if at all possible.


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  Contact the lenders who reported negative information to the credit bureaus to see if they will remove it or amend it to emphasize that his accounts were eventually returned to good standing.

But in the meantime, Steve needs a car loan. His job isn?t a on a bus route and he can?t pay cash. After careful research on the internet, Steve finds he could get a high-interest bad-credit auto loan. The loan will also give Steve another chance to restore his credit.

To take a bite out of the interest, Steve gets a friend of his who?s a mechanic to help him find an inexpensive but reliable used car?which means a smaller loan and therefore smaller interest payments. He also dips into his savings and 401(k) to pay as much up front as he can, since the interest on the car loan will outpace the interest he could earn on these accounts.

Five years later, Steve?s credit rating is as good as gold and he trades his used car in for the car he always wanted.

What will you be driving in five years? If you plan well and get the best deal possible on your bad credit car loan, you?ll go far whatever you?re driving.

Start your research by getting your credit report and FICO scores from these credit monitoring services: Equifax, Consumerinfo, or TrueCredit Then look into apply at these
bad credit car loan lenders:

Joel Walsh, a regular contributor, has written more tips on how to get a car loan with bad credit Bad Credit Car Loans:http://www.cars-auto-loans.com