Your credit score is one of the single most important numbers that affect your adult life second only to things like blood pressure and cholesterol. You should check both often to ensure good health physically and financially. A great credit score means you’ll get an equally great deal next time you head out to buy a car. A poor credit score means you might not be able to get that car of your dreams, or you may pay out of the nose to finance it. To know which side of the fence you’ll land on in this scenario, check your credit report and FICO score from a reputable provider before ever hitting the car lot or shopping for cars online at Cars.com.
Excellent credit scores fall within the range of 750 to 800 and will earn you the best deals at dealerships like those enticing zero percent interest arrangements that car manufacturers love to advertise. Very good credit scores fall within the range of 700 and 750 and will get you an equally good deal on the lot in terms of low interest rates on loans like one or two percent. Fair credit scores fall within the range of 640 and 700 and mean you’ll pay a bit more in interest to finance your vehicle, but you still shouldn’t have any problems buying whatever car you want to. Scores of 640 and below are typically considered less-than-stellar credit scores and could keep you from buying the car of your dreams, or at the very least mean you’ll pay a whole lot more for it.
Rest assured that if you take care of your financial health before you start car shopping, the car buying experience should be a breeze. To ensure your credit score falls within one of the top three ranges pay your bills on time, keep your credit to balance ratios low meaning don’t use more than 20 percent of the credit that’s available to you, take care of any financial problems that could cause derogatory remarks on your report and always use credit in a responsible way.
