Getting a dang car loan!

[Toadkiller Dog]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Has anyone tried to get a car loan in med school (without your parents cosigning, I mean)?

MY school gives us $300/month in our FA package for "transportation", so I've got the dang money, but the banks won't listen, and my online apps all got rejected on the first try.

Further ticking me off is the fact that I have $15k in the bank (I only want 7k for the car!) and a sparking credit rating (I am a slightly older student). The scumbags at the car dealerships will loan to me, but to the tune of 8%. Grrrrr.......

I've just started the process, so I've yet to really push hard. Any tips out there from other med students?

 

[booshwa]

Wow, $300/month for transportation...that is great. I'm only getting $1900/yr and this is in LA where my insurance alone is $140/month.

A have a loan right now, but got it before I started school. Perhaps try joining a credit union as they are a lot easier to deal with in my experience. Other than that, not sure what exactly to recommend. Good luck!

 

[mpp]

Students are notorious defaulters on loans so you'll just probalby have to suck up to the higher interest rate. Or, use the cash to buy the car and you should be eligible to replace that cash with Stafford loan money (at a much lower rate) next year since you won't have that cash on hand to report on FAFSA.

 

[mpp]

No that I reread your post I think what you are saying is you already have $15k and just need another $7k for the car. Are you maxed out on the Stafford loans? That is your best source of cheap money.

 

[Toadkiller Dog]

Thanks for the replies.

No, I only wanted 7K *total* for the car. I could just buy it outright with the $$ I have in the bank, but I really feel like I need that cushion in case something comes up (I have a wife and 2 kids).

I am maxed out on my Stafford loans (due to the fact that I have a family), so the 15k in the bank doesn't hurt me any. And the problem with the dealerships isn't the high interest rate, its the fact that they always want at least 25% more than a private seller for the same car. Add that to a ridiculous interest rate, and I'm paying double for a stupid used car.

As an update, my own frigging bank (the one with the $15k) just turned me down!

Sigh....I guess I'm stuck with my jalopy for another 2 years.

 

[Fermi]

Originally posted by Toadkiller Dog
...my online apps all got rejected on the first try...As an update, my own frigging bank (the one with the $15k) just turned me down!

Toadkiller,

First piece of advice: do not do any more online car loan apps! Every time you do this, they usually inquire into your credit report, and it goes on your record that you applied to borrow money. You credit rating actually goes down every time a loan company looks into your credit. This may be why your own bank turned you down--for all they know, you could be setting up loans all over the internet! So the second piece of advice is to get a copy of your credit report, which you should be able to get for free because you were denied a loan. Look it over and see if there are any errors and/or major reasons why your credit score is low. Maybe you could go over it with someone at your bank, so they can work with you on getting some type of loan.

 

[thackl]

Originally posted by Toadkiller Dog
Thanks for the replies.

No, I only wanted 7K *total* for the car. I could just buy it outright with the $$ I have in the bank, but I really feel like I need that cushion in case something comes up (I have a wife and 2 kids).

Me too. Put your wife to work part time and use her credit rating. We took care of the car/house issue before school. My wife's 2000 minivan gets replaced when residency starts and my 2002 Pro5 goes after res.

 

[alina_s]

I just went to my bank to find out about a car loan. My credit rating is excellent but I was rejected because of my minimal student loan income; the loan officer advised buying from a dealership because they are much bigger risk-takers than banks. The bank was actually quite restrictive about what kinds of cars they would offer loans for anyway: nothing more than 5 years or 100K miles. I agree, though, about car dealerships being a rip-off. I guess I'll stick with my geriatric auto until it dies. I really wish that med schools were a little more considerate about the locations that they assign students to; if it weren't for the absurdly distant suburban outpatient clinics, there would be no need to own a car at all.