Vehicle help please

[Mr. Bloom]

i went to freecreditreport.com and checked my score.

its 774. i've had one auto loan (and only loan besides credit cards) i had it for 3 years. does this mean i have a good chance of getting the loan by myself with no one to co-sign and at a low rate?

There are other factors, but this score is outstanding. Depending on your debt/income ratio, they may even reduce the downpayment requirement, unless your car payment is a huge % of you income (say 40% or 50%). I'm a commercial banker, so I'm not totally up on consumer underwriting...and every institution is different.

Once, I was told by a dealer that 750 would qualify for no downpayment, but that was several years ago.

[chickwhorips]

i paid off my debt, only the foot surgeries are on my card at the moment. but the ratio between what i have as credit and what i owe is probably about 5-10%.

i don't plan on having a loan that makes me over 20% of my monthly income.

thank you mr for all your help! i feel much more confident about getting this vehicle on my own.

thank you everyone else for your vehicle knowledge. i have so much to think of when i start test driving cars!

[Tuckervill]

I haven't had anyone ask for a down payment on a car in quite some time. Credit score is similarly outstanding. I can imagine the only folks who do ask for a down payment would be more conservative local banks. Capital One will probably qualify you. My two 20-something sons have recently bought cars and neither had to make a down payment, either.

It could be different in Alaska.

Karen

[Tuckervill]

Oh, of course, it's better if you DO make a down payment, because it saves you money on interest. It's better still if you pay cash for the whole thing, but that's not always possible, as I have suffered recently.

Karen

[SheFly]

I just now have read all of the posts in this thread, since I, too, am in the market for a new "car". The most important thing for us in this purchase is being able to fit the bikes INSIDE the car - this includes our tandems, which are 8 feet long.

Sadly for me, this means nothing less than a mini-van. On the one hand, I totally understand the purchase as it is completely practical given the amount of car travel we do with bikes. On the other hand, we HAVE NO CHILDREN, and NEVER WILL. I am having a really tough time getting my brain around the "soccer mom" label associated with a mini-van.

Oh, and FWIW, DH is goiung to the dealer this afternoon with the tandem to be sure it fits - we already told the salesman that this was one of our primary purchasing criteria! And, we are Toyota folks - this will be our 6th car from the same dealer (Sienna).

SheFly

[SheFly]

I just now have read all of the posts in this thread, since I, too, am in the market for a new "car". The most important thing for us in this purchase is being able to fit the bikes INSIDE the car - this includes our tandems, which are 8 feet long.

Sadly for me, this means nothing less than a mini-van. On the one hand, I totally understand the purchase as it is completely practical given the amount of car travel we do with bikes. On the other hand, we HAVE NO CHILDREN, and NEVER WILL. I am having a really tough time getting my brain around the "soccer mom" label associated with a mini-van.

Oh, and FWIW, DH is going to the dealer this afternoon with the tandem to be sure it fits - we already told the salesman that this was one of our primary purchasing criteria! And, we are Toyota folks - this will be our 6th car from the same dealer (Sienna).

SheFly

[chickwhorips]

i'm looking through the consumer report catalog, seems like its mostly new cars, but there are a few spots that talk about older cars.

it did recommend this websight: http://www.bankrate.com/ for comparing loans. doesn't give much for alaska, but might for everywhere else.

[Mr. Bloom]

i'm looking through the consumer report catalog, seems like its mostly new cars, but there are a few spots that talk about older cars.

it did recommend this websight: http://www.bankrate.com/ for comparing loans. doesn't give much for alaska, but might for everywhere else.

Good luck in actually finding the rates offered on bankrate.com. One time I saw a great rate at a friend's bank (not my own). Called him with a serious inquiry...and he didn't know where the rate came from. It wasn't "bait and switch" it was simply some clerk who answer an inquiry but didn't know what they were talking about.... UGH!!!!

Also, I'm looking at the April '07 issue of Consumer Reports. It has an issue on "Used Cars to Avoid". I'm looking at the magazine...not one of their specialty publications.

[silver]

I just now have read all of the posts in this thread, since I, too, am in the market for a new "car". The most important thing for us in this purchase is being able to fit the bikes INSIDE the car - this includes our tandems, which are 8 feet long.

Sadly for me, this means nothing less than a mini-van. On the one hand, I totally understand the purchase as it is completely practical given the amount of car travel we do with bikes. On the other hand, we HAVE NO CHILDREN, and NEVER WILL. I am having a really tough time getting my brain around the "soccer mom" label associated with a mini-van.

Oh, and FWIW, DH is going to the dealer this afternoon with the tandem to be sure it fits - we already told the salesman that this was one of our primary purchasing criteria! And, we are Toyota folks - this will be our 6th car from the same dealer (Sienna).

SheFly

Shefly....that's what I have....a toyota sienna. I love/hate it. I love how it does everything that I need it to do, but hate the image it has. But practicality wins, and my precious Madone goes inside!!!!

I do wish it had the fold down seats like the newer models. I can just barely manage to wrestle them out of the car by myself (but I can). but I have wondered if having the fold down seats would take up some of the vertical space. Right now I need all the vertical space to roll my bike in.

[sbctwin]

I do wish it had the fold down seats like the newer models. I can just barely manage to wrestle them out of the car by myself (but I can). but I have wondered if having the fold down seats would take up some of the vertical space. Right now I need all the vertical space to roll my bike in.

I have a Honda Odysee 2004 model. I hate the "big" car feel, but like it for several reasons. We fold down the third row bench seat and remove one of the mid row bucket seats. My bike is rather small (650cc wheels) and rolls in very nicely. My husbands Trek is a comfort bike and is very tall with high handlebars. His fits in too, but we do have to eek it in because of the high handlbars, but once in, it stands up. We have bungeed cord a freestanding bikestand where the bucket seat was and we can set our front wheels in and the bikes don't fall over each other. We leased this vehicle. When it is time to look at another vehicle, part of me wants a more economical, small car because it is just DH and me, but the convenience of being able to keep my bike inside the car is too great. I don't like dealing with car racks. At 4'10", everything is a challenge to reach. I also like the van because I sit higher....

[SheFly]

Shefly....that's what I have....a toyota sienna. I love/hate it. I love how it does everything that I need it to do, but hate the image it has. But practicality wins, and my precious Madone goes inside!!!!

I do wish it had the fold down seats like the newer models. I can just barely manage to wrestle them out of the car by myself (but I can). but I have wondered if having the fold down seats would take up some of the vertical space. Right now I need all the vertical space to roll my bike in.

The verdict from DH yesterday was positive - the TT tandem (which is longer than our regular road tandem) will go into the back of the van WITHOUT removing the front wheel (although he did have to turn the bars). I am heading to the dealer to write a big check later today.

The rear seats in the new model fold down, which is KEY for us. They do fold flat to the rest of the floor, so you don't take up any vertical room when they are down. Apparently the space that they fit into is where the spare tire used to sit - they have moved the tire UNDER the van to provide the extra space inside...

SheFly