If you’re looking to buy a car or truck and want or need an auto loan, it’s sometimes hard to know if you’re a good candidate for one. You may already be aware of many things that inhibit lenders from approving you for an auto loan. But how do you know how to tell if you’re a good candidate for a car loan? There are several determining factors that will help determine this. In order to find out whether or not you’re a good candidate for an auto loan, read through the following list.
Good Credit Score
A good credit score is a number that shows how well you are managing your financial responsibilities. A bad credit score is a number that shows how poorly you are managing your finances. The higher the credit score, the better your chances of getting approved for a loan. And if you have a good credit score, you will likely be offered lower interest rates than people with a lower score. A good credit score is 700 or above. If you have scores in this range, lenders view you as less risky and more likely to pay back their money on time. The exact cutoff point varies by lender and type of loan. For example, some lenders may consider anything above 600 to be good, while others may look at scores between 640 and 680 as “excellent” (instead of “good”).
Stable Employment
Stable employment refers to being employed by the same company for a long time. The longer you work at one job, the more likely it is that your employer will give you a loan. This is because they trust you and know that you are financially responsible. It also shows that you have been able to pay your bills on time and handle credit responsibly in the past. In fact, many auto dealerships require applicants to provide proof of employment before they can apply for an auto loan.
Positive Income Stream
A positive income stream makes it easier for banks to lend money to people who apply for loans. Banks will usually require borrowers to have some type of collateral in order to secure the loan against potential loss if the borrower defaults on their payments. As long as there is collateral available, then the bank will be able to recover its losses when necessary. A negative income stream or no income at all can make it difficult or impossible for banks to lend money.
Reasonable Debt-to-income Ratio
A debt-to-income ratio is the ratio of your monthly expenses to your monthly income. It’s expressed as a percentage. A reasonable debt-to-income ratio is generally considered to be 20% or less. For example, if your monthly income is $4,000 and your monthly expenses are $2,400, your debt-to-income ratio would be 40%. That’s too high for most lenders.
If you want to buy a car with an auto loan, you need to have a low debt-to-income ratio — ideally less than 30% — so that the lender will be confident that you can make all the payments on time every month.
When you’re looking to purchase a car, there are lots of reasons to go with an auto loan over other payment methods; you can be entitled to lower interest rates and even enable yourself for a cash rebate. But before making a purchase, it’s important to determine whether or not you are a good candidate for an auto loan. By taking into account your credit history, income, and debt levels, you can establish if you should apply for an auto loan or not.
