Aaron's Autos – Waco / TempleGetting approved for an Auto Loan

For over 20 years, I've been helping individuals, families and business owners get the vehicles they need for everyday use.

This business is truly amazing, and during my time, I've dealt with just about every situation imaginable. From impossible credit situations to $70,000 cash purchases, my experiences have given me an advantage over many in the car biz.

The situation I find myself dealing with most frequently, is the one involving poor credit or no credit. The economy has been tough for many people these past few years, and because of job losses, divorce, moving, and starting over again, they assume it is impossible to get approved for a loan.

In the past, that may have been true, but today, lenders are making loans the old fashioned way, using common sense and considering other factors.

There was a time when your credit score was everything. If you had less than a 550 credit score, there were few lenders willing to take a chance. 700 plus credit score customers have always been able to purchase whatever they want, at a great rate and extended term and advance. Because they've proven to be financially responsible, lenders allow them more room.

But what if you're recently divorced, and your spouse, who won the vehicle in the divorce, is not making payments, and now, your credit is destroyed? Or, what if there was a medical emergency, and you had to make financial decisions based on the immediate concerns, and credit cards became delinquent and ultimately charged off?

In my years, I've literally heard thousands upon thousands of scenarios. But there's good news at the end of this story.

Earlier I mentioned lenders were using different criteria than solely qualifying based on credit score. These days, our select lenders are looking for stability at both residence and employment. Three months is the usual minimum length requirement, but some lenders will approve a loan with only a week on the job.

The key is to be prepared to validate everything on your application. If you work for a company and get paid in cash, there are ways to work with that. If you only have a Job Letter, it's OK. Most of our lenders will accept job letters, bank statements, and of course check stubs. Only receiving disability income? No worries, our lenders also accept this income, however, you must budget and qualify for payment accordingly.

Verifying your residence is easy. All you need is a utility bill in your name, with current address, dated within 30 days of approval. Gas bill, electric bills, water bill, phone bill and even bank statements can serve as proof of residence.

Last, lenders want to be able to contact your references in case you are not making your payments. They require 6 to 10 family references, with names, addresses, phone # and relationships.

With these basic principles, you have a high potential to be approved through our lenders. The main variable is the down payment requirement, which depends on the quality of the credit. For example, someone with a repossession, several charge-offs and short job time may be required to put down more than someone who has not had a repossession and has been on their job for 2 to 3 years, not 2 to 3 months.

Interest rates also vary based on credit and applicant information. Obviously, high credit scores receive lower rates than those with lower credit scores.

The lenders also take into consideration the applicants budget. If the applicant makes $800/mo working at a part time job while going to college, and somehow has $2000 down, does not automatically mean they can be approved for a 7 series BMW. Yes, they may meet the requirements for the down payment, but the monthly payment does not fit the budget, and in these situations, the lenders will set a maximum amount to finance. We do our best to find a vehicle that works.

In the end, every deal is different. Yes, some can purchase a vehicle with $500 down, and many do. That said, many would like to drive out in a vehicle with only $500 down, but are unable to based on their particular profile. How do you find out what it takes? Get pre-qualified. Like shopping for a home, it's best to get qualified so you know in advance what you are able to purchase.

We do strive for 100% approvals, but much of that depends on the applicant and their willingness to work with us.

All it takes is a few minutes to fill out an application on our website www.aaronsautos.com, click the finance tab and submit your application. We take it from there and will contact you to get things started.

We stock clean vehicles, many with very low miles and late model. We also carry less expensive cash vehicles and some that we can finance in-house, if we need to.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you,

Duke MachadoManagerAaron's Autos(254) 753-2886 Office(254) 732-3818 Fax