Qualifying For Green Car Loans with Bad Credit

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Green car loans now have a new name-the Fuel Smart Auto Loan. This loan can be extremely helpful for individuals who are interested in purchasing a hybrid or highly fuel efficient car, even if you have bad or poor credit history.

Green Car Loans

The green car loan program was changed to the Fuel Smart Auto Loan in early 2009. This loan is designed to encourage individuals to purchase cars with improved air pollution emissions. These low emissions are largely through high fuel efficiency or the use of alternative fuels for power. Cars with at least 30 mpg qualify for the loan program.

For individuals buying qualifying cars, there are 2 primary benefits. The first is the ecoAUTO rebate program. This is for individuals who are purchasing a car with better fuel economy than their current car. This is a separate program from the recently announced Cash for Clunkers program, which provides purchase vouchers that can be applied toward the purchase of a new car in return for turning in an older or less fuel efficient car.

The second benefit of the Fuel Smart Auto Loan program is that purchasing a qualified car provides a .30% discount on the rate for a new car purchase. As a result of this discount, monthly payments can be reduced.

Bad Credit Car Loans

1 of the advantages of a green car loan is that it can be applied for a qualified car purchase no matter what your credit history is. As a result, the discount on the monthly loan payment can prove to be very helpful. The Fuel Smart Auto Loan is a program that can be applied regardless of where the borrower initiates their auto loan.

In many cases, a private auto loan through a bank, credit union or online lender is the loan of choice for individuals with bad credit. Private loans are usually for amounts no higher than $30,000, which may eliminate the purchase of a luxury car. However, private loans are also available for used car purchases, and it is possible to find loan returns or used car loans for relatively new cars that still qualify under the requirements of the Fuel Smart Auto Loan program.

Review Your Credit Report

Before you apply for any car loan, you should review your current credit report. Every American is entitled to an annual free copy of their credit report. Since many credit reports have some sort of error or incorrect information, it is important to review your report and challenge any incorrect information. This often results in an improvement in your credit score. You can also report positive credit information and improve your credit score.

When combined with proactive credit repair, it is possible to use green car loan programs to your advantage. The Fuel Smart Auto Loan program is designed to provide discounts for loans on the purchase of cars that have 30 mpg or better. While most individuals with bad credit need to turn to private auto loans, the Fuel Smart Auto Loan can be applied no matter who the lender is and can help reduce monthly car payments.


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