If your credit isn’t so great, and you’re worried about it stopping your chances of getting approved for an auto loan, you could visit a dealership that uses your job as your credit. Your job is your credit car lots are a type of in-house financing dealer, also known as buy here pay here dealerships, and they offer loans for the vehicles on their lots in-house, meaning they’re both dealers and lenders.
Your Job Is Your Credit Car Dealers Explained
These in-house financing dealerships specialize in helping consumers dealing with bad credit or no credit. In fact, most of them don’t even run a credit check – they base approvals on your income and down payment.
Each dealer has its own income requirements that you need to meet, and it’s tough to say exactly what that is. However, a good starting point is to consider what subprime lenders – another type of bad credit car lender – ask for, which is usually around a monthly income of $1,500 to $2,000 before taxes.
Subprime lenders ask that this income comes from one source, but your job is your credit dealerships aren’t concerned about where your income comes from. You could have two or even three jobs, and as long as the total meets their minimum requirement, you shouldn’t have an issue getting approved.
You do need to bring in proof of income, however. If you’re a regular W-2 employee, bring in a recent computer-generated pay stub showing year-to-date earnings. If you’re self-employed or an independent contractor, bring in your two or three most recent tax returns as well as recent bank statements.
Drawbacks of Your Job Is Your Credit Car Lots
Your job is your credit car lots aren’t a perfect solution, since they come with some serious drawbacks, too. For starters, because most don’t run credit checks, they may not report on-time payments to the credit bureaus.
This could be a problem if you're trying to use the loan to improve your credit score. However, many of these dealers do report timely payments these days, so just ask about their policies ahead of time.
Two other drawbacks are you can expect a higher than average interest rate and a down payment requirement. In-house financing dealerships almost always require money down. There’s no universal set down payment amount, but it's usually based on the cost of the vehicle you're financing.
Finally, how you make payments could be an issue. Although many your job is your credit dealers now accept online payments, some still hold onto older practices. Depending on the car lot you go to, the dealership may require you to pay in person, which can be a hassle if you’re constantly busy or don’t live near the dealer.
Need Help Finding a Dealership?
Remember, each dealership is different, and the only way you’re going to know what they require for auto financing is by going in and asking. Driving around town and visiting multiple dealers can be stressful and tedious, and we understand that not everyone has this kind of time.
That’s why, here at CarsDirect, we want to do the searching for you. We work with many dealerships, including your job is your credit dealers, and can help you find one near you. With our assistance, you don't have to drive from dealership to dealership hoping they have a lender you can work with.
Our process is simple, free, and doesn’t put you under any obligation. To get started, just fill out our car loan request form and we'll get to work for you!