Reader question:
I’m a teenager who is going to buy my first car, but I don’t have any credit history. How do I fix that?
Mercedes
It’s not so easy.
Building credit history will take time, and, even if you have an idea that there’s nothing on there, you should still check your credit report before you buy a new car in order to see what it looks like. You should also check your score. For the most part, if you don’t have any credit history, then you won’t have a very good score, so it will be difficult for you to buy a car. Lenders who finance the purchase of cars don’t like to give loans out to people who don’t have a history of making steady payments on time to the companies that they have been customers with.
As a teenager, you probably don’t have much credit. First, what you need to do is order a credit report from one of the three main credit reporting bureaus. They usually have it to where you can review your credit report online. Then, you will also have to order your credit score from them as well. You are entitled to at least one free copy of your report per year, but you will have to pay for the score. It doesn’t cost much.
If your score is less than 550, don’t get a car. You need to build some credit first or you will end up with a very bad deal. How do you build your credit? Try buying a piece of furniture on an installment plan for your bedroom. Or, if you’re about to graduate, many credit card companies have student credit cards to help you build your credit. Be responsible and get some good history, and then go out and get a good deal on your new car.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.