Co-signer, Co-applicant Or Single: What Is The Best Strategy For Bad Credit Auto Loans?

By Author: Kaitlin Miller
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A bad credit score can make you question your current financial status. It can also impact the process of applying for an auto loan. When you have suffered from a damaged credit history, you may feel like the addition of a co-signer or a co-applicant can make your life easy. You do have a number of options in order to secure auto financing. A co-signer, a co-applicant and a single auto loan application are all your possible options. Throwing light on each option should help you figure out the correct choice for you.

Exploring Ways of Applying for a Bad Credit Auto Loan

Bad credit is not a situation that can paralyze you from getting an auto loan. The below options are important to help you apply for an auto loan with a strong case. Explore the different options and study the pros and cons to build your strategy.

1. Seeking Help of a Co-Signer

Pros of a co-signer: A co-signer assures to repay the entire amount of the auto loan or any payments that you do not make. As they are liable to pay the auto loan amount, there is financial safety for the lender. The presence of a co-signer on your auto loan ...
... can help you get lower APR. A strong credit score of your co-signer can put you in a great position to get quick auto loan approval.

Cons of a co-signer: The biggest problem of having co-signer is the co-signer itself. The auto loan terms and interest rates that you receive will largely depend on the credit score and financial standpoint of the co-signer. Any faulty remarks in the credit report of the co-signer will affect the credit terms that will be provided to the applicant.

2. Finding a Co-Applicant

Pros of a co-applicant: Ideally, a co-applicant is a co-borrower who gets equal rights to the ownership of the vehicle. The existence of a co-applicant increases the chances of obtaining a greater amount on the auto loan. The combined income of both the co-applicants reduces the debt-to-income ratio, implying an overall less risk to the lender.

Cons of a co-applicant: As a co-applicant has equal rights to the ownership of the car, any attempt to sell or trade-in the car or refinance the auto loan will require the signatures of both the applicants. Additionally, the inability of any one co-applicant to make payments will lead to a credit damage to both the applicants. Any car damage will also hold both the applicants liable.

3. Single Applicant: Applying on your Own

Pros of a single applicant: When you suffer from a bad credit score, it becomes difficult to get an approval on your credit score alone. However, the positive side of being a single applicant is that you are in complete control of the auto loan. The efficiency of your payments will help you to build a stronger financial foundation.

Cons of a single applicant: The presence of a co-signer or a co-applicant can greatly increase the chances of approval for your auto loan. The reason being that if you miss a few payments, the other individual can repay the auto loan. Also, a single applicant will get much higher interest rates as against an application that has a co-signer.

The More the Merrier: Buying a Car with Bad Credit

In the case of a bad credit history, the assistance of a co-signer or a co-applicant will come to your benefit. A single applicant will not be able to avail the best deal due to high interest rates and small auto loan amount. A joint auto loan can help you to obtain a bigger car due to a larger loan amount. Therefore, when you think about your bad credit auto financing strategy, remember the more the merrier.

Do you want a bad credit auto loan? Having a co-signer helps in getting approval. But it is not always possible to find a co-signer. Apply for no co-signer auto loans. The company will make online auto financing simple and easy for you.