Auto Expert: Never let the dealership run your credit
Extra credit pulls don’t help your score, so just call Fox first when shopping for a car
For those who have read my stories, you know they usually involve my experiences with our Fox Communities Credit Union members. Here’s my latest.
I recently had a member call about refinancing their current auto loan. They informed me that they tried to do it in January, but their credit score wasn’t high enough to justify a refinance at that time, as his rate wasn’t going to improve.
Now, I’m not going to sugar coat this — I wasn’t very optimistic that we would be able to help him quickly. It takes time to improve a credit score enough to drop rates significantly. But I ended up being pleasantly surprised as this member brought their credit score up over 100 points in a short amount of time, proving that good coaching, hard work, and determination can work wonders. We were able to bring their rate down from 12.9% to 6.99%, saving the member quite a bit of money.
But that’s still not the most important aspect of this story for all of you to take away. During our conversations, I learned that while shopping around for vehicles, the member was letting dealers pull their credit to determine what they’d qualify for. This is a terrible idea! All the extra pulls only hurt your credit score.
So, if you’re going vehicle shopping, call Fox first and let one of our experts take a look at your credit and advise you on budgeting. Don’t let the dealers control this, as they are just interested in selling you a vehicle, not in your long-term finances.
I can’t wait to help,
Mike Pastorelli
Fox’s Auto Buying Specialist
920-993-3508
If you’d like to learn more about everything Fox can do for you, reach out to our friendly Fox team or stop by one of our many Fox locations around the Fox Valley, the greater Green Bay area, the Manitowoc/Two Rivers area, and the Oshkosh area.