Expert: David McArthur - 3/26/2009

Question
Dear Mr. McArthur,

In 2006, I had a really bad year;  I was evicted from one apartment, asked to leave another, defaulted on all of my utilities and had two cars repossessed.  In the beginning of 2007, I lost my job and was unemployed for over a year.

As a result, I was unable and unwilling to get any sort of credit building device.  Mostly from fear of defaulting again and having it taken.

Near the end of 2006, I purchased a used car from a private owner.  Now, the car is starting to require costly repairs.  

I am currently working as well as attending school where I will be graduating with my Bachelors in management in May.  Although I am employed as a cashier in a retail sales chain(making minimum wage and 30 hours per week), I am looking for another job for after I graduate.

So, my question is how would I go about getting a new car?  If I buy another used one from another private owner, there's the possibility that it will end up having even more problems than the one I have now.  I don't know if I'll be able to get the financing to get a new, or used car from a dealership at the moment even with a trade-in.  I'm hoping to nurse my current car through at least June, so I'm hoping I may have enough time to build at least enough new, good credit to get a reliable car.

I would appreciate any advice you could give me.

Sincerely,
Tracy

Answer
Wow Tracy,  you have had a lot of stuff go wrong in a short time.  It may be very difficult for you to get approved for a new car immediately.  These are the steps that will give you the quickest recover.


1.  Obtain a copy of your credit reports.  Review to see what negative items are holding your score back.

2.  Work toward having the negative items removed...visit www.financialscoringsolutions.com to start that.

3.  Get a CD secured loan and a secured credit card from a bank or credit union only.

These steps should give you a quick boost in your score in about 30-45 days.  You'll get a really good results in about a year.

Feel free to call if you have a question.

David
219-718-8566