How to buy a car as conditional green card holder.

[Unlockable 7,314]

On a slightly unrelated note, consider getting a prepaid credit card to get your credit history started! If you apply for DiscoverIt Credit Card (and get rejected), they offer to start you with a prepaid one (i.e. first you send them 500$, they give you a card that has 500$, you can use it like a regular credit card. You can add money to it online, etc).

If you're here to stay, you'll need that credit history at some point, so the earlier you start at it, the better!

I think you mean SECURED credit card. NOT PREPAID. Prepaid does not report to credit agencies.

Op,

You can get a loan for a car but if you have no credit you will likely need a down payment and will get a high interest rate.

If you want to build credit then have your spouse add you as an authorized user on their credit cards. Make sure they have good payment history on the cards. Also, use the SECURED card method to build credit.

My wife has been an authorized user on my CC's for 6 months and she already has gotten offers for her own cards from Citi Bank and Capital One.

[hihihi 2]

Thank you guys for all the advice. my husband do not have credit card so I have to build one by myself and I think that takes time and I want to buy the car with in these 5 or 6 months. (I do not want to ask my husband to be co-signer because he will not be happy about it). wish me good luck I am going to a bank to talk to them If they can loan me the money even if the interest is higher.

[hihihi 2]

One of the reason I want to buy a car is because me and my husband had a fight over the car I am driving now. something went wrong with the car and the maintenance cost was too expensive so he got angry and complained I didn't pay anything to cover the expense. But I just started working recently and make basic salary as a starter so I didn't have enough to contribute for the maintenance. but I pay for the gas and take care of the car very well. So I thought about buying a car for myself so he doesn't feel like I am being all dependent on him

[mallafri76 1,012]

I bought a new car by myself about three weeks after I moved to the US. I was able to secure a good auto loan from my bank, despite not having any credit score. It all depends on how long you've been a customer and the kind of money you have with the bank. It never hurts to ask.

You can use your foreign/international driver's license to buy and register the car. No need to wait until you have your state driver's license.

[hihihi 2]

so I went to a car dealership and they told me if I pay 2000 down payment up front, I can get financing for reasonable price and well maintained car! I am very happy to hear that and started saving for that. Thank you for sharing your info with me guys

[abfar 119]

@hihihi I'm curious, what kind of APR did you get for the $2000 down?

 

I'm planning on paying a good down payment for my car in first few weeks once my visa is approved so this'll be useful info.

 

Thanks

[Unlockable 7,314]

18 minutes ago, abfar said:

@hihihi I'm curious, what kind of APR did you get for the $2000 down?

 

I'm planning on paying a good down payment for my car in first few weeks once my visa is approved so this'll be useful info.

 

Thanks

The apr is not based on the down payment. The apr is based on your credit score. A larger down payment lowers you monthly payment because you are borrowing less money.

[abfar 119]

12 minutes ago, NuestraUnion said:

The apr is not based on the down payment. The apr is based on your credit score. A larger down payment lowers you monthly payment because you are borrowing less money.

Ah, I thought paying a big enough down payment might bring down the apr when having bad / no credit score. I don't think its going to be easy financing a car in the first few months then.

[Ash.1101 1,756]

Sometimes it's harder to bring your credit score up. We track my husbands constantly almost, but it even states that having another credit card would up his score which we don't want. After having one month with a 37% balance, second month paid off, going into the third month his credit score is 681. It would go above 700 if we took a pre-approved offer of line of credit or loan but we don't want too. 700 or more is ideal for straight up new cars, any used you can be fine above 600, it'll depend on the lender and how it looks on your good payments.


With that said, try to work with your bank on getting a card. He was able to get a card through our bank, as our bank could see the amount of money coming into the account and had an offer for him. Yes it's a small 500$ but it'll be raised over time and clearly it's helping him build his credit.

[Brit1 54]

32 minutes ago, Ash.1101 said:

Sometimes it's harder to bring your credit score up. We track my husbands constantly almost, but it even states that having another credit card would up his score which we don't want. After having one month with a 37% balance, second month paid off, going into the third month his credit score is 681. It would go above 700 if we took a pre-approved offer of line of credit or loan but we don't want too. 700 or more is ideal for straight up new cars, any used you can be fine above 600, it'll depend on the lender and how it looks on your good payments.


With that said, try to work with your bank on getting a card. He was able to get a card through our bank, as our bank could see the amount of money coming into the account and had an offer for him. Yes it's a small 500$ but it'll be raised over time and clearly it's helping him build his credit.

Presuming that you husband is the immigrant, have you tried adding him as an authorized user to one or two of your old cards? Ratio of used to available credit is a major factor in the credit score (the lower the ration the better), so adding him to existing account increases his available credit without taking the hit of applying for another card. You just have to  make sure the card you add him to reports.

[Ash.1101 1,756]

1 hour ago, Brit1 said:

Presuming that you husband is the immigrant, have you tried adding him as an authorized user to one or two of your old cards? Ratio of used to available credit is a major factor in the credit score (the lower the ration the better), so adding him to existing account increases his available credit without taking the hit of applying for another card. You just have to  make sure the card you add him to reports.

Oh no, my credit is awful LOL. It would lower his probably pretty badly if I added him. Tbqh though, having almost a 700 score after only opening the card three months ago isn't that bad.