Buying a Car With Carvana + Boosting My Credit Score Nearly 200 Points in Less than 6 Months
I never knew buying a car could be less painless than getting my eyebrows waxed. I’ve avoided everything and anything that has to do with starting the process of buying a car. I’ve been driving for over 5 years with only a permit(longer without) and there was always something holding me back. I finally purchased my first car, a 2016 Ford Focus SE Hatchback using Carvana and I have nothing but positive words for the website.
Month by Month Play Of Boosting My Credit Score
July 2017, A credit sky of 420, I began researching secured credit cards to boost my credit. I ultimately decided to go with Open Sky.
August 2017, I funded my secured credit card with $200.
September 2017, I decided that once my credit scored reached 600 I would buy a car.
October 2017, my credit score hit 540. I paid the secured credit off to less than 5% every month. I decided to start saving for my car. I wanted to put 1,000 down and pay $200/month.
November 2017, I started researching buying a car, I looked around for loans and visited a dealership.
December 2017, I decided that Carvana and financing would be best for me. I started looking at cars mostly sedans under 14,000.
January 2018, my credit score hit 600. I paid for my 5-hour class and the week after I went for my driver’s test in Yonkers. I passed. Carvana lowered my down payment to $1,000 due to my credit spike.
February 2018, I made my final car selection and it arrived on February 14.
It’s online so they’re open 24 hours
I did not have to deal with shady car salespeople and thousands of dollars in fees
My friend Christal used it
They had a 7-day return policy
Soft credit inquiries (I was on there literally every day)
Terms were valid for 45 days
They finance for anyone who makes at least 10,000 per year
They take care of your registration no matter the state
The entire process was seamless. Once I chose my vehicle and sent them my license, they called my bank within 24 hours to verify that my down payment funds were actually in my account. I sent in my pay stubs for January and they asked for my last pay stub in 2017 to verify my income for the previous year. They updated the contract on my account, I signed it and I was all set to receive my car. The day of delivery, my guy kept in contact with me all day. He was running behind for our 1:00 pm drop off and arrived at 3:00 pm. I sent him my car insurance via text, signed some documents and I was on my way.
My Ford Focus SE Hatchback was clean and I investigated the car for the scratches that were described on the Carvana website. They weren’t as pronounced as they appeared online and I could barely see the scratches that Carvana said was on the bumper. They provide you with a copy of the Carfax in addition to other useful paperwork items when they drop off the car. For now, I have 30 day Georgia temp tags which will be switched once my NY tags come in.
The most difficult part of financing/buying through Carvana was the insurance. Being in New York, in addition, to be being a brand new driver was really daunting. My spouse has done everything for me in regards to a car in the past so I had no idea what the difference between full coverage and liability was. I realized that the higher your deductible, the lower the coverage but also the lower payment you would have. The quotes for me were absolutely outrageous initially until I figured out how to manipulate the number to make things work for me. My goal within the next few months is to lower my insurance to less than $200 but as of right now, my insurance is in the high $400’s with Progressive which is half of what the other insurance companies were charging me. I hope in the future Carvana provides insurance for their customers who choose to finance through them.
Apparently, Carvana provides $500 off for people buying in certain states. Feel free to use my name, Rana Seabrook for some cash off!
