How I did it: I saved up $5,000 in 6 months for a down payment. I wanted something reasonable that I would be able to transport kids back and fourth to school and practice one day but for now be a great on gas commuter car. I looked into the Nissan Sentra and the Toyota corolla. I really wanted to stay under 12,000 dollars but I also wanted a car with less than 40,000 miles on it. I had to compromise on the cost to get all the bells and whistles I wanted and wound up getting a 2010 Toyota Corolla LE for a little over $$15,000 and 34,000 miles.

Lessons & tips: I was only 23 at the time and didn't have much established credit. I got a credit card when I was 18 (huge mistake) and was deliquent on some payments. Over the past two years I have been working on establishing a really good credit score and paying off all credit cards. I got a little department store card and buy one thing a month with it and pay it off. When I went to my bank for the loan I was denied even though I had a really good credit score. I almost gave up but went to the dealership that Saturday just to see what they could do for me and I was approved with an even better APR than my bank was going to give me. I didn't have to have a co-signer and everything worked out. You want to lowest APR possible. Do your homework on the car you want and how much kelley blue book says its worth and keep a good credit score!

Resources: I googled and read so many articles and reviews on so many mid size four door sedans to pick my top to. KelleyBlueBook website was helpful as well.

Aug 01, 2011, 05:01PM PDT | 0 comments | 8 cheers