You are looking for a vehicle and when you check your credit history it reports bad credit. A credit score under 600 is not considered to be good. Borrowers of this category are taken as risk among the lenders and lenders are reluctant in helping these people out. However, with time things have changed and there are a number of lenders these days that are ready to sponsor the needs of people with bad credit.

Let us see the basic qualification criteria and what your options available with these loans are.

Before applying for these loans

Before you go ahead with these loans you should get a copy of your credit report and check it thoroughly .There are times that you can find errors in your report and by getting these errors corrected your credit score can improve and you can qualify for a better interest rate.

When you take a auto loan you are required to make a down payment. The thumb of the rule is that more the amount of down payment lower would be the interest rate .So try and arrange for a down payment that is bigger in amount. Try to finance at least 7-10% of the loan amount through the down payment.

Make sure that you compare the price offered by at least 3-4 lenders so that you have an idea as to what rates you are being offered and what is the best deal that you can get. Do not just compare the interest rate on the loan. Make sure that you also compare the terms of the loan.

Before you apply for these loans make sure that your payments towards the other credits is made on time. When the lender checks your credit report they would see that you have been making the payments on time and this would add a positive effect to your loan application.

What should you be aware of?

When you take a bad credit auto loan it is advised that you look out for the terms of the loan. The loan is usually distributed over a period of 3-5 years. Make sure that the term that you get on the loan is not too strict and you would be able to pay off the loan on time.

Look at the interest rates and the other costs associated with the loan. There are a number of costs that come along with the bad credit auto loans. Make sure that you ask the lender about the other costs also .It is better to compare the APR on the loan that would give you the total cost so that you can assess how much would you pay on an annual basis towards the loan.

If you are adding payment protection insurance along with the loan then be aware that the cost of the loan will rise. However, this factor can protect you in case you are unable to meet the payment for a few months because of some reason.

What are the available options?

When applying for the bad credit auto loans you can have three different options available.

* Conventional lenders: These are the usual lenders that give out these loans. They charge an interest slightly higher than that available to people with good credit .Qualifying for this loan would be easy if you have maintained a good payment schedule over the past few months.

* Credit Unions: If you are a member of a credit union then it is advised that you take the help of union. These can be affordable and help you in getting the vehicle.

* Auto dealer: The dealer from whom you take the vehicle can provide you with an option for the finance. The dealers are in touch with a number of lenders and provide finance regardless of the credit score to their customers. However, this can prove to be an expensive deal. Hence it is advised that you opt for this type of finance only if there is no other option available.