Unfortunately, the answer is “it depends”. Your bank may have different requirements than the places a dealership uses. There may be a minimum credit score needed, a minimum income you need to earn, a minimum down payment for the vehicle, or any combination of the above.
If you have a bad credit score, your interest rate will be considerably higher than the going rate. Regardless, you will be able to find an auto loan regardless of your credit score, but you will have to search for it and be prepared to make a considerable down payment and pay a high interest rate.
This is why it is imperative to repair your credit and following a credit repair plan will do just that. It is not just to be able to afford the things you want in life, but to be able to pay the least amount in interest.
For example, I recommend never getting an auto loan for over 36 months. There are several reasons for this that are not important to this article. But the interest rates are important. If you have good credit and take out $15,000 for 36 months at 6%, your monthly payment would be $456.33 per month or $16,428 total. If you have bad credit and take out the same loan with a 15% interest rate, your monthly payment would be $520/month, or $18,720 total. That’s a difference of $2,292!!!
Put that money into an IRA giving you a tax break on your income (Traditional IRA) and allowing it to grow tax free, or put it into a Roth IRA where you can withdraw it tax free in your retirement and you’ve generated tens of thousands of dollars over the years. Take that savings from every car you own and you increase that money exponentially.
So again, it’s never as simple as “what is the minimum credit score to get an auto loan?” There are many variables, and what I hope for is that you work on credit repair in order to get better interest rates so you are able to save the difference and develop true wealth!