Some bad decisions and/or stupidity during grad school left me with a credit score of 593 and a collection+late payment on my credit report. A month ago my car died and now I need to get another one (I've been commuting with a friend but he's leaving the firm). I looked around for financing options but obviously I've been declined at almost every possible avenue (I don't have a co-signer). However, a Toyota dealership contacted me offering me a loan - it's a bit far off so I haven't been able to visit them to discuss the details as yet.
So my questions are:
Does it make sense to go with this dealer's financing? If anything, making payments on time would build up my score. The downside however, is that the cars cost on average 3-4k more than the proper price (for example a used car that costs 15k at the dealership will cost 19k if going through him).
Does it make more sense to fix up my car (my mechanic estimates fixing it will cost more than the car itself), diligently handle finances and maybe try again in a year or so?
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I make around 70k a year pre-tax, my rent is 800/month, I have a credit card with a 500$ limit, so I CAN afford to make car payments on time - the only problem is getting to a point where I can score a good deal on financing. My point is, given this situation where I can afford payments and the dealer is a reputed one, does it make sense to go for this offer? Thanks again
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Thanks much, Craig