Getting a truck loan despite your bruised or bad credit

truck loan
Sonny Bynum with his truck.

I’d like to think of myself as a smart guy. But a few years back, I was caught squarely in the middle of the credit crunch. A layoff, a wilting mortgage and some eager-to-communicate creditors had my credit score tumbling.

Thankfully, due to some good habits and diligence, I’m steady and rising today.

Still, when I need to purchase a vehicle, one of the first things I ask is, “Who will work with a guy with bad credit like mine?”

Now, I’m a truck guy and a Texas man, though not necessarily in that order. I LOVE my single-cab, full-size, plain Jane V-6. The “truck people” out there will understand. The balance of utility, comfort and adaptability are hard to match. So when I’m buying, I like to put my money where my mouth is and buy what I know will work. God help the seller.

Not every dealership has exactly what I need, especially since I don’t always KNOW what I need and I am looking for bad credit truck loans. But it’s tough to beat the experience of a dealership purchase when you don’t have a lot of time to waste and can look at a lot of models in one place in a short amount of time. Also, they give you coffee even if you’re not buying.

A valuable lesson I’ve learned about buying a truck from my personal dealer is the advantage of up-fitting (upward outfitting). I don’t do a LOT of work with my truck on the side, but I do some. And I like to do it right, which means having the right gear.

An up-fit means adding things to the truck before purchase so that you can finance all of it with one lender and at the same time. Typically, I would up-fit to include a power inverter, a winch and/or tow package, the bumper or brush guard, the bed liner and interior floor liners, and the tonneau cover.

Enter RoadLoans.

Here’s the story: You go online, apply and get approved, but not for more than you can afford. Bad credit doesn’t mean you don’t have a financial future. And for a truck guy like me, being able to get a bad credit truck loan is much appreciated.

Once you receive an approval, RoadLoans sends an email and link where you will be able to log in to view your offers and download your packet which you can immediately take to the dealer.

Figure out how much you want to pay, and take your desired up-fits into account. When you find the right deal at the right price, you pull the trigger. If the dealer starts his song and dance to up-sell you to a more-expensive model, just tell him that you know the truck you need, and you’re ready to buy it. That’s all there is to it.

If you have bad credit and you need a truck loan, go to RoadLoans and see what you qualify for. Then get your wheels under you, get geared up, and get on the road.

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