Times are really hard for many people right now, especially those who have lost their jobs during the pandemic. If your car has broken down and you can’t afford to repair it, this only rubs salt in the wound. Thankfully, there are options available to consumers to help you finance your auto repairs, and, according to Credit Karma, some of these options are safe and help to boost your credit score. Primary Care Auto Repair offers a financing option to our customers to help them pay for their auto repair bills. Let’s talk more about auto repair financing below.
Traditional Financing Options
Traditional financing options include bank loans and credit cards. It’s important to make sure you understand all of the caveats associated with these options before you choose one. For example, you might have room on your credit card to pay for your car repairs, but the card might also have an interest rate of 18 percent or higher. This makes it nearly impossible for you to ever pay off the car repair charge. Rather, Credit Karma recommends that you search for a credit option that offers zero-percent financing for a period of time or a low interest rate.
Your better bet might be to see if your bank will give you a personal loan. If you have a good credit score and you are not in over your head when it comes to debt-to-income ratios, your bank may approve a personal loan with a low interest rate and an extended payback plan. This traditional financing is the safest for consumers, but those with poor credit and no collateral to back the loan often find it impossible to take out a personal loan with any bank. In addition, it can take up to 30 days for your loan to be approved and for the money to hit your account.
Alternative Financing Options
This being said, the above options are better than the following options, according to Credit Karma. There are alternative financing options for consumers with poor credit who need to get their car repaired quickly, however. The first is a payday loan, which you have likely heard of. Payday loans borrow money against your next paycheck, but they come with high interest rates and you will be expected to pay the loan and interest the following payday.
Another option is a title loan. If you own your automobile and have the pink slip, you can turn it over to a lender for money to repair your car. Once you pay the loan plus interest back, you get your pink slip back. This loan can be dangerous for those who are suffering from financial problems, as the lender may take possession of the automobile if you cannot pay back the loan.
Primary Care Auto Repair is the best service shop in Warwick, RI, and we believe it isn’t worth the risk to take out dangerous loans to pay for your auto repairs. We work with Snap Finance to help our customers repair their cars, trucks, utility vehicles, and vans.