I have been cleaning up my credit report, I plan to buy a car in 3-4 months any tips to boost my credit score?

I got in over my head when I was 18 and some of my accounts went to collections. A few of the accounts are dropping off of my report over the next few months and others I am paying and getting taken off of my report through validation and settlement. I feel that I have learned my lesson from my actions through a lot of research I feel that I have a much better knowledge of the credit system and how to balance my finances. Just recently I opened a few credit card accounts to rebuild my credit. I have kept the balances under 40% and paid them on time every month. This has helped boost my score a bit. I expect that the old accounts dropping off of my credit report and others being paid will help as well. In September I am planning to purchase a car. I have saved up a sizable down payment, $5k but by then I will have $8k. I am putting down 5-6k and then paying down the loan by 2-3k. Any suggestions ideas to help me increase my credit score? Car buying advice? My score is currently 550

Public Comments

1. Keep paying your bills on time. reduce the income to debt ratio. Call your credit card company to increase your line of credit. Also stop credit agency to make your record public. Do not apply for fresh loans till you buy your car. If possible latch on the a on going loan with your parents.
2. The easiest way to boost your credit score is to keep your inquiries to NONE until you buy your car. You are allowed 3 inquiries every 90 days, after that you lose 2 points for each one. When you do buy your cay, the finance manager at the dealership will go over your credit report with you, wait until then to check it again. Every extra point you can get and can keep by then will help. Also, say you are going to put $2-3k down at first, the finance manager will go over your options and a range of your APR%. After they tell you your options, ask if putting a total of $5k down instead will lower your rate. IT WILL. But if you play all your cards right away the dealership will take advantage and make a little extra money on you. If you would like some more tricks or tips email me, I'd be happy to help.
3. Some good answers already, and additionally, it helps to show you've improved. To help, get a small loan (few hundred $) and with some of the money you have saved for your down payment, pay it off over next couple of months or so with ON TIME payments. Having the newly paid-off loan on your report when you go for the car will show some recent responsibility AND improve your score.
4. Rudy definitely has a point. You want to make sure that you don't rack up any additional inquiries by applying for additonal credit. Also, it would help to lower your balances a little bit more to get to the magic number of 30%. Next to payment history, debt to available credit ratio is the heaviest weighted component of your score. It's also the easiest to control on your behalf. By keeping it 30% or below, you increase your chances of boosting your score even more. Now keep in mind that although the negative accounts will drop off your score, there's 2 sides to that pancake. Although the negative payment history and total debt owed will be gone, so will your credit history meaning that it will also decrease the average age of your accounts. It will give the appearance that you haven't established credit for every long. What Rudy may not have mentioned that there's first-time buyer programs if this is your first time buying a car, and with a sizeable down payment, such as the one you'll have, you should get a fairly good deal. But if you can, I'd wait to see whether or not those derogs have dropped from your report before heading to the dealership
5. To boost your credit score: The first thing you will need to do is call the three major credit reporting agencies and request a free copy of your credit report. www.equifax.com www.experian.com www.transunion.com Then once you get those in the mail (7-10 days) there will be a dispute form attached to the reports. Fill those out for every negative account on your report regardless. Fax, mail go online whatever it takes to get those submitted as quickly as possible. Then those companies must answer your dispute within 30 days or it is removed from your credit report completely. So that will eliminate some things, hopefully. Then make sure you pay all your revolving accounts to below 50% of your credit limits. Make sure that you make all your payments no more than 20 days from the date it is due. Good Luck!
6. Having a good credit rating, helps a consumer get a loan or credit at better rates and for larger amounts.To know "How to improve or boost credit rating, credit score" plz follow link- http://k7c.info
7. An excellent credit score is 650+, and a good one is between 620 and 650. It is considered a bad credit score if it falls below 620. While your score is in the middle (credit scores range from 350-850), you still fall below 620. The best thing that you can do is continue to pay all your bills on time and also to monitor your credit report. It is better to be proactive and know where you stand and what is on your record, and also to constantly check it to make sure there are no mistakes on it, then to be oblivious to the all the information. Also by monitoring your credit report you can keep tabs on when your score increases or decreases. For more details on credit report monitoring you can refer to this site: http://credit.privacymatters.com/credit-articles/credit-report-monitoring.aspx