Which credit scores do the auto companies usually go by?

[midnight]

I ran mine tonight and Transunion is 583 and Equifax is 642. That's quite a difference. And not great, but not as bad as I thought they would be (we were discharged in Feb, 2010.)

Anyone have an idea what sort of interest rate I could get with the above scores? We are totally upside down on a Kia and would like to get something a little older and for about half what we owe.

[Flamingo]

A bankruptcy on your credit reports will affect obtaining a loan no matter what your credit score is. Once the BK is seen on your credit reports, you are instantly a credit risk. Your best bet is to go with a former lender (if you had one) where you had a paid off, paid on time car loan (i.e., Ford Credit, GMAC, etc.). They would look on you more favorably as having done successful business with them in the past.

[HHM]

It depends...first, are you looking for new or used? Ironically, you might have better luck getting a new car (assuming you can afford it) because of incentives. Thus, you would want to find a more desperate car maker (pretty much any brand from GM).

In any event, if new, you would probably be in the mid to high teens. If used, probably high teens to low twenties in interest rate.

[justbroke]

As for credit scores, there is a different scoring model used by the major automobile creditors. It's the Auto Score. This is not the same as the FICO score. The Auto Score is more punitive when it comes to installment loans for vehicles. If you had stellar automobile credit history, the Auto Score generally is higher than the FICO score. However, if you were ever late within the last two years on an auto payment, your Auto Score will suffer.

Of course, the Auto Score is brought to you by Fair Isaac, makers of FICO, but it is much more friendly!