auto loan rates

JJ asked:


Right now my Fico score is at 568. On my credit report the reasons stated for my low score is because of a severely late payment 8 months ago from a student loan. The reason for this is that for some reason the lender didn’t update my account as being deferred and when I found out about it, I paid it up to current and have made all other payments on time (before and after this with them). I tried contacting them about this but they are not willing to help with the late payment reporting. I also have a large amount of inquires because I’ve been applied for loans with the “bad credit” dealerships only to be told I can get a used $10000 car for like $500 a month payments (not a very good deal in my eyes because most of the vehicles have 100k miles). Now with what fico has released as the scoring for late payments my interpretation of that would be that my score would be in the 650′s if my student loan had reported correctly. If I were to go to a bank or credit union and explained my situation with that would it help me get into a vehicle or just hurt me with another inquiry? I do have some old collections from a divorce that I have been paying off and having them removed that were from about 4-5 years ago, but now I need a new vehicle and all my excess cash went to old bills so I am limited on a down payment. Currently I have 2 credit cards with a total of $500, 20% utilized just to keep a good reporting. I have been at my employer and address for 18 months and my AGI approx 40k.

I am hoping to get some professional opinions whether it would be possible to get an auto loan through a CU or Bank. Would going to a large dealership be the best bet? Any guess on the probability to get a loan would be great.
I understand I would have a higher interest rate but I am willing to accept that. I am just trying to get into a new or slightly used vehicle and bring my score up by April 2010 to purchase a home.
People come on here for answers, not snide comments. Also, I’m asking for professional experience or people who have been able to do so in similar situations. Please, if you do not know then don’t post just to get a point.

Brent