Getting credit???

I am wondering how in the world I can get credit. I am 18, I don't have credit at all. Nobody in my immediate family has credit or good credit. I have tried to get credit cards, but I have been declined because I have no credit.
I really want to get a car that is no more than 5 grand by taking out a loan and paying it off. I have been saving up a lot of money, it just seems that getting an amount like 4 or 5 thousand seems months away, and I really need a car.
I have tried going to places that you earn credit and pay off the car in weekly payments, but the cars are far more expensive than they should be. I'd rather pay 4 grand for a nice car than 8 grand for a car that should be 2 thousand.
So my question is:
what are some ways that a college student like myself can get credit?

thanks!

I have to make decisions everyday on whether to approve or deny people that apply for credit. If I had to give advice to people that are trying to start out building credit, this is the advice that I would give:

1. Open a checking account if you haven't already- While opening the account doesn't directly build your credit, it does create a relationship between you and the bank by being an accountholder. Banks love to cater to their preferred customers that have accounts in great standing by offering loans and credit cards. Also, having a checking account not only helps manage your money, but it gives you the most powerful tool in building credit, a checking account to help pay your bills on time. Most banks and credit unions offer online banking with billpay that can make it easy for you to pay your bills on time, which is important in building credit.

2. Open a secured credit card- Secured credit cards are the easiest credit cards to get, mainly becuase a security deposit is placed upfront in order to establish a line of credit in the same amount. For example, if you deposit $250, your credit limit is $250, and so on. The deposit isn't used to pay for any of the purchsases on the card unless, it was charged off and sent to collections, so you would have to repay it just like a regular card either in full or minimum monthly payments. The deposit is sometimes linked to a savings account, so it earns interest while you're building credit, so the deposit isn't sitting there. You can think of this as building credit with a savings account. The more you deposit, the higher your limit, which is good for your score because it creates a cushion between the total debt you owe and the credit you have available. Also, by continuing to add to the deposit, you're also creating an emergency fund at the same time. A good way of using the card is by making small purchases ($20/month max) and paying on time every month while adding to the deposit. Usually after a year or so, the card either converts or upgrades to a regular card, and most importantly, the deposit is given back, which you can place in a savings account as an emergency fund.

3. Enroll with PRBC- PRBC is America's Alternative Credit Bureau, providing a helpful service to the over 50 million people with limited or no credit history. If you pay your monthly bills on time, PRBC can help you build credit to qualify for a mortgage and better interest rates.On-time payments for the following bills are not reported to the traditional credit bureaus:

Rent
Cable
Phone
Daycare
Insurance
Electric
Natural Gas
Cell Phone

The only time your payments for these bills are reported to the other credit bureaus is if they're missing or late.With PRBC, your on-time payments count. You build credit for paying your bills on time, even if you have no credit history. PRBC has teamed up with Fair Issac, the creators of the FICO score to introduce the FICO expansion score which helps people build credit. Here's a link that explains more in detail:

http://www.fairisaac.com/fic/en/product-service/product-index/fico-expansion-score/

As for buying a car, I would strongly suggest you try to find a cheaper car that you can pay for flat out in cash and own it free and clear, that way you won't have to be at the mercy of those car dealers that target people with no credit or bad credit, and end up paying high interest for a car that won't even keep it's worth after 3 months. Especially with the way that the economy's heading, you're better off owning your car outright, than to try to rack up unecessary expenses trying to finance a car without having any credit established.
In closing, just a few more things to keep in mind.

-Don't spend more than 30% of your combined available credit on all your cards.

-Only apply for credit when necessary.

-Dont close unused accounts.

-Pay on time

Hope this helps...

Thanks for reading and...

Good luck!

Go to your bank. They will give you a credit card, almost guaranteed. Thats how I got mine. You wont be able to get a loan. Even after a year of having a credit card I wasnt able to get a loan for 3000. Pay your balance off every month. Dont NOT spend it. Spend what you can afford to pay back. Always pay on time. The late payment fees can be 30-80 bucks!

Do not go to DriveTime. They are a rip off and recently sued. Try a Credit Union. The intrest rate might be 12% for a first time buyer, but they will work with you.

Don't finance a car for 5000; you will end up paying twice as much. Just keep saving your money and you will like your car that much more when you finally get it. Also banks love to give credit cards to students, just make sure you get one with no fees don't get sucked into a scam where you get a card with half of its limit is already dedicated to fees.

You need to start with a student card or at least a secured card with Capital One or Orchard Bank....you'll need to deposit with them whatever amount of credit line you want. As soon as you do this you'll have a credit line. Take care to not charge more than 25% of your limit and pay in FULL and on TIME. After about 6 months of positive repayment history. In the meantime save diligently towards the car and reapply for a loan next year...in about 6-7 months.

If you are employed there are dealerships where if you make so much they can help you get a car which will establish your credit.. You can also open up a bank account and they can give you a credit card for an extra fee..
Your best bet is to go through a credit union they help a lot of people establish credit.. Anyone can go to a credit union they are not just for certain people
Do Not get a card with Capitol One they will charge you through the roof and if you close your account they will still charge you interest on a close account.. I financed a 2007 HHR . I put 5 grand down on a $20,000 car
($18,000 if I would have bought it off the lot) with all the finance charges the car is costing me $28,000

go to your bank/credit union and get a secured credit card/loan by giving them a certain amount of money to put in a account and they'll match that amount and if a loan you'll pay a certain amount back every month til it's paid back or if credit card use it and pay your bill on time every month then you'll be on your way to good credit within 6,9,or 12 months or so.

good luck!

Getting credit for the first time isn't really that hard at all especially since you're a college student.

Major companies like Citi and Bank of America distribute credit cards to students like yourself. You don't need any credit whatsoever. They will approve you because they are hoping you'll be a customer with them for life.

I put a great card you should look at in the source!

Many car dealerships claim that they will finance people with no credit/bad credit. For your immediate needs, that is probably the best your going to be able to do and you will get stuck with a high interest rate. If you have a good down payment that will help. You might have to over-pay a little in order to get you started...unless you have someone who can co-sign or lend you the cash outright. It sucks, but that is the reality.

I would say you should take out a student laon, but that can take a few months to come through. The interest rates are much better. You also can defer payment until you graduate. I do not think you need to have a credit history to qualify. There are different criteria you need to meet like your income (or your family income if you are dependent). I think you have to take a certain number of credits to qualify too.

As a college student you shoud have no probelm getting a credit card. Many CC companies have tables set up at colleges to try and give students lines of credit. They REALLY want your business. College students are likely to have higher income potentional and they are looking to make you a lifelong customer. Something like 80% of people still have/use their very first credit card (which they got in college). The CC companies want to be your first because then they have a loyal customer for life! Of course, your first credit card will only have a limit of $700 maybe $1,000 so it won't help you buy a car.

Also, a good thing to do is to try to get a store credit card. Maybe Old Navy or someplace like that. They will often issue credit cards with very low limits, like $200 just to get you started and then they will increase your spending limit as you build your credit rating.

You just have to be sure to always, always pay ALL of your bills on time or you will ruin your credit (even bills you don't pay with credit like your electric bill). It is always possible to fix your credit but it takes years.

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