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Before you approach a lender or dealer finance office, you need to know just how bad your "bad credit" really is. Otherwise, you simply don't know what you're facing at the finance desk.

Good Car, Bad Credit • Intro • Know your Credit Score • How Bad is Bad? • Bank vs. Dealer Financing • Look Forward to Refinancing • What NOT to Do --- • FICO At A Glance

Most lenders lean heavily on a number known as a FICO score, a number between 300 and 850 which is supposed to predict how likely you are to default on your bills in the near future (more info ). You can obtain your FICO scores by visiting the www.MyFICO.com site, which is run by the company behind the FICO, Fair Isaac Corp. You can also get the three scores by going to the sites run by each of the three leading credit bureaus, Experian, TransUnion and Equifax.

While lenders tend to talk about "your FICO," there are actually three of them to consider. Reports from the three major credit bureaus generate a different credit score, as the items on each report vary. When you apply for a loan, banks may look at all three, or only one.

While many people hate the expense -- and we share that feeling! -- you may very well wish to buy reports from each agency. Like it or not, it's a cost of doing business today, particularly when you're credit-challenged. Spending $30 to $40 today could save you hundreds later on.

If you don't find out where you fall on the FICO scale, it's easy to get ripped off by dealers, who add several points in interest to the loan rate the finance company offers, and keep the difference for themselves.

Without your credit score, you may assume that a given loan rate is the best you can qualify for, when in fact, the dealer has pumped up the loan to a much higher rate than you'd get from an independent bank or finance firm.

Next: How Bad is Bad?

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