With the credit crunch in full-force and consumers having a difficult time paying their bills, those who need a new car and don’t have superb credit scores may now be able to qualify for a new car with Chrysler, reports the Detroit Free Press. Especially with Chrysler’s 15.5 percent decline in sales this year compared to last year, the automaker is trying to find a way to get more people qualified for financing one of their new cars. Earlier this month, Chrysler LLC introduced a special 6.9 percent rate for people with B-tier credit. Those same people would have received about a 12 percent or higher rate just one year ago.
"Our credit-challenged customers are always trying to find a car … they’re on the doorstep every day wanting to buy a vehicle and trying like heck. So we’re trying like heck to get them bought," said Steven Landry, Chrysler executive vice president for North American sales.
Landry also said the automaker wants to help get previous customers with B-credit, and a history of making their monthly payments, into a new vehicle. "We believe they should remain in our family and not be penalized because of the overall credit situation," Landry said.
What exactly qualifies as B-tier credit? Jesse Toprak, executive director of industry analysis at Edmunds.com, said a person with a credit score of 680 to 620 would typically get placed in the B-tier.
Will this interest rate drop help or hurt Chrysler? Although it may increase overall sales, it may have a reverse effect, as the company is taking a risk on financing people with less-than-perfect credit.
