Free Credit Reports Before a Car Loan: How to Check Yours

A car loan offer depends partly on your credit history, so it pays to look at your reports before a lender does. This guide explains where to get them, what to check, and what to do about mistakes. It is education only; Car Bills Explained is not a lender, credit counselor or credit repair company, and we don’t see or store your credit information.

Why check your credit before a car loan?

• Your rate. Lenders base the interest rate and APR they offer on a number of factors, and your credit history is one of them. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) suggests comparing quotes from multiple lenders before you go into the dealership.
• Your insurance. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) says that if state law allows, insurers may use an insurance credit score, a number based on various financial, credit and risk factors, as a rating factor. Some companies offer discounts for higher insurance credit scores.
• Time to fix mistakes. An error found after you sign can’t change the deal you already took. Found a few weeks earlier, it can be disputed.

Where do you get a free credit report?

The CFPB and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) both point to AnnualCreditReport.com as the official source. The CFPB says you can request your reports three ways:

• Online at AnnualCreditReport.com, where you can choose to view one, two or all three reports.
• By phone at (877) 322-8228.
• By mail, using the Annual Credit Report Request form, mailed to the Annual Credit Report Request Service, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

The FTC announced in October 2023 that free weekly reports from each of the three companies became permanent.

How do you avoid fake “free report” sites?

The CFPB warns, “Be cautious of websites that claim to offer free credit reports.” It explains that some sites only give you a free report if you buy other products or services, and others give you a report and then bill you for services you have to cancel. To stay safe:

• Type AnnualCreditReport.com into your browser yourself rather than clicking an ad or a link in an email or text.
• If a site asks you to buy a product or start a paid trial before it shows your “free” report, that is the warning sign the CFPB describes. Close it and go to the official site.
• Don’t give your Social Security number to someone who calls, texts or emails you out of the blue offering a credit report. Start the request yourself.

When can you get extra free reports?

The CFPB lists situations where you can get additional free reports, including:

• You received a notice that you were denied credit, insurance or employment, or had another adverse action based on a credit report. You have a right to a free report from the company named in the notice.
• You placed an initial fraud alert on your credit file (two free copies with an extended fraud alert).
• Your state law provides for a free credit report.

If an auto lender turns you down or offers worse terms based on your report, look for that notice; it names the credit reporting company it used.

What about specialty consumer reports?

Besides the three nationwide companies, the CFPB notes that you are also eligible for reports from specialty consumer reporting companies, which collect information for particular uses. The CFPB keeps a list of several of these companies so you can see which ones might matter to you, and you have to request each report individually from each company. For a car purchase, the three nationwide reports are the usual starting point.

When should you check?

A few weeks before you plan to shop gives you time to find and dispute errors. Because the reports are free weekly, you can check again just before you apply to confirm that a correction went through. Write down the date you pulled each report so you can compare later versions.

What should you check on each report?

• Personal details: your name, addresses and Social Security number are correct.
• Accounts: every account is yours, and none was opened in your name without your knowledge.
• Payment history: no late payments are reported in error.
• Balances and limits: they match your own statements.
• Closed or paid accounts: they show as closed or paid.
• Duplicates: the same debt isn’t listed twice.
• Inquiries: you recognize the companies that pulled your report.

Check all three reports. Not every lender reports to every company, so each can be different.

How do you dispute an error?

The CFPB says that for inaccurate or incomplete information on your credit report, you are required by law to first dispute it directly with the credit reporting company. In practice:

1. File the dispute with each company that shows the error, using its online dispute page, mail or phone.
2. Explain what is wrong and what it should say, and attach copies (not originals) of proof, such as a statement or a payoff letter.
3. Consider also contacting the company that supplied the information, such as the lender.
4. Keep copies and the dates of everything you send.

If the dispute isn’t handled properly, you can submit a complaint to the CFPB; see complaints and where to get help. Be wary of companies that charge upfront fees to “repair” credit; you can dispute errors yourself at no cost.

Do the reports include your credit score?

No. The free reports from AnnualCreditReport.com don’t include credit scores. Many banks, credit unions and card issuers show a score to their customers, and lenders may use different scoring models, so the number a lender sees can differ from the one you see.

What comes next?

With clean reports, you are ready to shop for financing. The CFPB notes that getting preapproved by a bank or credit union lets you show other lenders or a dealership the rate you were offered. See how to read an auto loan offer and dealer add-ons and GAP before you sign.