what's good comrades. tl;dr i didn't learn to drive until i was 27. i'm 31 now. in those 4 years, i've had two cars i bought cheap outright with cash, so i have never financed a more expensive car. these were 800 bucks each.

i only got a credit card at the beginning of 2024, i was terrified of debt my whole life so i never even wanted to get one. but i figure, i need credit to exist in amerikkka so the time has come. my score is 650 on one site and 697 on another. so let's assume it's like 670 actually.

i've applied for two auto loans but was turned down due to 'limited credit' but i see teenagers who work at wendy's driving nicer/newer cars they were able to finance, and i'm not even trying to get anything like that. i'm only looking to get a loan of like 4-6k, to buy cheap reliable used car from like 2005-2013. i see lots of options. i'm trying to avoid the dealer financing tho due to the dude telling me they typically charge like 25% interest through dealership financing.

how exactly does this work? is my only choice to get ripped off with dealer financing? i can't join a credit union, i've tried- limited credit. i don't get at all how credit works. i don't even want this shit. but currently i drive a 1995 toyota avalon that's falling apart and it's not safe to drive so i gotta figure something out