Easterns Blog

We’ve been using the tagline “Where Your Job Is Your Credit” since 1988, when it was first incorporated into our jingle. The slogan has both literal meaning and a lot of additional implications built in.

To understand the importance our slogan, it’s first necessary to understand how most auto dealerships and financing companies determine whether you qualify for an auto loan.

Generally, most dealerships will use your credit score to determine whether you qualify for vehicle financing. Your credit score will also be the main factor influencing the interest rates you’re eligible to receive.

There are a lot of people who simply don’t qualify for an auto loan under that system. People with less than perfect credit might technically qualify for some loans, but they will be charged extraordinarily high interest rates.

Under that system, a lot of people in Baltimore, Washington D.C. and throughout Maryland simply can’t get a pre-owned vehicle.

Easterns Automotive Thinks Credit Tracking Is Unfair

Credit tracking agencies don’t have a crystal ball that tells them who you are as a person. You’re reliability and risk shouldn’t be solely defined by an algorithm. People are complicated, and a handful of bad financial decisions or unfortunate circumstances that were outside of your control shouldn’t disqualify you from owning a vehicle.

“Where you’re job is your credit” essentially means we take into consideration factors beyond your credit score when determining credit worthiness and interest rates. Do you have a job? Have you been working at the same place and dutifully making utility and rent payments for years? Those things are indicative of a person who can likely be trusted to make car payments.

We don’t live in the past – our team will look at where you’re at financially today instead of letting problems in the past dictate whether or not you should be able to purchase a vehicle.  

The Vicious, Cruel Cycle of a World Run by Credit Scores

Lenders of all types, from mortgage lenders to credit card companies, sometimes lock people with bad credit into a permanent downward spiral.

Not being able to qualify for an auto loan may prevent you from purchasing a car, which ultimately limits the geographic area in which you can find a job.

A lack of transportation could also prevent you from traveling for school to continue your education. Being unable to pursue higher education may further limit your job prospects and make it harder for you to improve your credit.

The inability to qualify for a mortgage can similarly disenfranchise people with bad credit. Not only does having a mortgage and paying it on time improve your credit, but real estate is often a big investment that greatly appreciates over time. Owning property can truly change lives, especially when home values can increase exponentially in a single lifetime and insulate owners from inflation.  

Bad credit can unfairly lock people out of those opportunities.

How Easterns Automotive Helps Change Things

We’ve prioritized fairness and opportunity by having different priorities than many other dealerships:

• Every staff member is trained to understand that less-than-perfect credit doesn’t disqualify any customer from getting an auto loan from Easterns Automotive
• Our team is specially trained to find solutions for every customer in need of a vehicle
• We never make assumptions about our customers based on a rating assigned by a credit agency that doesn’t know them
• Easterns Automotive goes above and beyond to find some type of competitive financing option that will get every customer into a reliable vehicle
• We’re committed to the idea that “bad credit” should never bar a person from having the transportation they need to get to work, drive to school or run errands

Being Part of the Solution for Car Shoppers in Washington D.C. and Baltimore

Every person deserves a chance to repair their credit, but that can be difficult to do if you can’t qualify for any kind of financing. Easterns Automotive understands that a credit score is not the only measure of risk. Having a job, working hard and being a reliable person means more than your credit score, which is why we still stand behind our slogan – Where Your Job Is Your Credit.

If you want to find out what kind of auto loan you might qualify for or you just need to find a reliable preowned car, truck or SUV in the Washington D.C. or Baltimore area, Easterns Automotive can help.

Visit one of our eight dealerships, browse our inventory online or give us a call at (877) 867-3619. We’d be happy to discuss some of your auto loan options.