How Inquiries Affect FICO Scores

The company that invented credit scores explains how yours are affected by inquiries
Our experience

Car buyers with bad credit who are in the process of applying for a loan should understand how this will affect their FICO scores.
At Auto Credit Express we believe this is important. We also have more than a little insight into this because we’ve spent over twenty years putting car buyers with auto credit issues together with dealers that can arrange for auto loan approvals. It’s also one reason the website we created features a resource section that contains information ranging from tote the note loans to today’s subject, the impact on your FICO scores when you apply for credit.

FICO Scores and inquiries—the facts
FICO recently released an article with the above title covering this very topic. Here’s what it had to say:
There always seems to be a lot of interest in how the FICO Score is impacted when a consumer applies for credit. In truth, these credit inquiries account for a relatively small percent of the score (less than 10%, in fact). Because of ongoing interest, let’s walk through some interesting facts about inquiries:
• 49% of consumers have no inquiries, 24% have 1 inquiry, and 27% have 2 or more inquiries. • 57% of consumers score the maximum number of points for inquiries; that is, inquiries are not a factor for at least 57% of consumers. • If an inquiry does impact a score, it’s typically by a small amount—less than five points, on average. • 89% of the time, inquiries are not even one of the top four greatest factors impacting the score. • Only 0.4% of the time, inquiries are the score factor with the greatest impact. • Only 14% of consumers lose more than 10 points because of inquiries. Only 4% of consumers lose more than 20 points because of inquiries.
So yes, inquiries can impact a FICO Score, but not by all that much, in the grand scheme of things.

As we see it

Car buyers, especially those with current or past credit problems, need to be aware of how their decisions to apply for credit will affect their FICO scores.
Another thing to think about: if you’ve previously applied for credit and have been turned down for a conventional auto loan, we want you to know know that if you apply with us we’ll forward your application to a dealer that’s familiar a broad range of credit issues and can offer you your best chance for arranging an auto loan approval.
So if you’re ready to reestablish your car credit, you can begin now by filling out our online car loans application.
Tags: Bad Credit, fico scores