Getting Approved with a Part Time Job

Under the right circumstances borrowers with less than perfect credit can get approved for a car loan even if their job is part time

Bad Credit Auto Loans & Part Time Wages

Here at Auto Credit Express we’ve spent the past two decades helping car buyers with bad credit locate those dealers who are more than willing to work with them in obtaining financing for a new or used car.

During that time, we’ve answered thousands of questions from applicants, many of them having to do with the income requirements of a subprime car loan. One income question we frequently get asked is, “Can I get approved for a car loan if I have a part time job and my credit is lousy?”

How Car Loan Approvals Work,

With a Part Time Job

The answer to that question is that under the right circumstances, an applicant with poor credit and a part-time job can qualify for a car loan. In these situations, subprime lenders are looking for qualifying income, not the hours it takes to generate that income. In other words, as long as the income from the part-time job is at or above the lender’s minimum requirements, they will consider the loan application. So if a lender’s minimum monthly income requirement is $1,500, the loan application will be considered as long as the applicant’s income from the part-time job is $1,500 or more.

But most lenders also have rules regarding part-time jobs, including situations in which an applicant has multiple part-time jobs. In these cases, only one job is used to determine the income requirements.

Here’s how it works:

In the first example, applicant A has two part-time jobs. The first job generates $1,700 in income per month, while the second pays $300 per month for a total monthly income of $2,000.

In the second example, applicant B also has two part-time jobs. The first job pays $1,200 per month, while the second pays $800 per for month for a total monthly income of $2,000.

In this situation, if the lender’s minimum monthly income requirement is $1,500, applicant A’s income would qualify, while the income for applicant B would not. Even though both applicant’s total income is the same, only applicant A’s income would qualify since the income from A’s highest-paying part-time job meets or exceeds the lender’s requirements. If you’re still confused, be sure to check our car loan qualification calculator.

The Bottom Line

Most subprime lenders will consider income from a part-time job, as long as it meets their minimum requirements. However, borrowers with poor credit should keep in mind that no matter how many part-time jobs they have, the qualifying part-time income must come from just one of those jobs.

That doesn’t mean that second job serves no purpose when applying for an auto loan however. That extra income can be key when it comes to debt to income ratio of your auto loan.

One more tip: Auto Credit Express specializes in helping applicants with car credit difficulties find dealers that can give them their best opportunities for approved auto loans.