Overhaulin'

When shopping for a car loan, will all the banks who pull affect my credit score?

Okay, so I just recently bought a car. I applied at two different dealerships. On the same day. At one dealership we physically went there and got approved for a loan through Capital One, but no others. They were jerking us around, so we found the same car at a different place and applied over the phone telling them that we got approved through Capital One and to check with them if we could buy their car. Well, we went with the place where we physically walked in and bought a car. Now, a month later, I have recieved bout 10 denied letters from the dealership where I did an application over the phone. I told him to only check with Capital One, not all of the loaning companies! Can I do something about this? If not, how will that affect my credit score? I heard that applying for a loan for a car or house multiple times in a short period of time wont have as drastic as an affect on my score compared to if I was applying for credit cards, etc. Is this true? Any help? Thanks.

Public Comments

1. All credit checks for a car or home within 15 days count as a single check. The individual checks will display on the report, but will be counted as "1" for the score.
2. All similar inquiries done in less than a 3 week window will count as one. This is to allow the customer to "shop around" for a good rate. This does not apply to credit cards. The inquiries will affect your score 1 or 2 points. Up to 5 if your credit is disastrous. They will show up on your credit reports for a little over 2 years, but will only affect your score for one year.