When purchasing a car from a dealership–unless you’re paying cash–there eventually comes the part where the dealership reaches out to a number of banks in an effort to get you approved for the loan. (Which, if you have ANY sort of credit, they eventually do.)
For better or worse, my philosophy has always been to spend only what I have, and to operate on borrowed money only as a last resort. Consequently, my credit history is virtually non-existent, so the dealership had to check with quite a few institutions before eventually finding one that would offer me the loan… which is fine; that’s just how that works.
Here’s the part that BLOWS MY MIND: The financial institutions that declined my application–many of which I’d never even heard of–each took it upon themselves to write me just to tell me that they couldn’t give me a loan, effectively sending me an introductory letter in which they establish their brand as unable to fulfill the ONE service they exist to offer. If that’s not a stunning example of shooting yourself in the foot, truly, I don’t know what is.