Originally posted by slickboy
Every time you check your credit rating, it lowers your beacon score (credit rating). It doesn't lower it a lot, but people wonder why their credit rating has dropped so much after going to every dealership in town and had their credit rating pulled when looking for a car...just my $.02 though.
Ummm, in fact you are somewhat correct and incorrect at the same time....here:
A "hit" on your credit report/history can be one of two different kinds of hits. A personal hit is when you are the one to inquire about your current credit standing. Twice a year is sufficient for the average Joe, unless the person is planning on making a big purchase such as a house, where they may monitor their credit report monthly. These personal "hits"
do not affect your credit rating or score. They
do not appear on your credit report after checking it, so hence creditors do not see them and hence it doesn't lower your score or affect your eligibility for credit.
A creditor "hit" or inquiry, will affect your score. This is an in-depth look into your credit/payment history as well as public records. The reason these hits show up ( and the more of them you have the worse), is that when creditors (banks, dealerships, etc.) inquire about you this usually means you asked or have somehow initiated the request. When you ask/apply for credit frequently, this appears to creditors like you are living beyond your means. And this certainly affects your score.
So you are right that constantly going to dealerships to test drive cars and allowing them to run your credit beforehand just so you may get a 10 minute fun ride in a car you might never or currently cannot afford, is a very negative thing to do to yourself. But most of the people who have posted their credit score in this thread have attained it by going through the internet as a personal inquiry which you pay for. And that is not negative to your credit.