What is a FICO® Auto Score?

Key takeaway: Your FICO® Auto Scores are specific credit scores tailored to the auto loan industry, but they’re not the only credit scores auto lenders use.

FICO® Auto Scores are industry-specific FICO scores tailored to lenders that issue car loans. Unlike FICO base scores that range from 300 to 850, FICO® Auto Scores range from 250 to 900.

You have many different FICO® Auto Scores, each based off a FICO base credit scoring model, like FICO® Score 8 or FICO® Score 9. Although FICO® Auto Scores use the same data as FICO base scores, the auto scores consider specific risk factors that focus on predicting how likely someone is to make auto loan payments as agreed. 

Instead of FICO® Auto Scores, Credit Karma show free VantageScore 3.0 credit scores from TransUnion and Equifax.

Let’s break down what goes into your FICO® Auto Scores, how you can check them and what you can do to improve your credit scores overall.

• What is a good FICO® Auto Score?
• How to check your FICO® Auto Scores
• How can I check my credit scores for free?
• Next steps: How do I improve my credit?
• FAQs about FICO® Auto Scores

What is a good FICO® Auto Score?

Even though FICO® Auto Scores have a different scale than the general base scores, they tend to categorize scores similarly. So, a score that falls into the “good” category on a base FICO score range will likely fall into the good category on the FICO® Auto Score range. 

For example, here are the category ranges for FICO® Score 8, the most widely used FICO credit score:

• Poor: 300-579
• Fair: 580-669
• Good: 670-739
• Very good: 740-799
• Exceptional: 800-850

Your FICO® Auto Score 8 is calculated similarly to FICO® Score 8, so its category ranges look like this: 

• Poor: 250-579
• Fair: 580-669
• Good: 670-739
• Very good: 740-799
• Exceptional: 800-900

Just like you have more than one base FICO score, you also have many FICO® Auto Scores. What’s considered “good” for a specific credit scoring model will depend on how its calculated. 

Lenders also have their own criteria for what’s considered a good credit score, so even if you have a good credit score on paper, you may not qualify for the auto loan you want. 

Auto loans are considered secured loans because they typically use the car itself as collateral for the loan. So, you may have an easier time qualifying even if your credit scores aren’t considered good. Still, read the fine print carefully: Many buyers end up with high interest rates, hidden fees and monthly payments they can’t afford once the promotional period ends.

How to check your FICO® Auto Scores

While some credit scores can be monitored for free, your FICO® Auto Scores usually aren’t among them. You can typically purchase access to your FICO® Auto Scores if you: 

• Sign up for a subscription through myFICO. When you pay for an Advanced or Premier tier through myFICO, you can monitor a handful of your credit reports and scores, including your FICO® Auto Scores. 
• Sign up for a Premium membership through Experian. Paying for the Premium membership tier allows you to view additional FICO scores, including FICO® Auto Score 2 and 8. 

Before you sign up for credit monitoring or buy your auto score, remember that there are many different FICO® Auto Scores. Monitoring just one doesn’t guarantee you’ll see the same version your lender checks, if your lender even pulls your auto scores at all. Consider calling your lender’s financing department to see which version they use before paying for your scores.

How can I check my credit scores for free?

If you want to see other scores aside from your FICO® Auto Score, you can start by checking with your bank or credit card issuer. Many of them offer free access to certain scores, such as FICO® Score 8 or VantageScore® 3.0.

Credit Karma provides free VantageScore® 3.0 credit scores, along with free credit reports, from TransUnion and Equifax. 

Next steps: How do I improve my credit?

Here are some of the best ways to improve your credit, regardless of which credit score you’re looking at:

• Pay your bills on time, every time. Payment history is the most important factor to your FICO and VantageScore credit scores. By building a positive payment history, you’ll be able to improve your credit scores. 
• Use only a portion of your available credit. Credit utilization refers to the amount of credit you’re using compared to your overall available credit. So, if you have a credit card with a $1,000 credit limit and you use only $200 of that limit, your utilization rate is 20%. If this ratio is too high, lenders may think you’re overextended, which can hurt your scores. By keeping credit utilization low — ideally below 30% — you may see better credit scores. 
• Avoid unnecessary applications for new credit. Opening new credit accounts will typically come with hard credit inquiries, which will temporarily lower your score. 
• Look for errors in your credit reports. If your credit reports incorrectly show something negative, like an auto loan payment you made that was reported as missed, you can dispute the error.

If you’ve missed auto loan payments in the past, that information typically stays on your credit reports for seven years, although its impact lessens with time. If you have unpaid auto collections, paying them off now may help you improve your scores and appear more favorable to lenders.