Buying a new Toyota… dealer says they have to do a credit check?

I’m financing a new car with Capital One and already gave the dealer my pre-approval letter. I was ready to drive 4-5 hours for this car because the price is amazing. But I told them I only want to use my Capital One pre-approval, and I’m trying to avoid multiple credit pulls. The sales guy said, ‘We will do an internal credit check, but it’ll consolidate with the Capital One pull.’

I asked for that in writing, but the GM called me back and couldn’t give it to me in writing. He tried explaining some consumer laws about auto credit pulls within 30 days.

So now I’m confused…

I know Capital One will do a hard pull eventually, but the dealer says they also have to do one, even though I don’t want to use their lenders.

  • Is this legal?

  • Is there a way to stop them from doing their own credit check?

I wasn’t planning on buying a new car, but I got rear-ended and my car was totaled. I was actually planning to buy a house soon, and I just cleared up all the credit inquiries on my report in March.

Does this mean I’m stuck with two hard pulls (one from Toyota and one from Capital One)? Can I dispute the Toyota pull later if they do it anyway?

Thanks for any help!

Don’t worry too much about it—the credit pulls will consolidate, and the impact is pretty small anyway.

People stress too much over credit pulls. If you’ve got good or excellent credit, it won’t make much difference in your score.

Dezi said:
People stress too much over credit pulls. If you’ve got good or excellent credit, it won’t make much difference in your score.

Exactly. The actual car loan will affect your score more than the credit inquiry ever will.

Yep, it’s legal. Dealers can set their own terms. You could always decide not to buy from them.

As for stopping the internal check, no, there’s no way around it. But if you’re worried about the hard pulls, remember that they’re combined for scoring purposes, so it won’t matter much.

And about disputing the Toyota pull later… if you gave them permission, there’s nothing to dispute.

@Teegan
They said there would be two separate pulls on my credit report though. Isn’t that bad for my score?

Alton said:
@Teegan
They said there would be two separate pulls on my credit report though. Isn’t that bad for my score?

There might be two pulls, but it won’t hurt you. Even if there were 15 pulls within a short window, they’d be treated the same.

Plus, the idea that more pulls means a lower score is blown way out of proportion. Especially if they’re combined like this for scoring purposes.

Alton said:
@Teegan
They said there would be two separate pulls on my credit report though. Isn’t that bad for my score?

It really doesn’t matter. The system treats multiple pulls within the same timeframe as one, like you’re shopping around for the best deal. It won’t affect your score as much as you think.

Alton said:
@Teegan
They said there would be two separate pulls on my credit report though. Isn’t that bad for my score?

Check this out for more info.

It explains how credit pulls within a 45-day period count as one inquiry for scoring purposes when shopping for a car or mortgage.

Alton said:
@Teegan
They said there would be two separate pulls on my credit report though. Isn’t that bad for my score?

Yeah, as long as it’s within a set time period (something like 15 days), it’ll count as one pull for scoring purposes.

@brunomars
Depends on the scoring model—it could be 14, 30, or 45 days.

The dealer needs to verify your identity and check some other things like your OFAC status. Inquiries really don’t matter, and multiple ones will get combined for scoring anyway.

You have a credit score for situations like this—using it to buy a car is exactly why it exists.

When I sold cars, we always did a credit pull, even 10 years ago. I think it had something to do with the Patriot Act, but every sale got a pull.

Why are you so worried about a credit pull? Do you need to finance something else right away?

Hard pulls get combined. And just wait until you’re shopping for a mortgage—you’ll have several pulls then too.

Even if the pulls weren’t combined, no mortgage lender would care.

You’re stressing too much over this. The dealer is probably going to try to pull a fast one on you after you drive that far. They’ll pull your credit to offer you their financing options, but don’t worry—the pulls will consolidate.

Why risk losing a great deal over a temporary dip in your credit score? Unless you’re planning to make another big purchase soon, this won’t hurt you much. And even if you are, hard pulls get lumped together if they’re within 30-90 days.

What really affects your credit is getting multiple large loans in a short time, not the pulls themselves.

Hard pulls will show separately on your report, but if they’re within a certain window of time, they only count as one. Lenders know you’re shopping around and don’t punish you for it.