Let's look at the four factors used in your credit rating -- the so-called FICO score -- in detail.

Negative information can range from judgments, foreclosures and liens to late payments. Not paying bills on time will come back to haunt you big-time.

Outstanding accounts are important because bankers do not want to see you overstretched. Your balances need to be under 50 percent of your credit limit.

Credit history needs to be longer than seven years for optimal results. This is bad news for young people, and even worse news if you get into credit trouble while in college; you could be paying higher rates til you're 30 if you're not careful.

Your use of credit can be determined by how many times you've applied for credit and how many accounts you have open. In both cases, the fewer the better.

You will notice in here that there's absolutely nothing about how much money you earn or how many assets you have.

That won't show up in the car loan process until
a human gets involved.

To get your credit in the right direction,
you'll need to trim back your total debt,
and you'll need to post on-time payments.
If you have no credit history, snag a
secured credit card; it's a great place to
start showing on-time payments. Next.

750 and above
Excellent A++

680 to 750
Very Good A+

620 to 680
Good A

580 to 680
Above Satisfactory B

550 to 580
Satisfactory B-

480 to 550
Below Satisfactory C