Liz Weston

Dear Liz: How do I remove inquiries from multiple auto lenders? One of the dealerships pulled my credit at least eight times over a two-day period. I thought this could only be done while the customer is physically at the car lot.

Answer: Dealerships aren’t supposed to check your credit without your permission, and they can’t check your credit if you don’t give them your personal information, including your Social Security number. Some dealers use deceptive methods to get your personal information, such as claiming they need your Social Security number for you to take a test drive. (They don’t.)

If you did give permission, though, there’s not a lot you can do about multiple inquiries. Dealerships can, and will, check with multiple lenders to see what rates and terms they’ll offer you. If your credit isn’t great, multiple inquiries may be necessary to find you a loan.

The good news is that multiple auto loan inquiries in a two-day span won’t hurt your credit that much or for that long. Most credit scoring formulas don’t count each auto loan inquiry separately, but instead aggregate such inquiries together and count them as one. The ding against your credit scores is typically small and lasts only a few months.

Ideally, though, you wouldn’t continue to do business with a dealership that wasn’t crystal clear about why it needed your personal information and how it was going to be used. Also, consider applying for a car loan from a local credit union before you step onto a car lot. Credit unions are member-owned and tend to have good rates and terms, without the runarounds and add-ons that are so prevalent at car dealerships.