Study: Tesla Drivers Have Highest Credit Scores
An analysis of more than 35,000 loans for pre-owned vehicles on the LendingTree platform finds Tesla, Porsche, and Lexus buyers had the highest average credit scores.

Tesla had the highest average credit score among used-car buyers in 2018, according to the latest figures from LendingTree.
Photo courtesy Tesla Motors Inc.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Online loan marketplace Lending Tree released a study ranking car brands by their buyers’ average credit score. The study, which was based on an analysis of more than 35,000 used auto loans on the LendingTree platform, found luxury marques occupied each of the top three spots: Tesla buyers scored highest with an average of 740, followed by Porsche (727) and Lexus (699).
Chrysler buyers have the lowest scores with an average of 656; analysts noted this still falls in the “fair” range. It’s also right around the average credit score for all used-car purchases.
For most automotive brands, a credit score in the “good” range (670–739) was enough to be approved for an auto loan. Of the 30 different makes analyzed, 22 had an average approved credit score fall into that range. The analysis excluded makes that failed to register enough purchases to create reliable estimates.
“For auto dealers, this data certainly helps to reveal more their core customers — and how they can market to them better,” Derek Miller, a senior research analyst at LendingTree, told F&I and Showroom. “But it also suggest to dealerships what kind of financing they should be prepared to support their customers with.”
To view the full report, click here.
More Auto Finance

July Was Hot for Auto Borrowers
Credit proved readily available for many, but most loans left buyers in negative territory, Cox Automotive said.
Read More →
Dealer Lender Preferences Revealed
When lenders provide consistent, fast service, their overall satisfaction scores with dealers greatly improve, according to JD Power research.
Read More →
Auto Refi Savings Surge
Consumers with 84-month auto loan terms who refinanced saved the most on monthly payments, according to a new report by auto refinancing provider Caribou.
Read More →
Subaru Enters Lending Business
The automaker follows other brands in adding captive financing in the U.S., and says the move will strengthen its position here.
Read More →
Positive Equity Reaches Record High
Mainstream vehicle owners who bought a car seven years ago are likely to have positive equity when trading in for a new vehicle, according to second-quarter Edmunds data.
Read More →
Dealerships Are Paying the Price for Extended Car Loans
Growing negative-equity scenarios mean such lengthy terms should be addressed in a forward-looking way to make them work for the dealer and the consumer down the road.
Read More →
Trade-Ins in Negative Equity Reach New Heights
As such trade-ins rise in frequency, so do monthly loan payment amounts and interest rates, according to second-quarter data compiled by Edmunds.
Read More →
Auto Credit Plentiful
June numbers show lenders are readily granting access, including to risky borrowers, as consumers leverage themselves to take on high prices.
Read More →
Automotive Consumers Sink Further in Debt
Most financing metrics hit records in the second quarter as more buyers locked themselves into long terms and high monthly payments.
Read More →
Porsche Financial Services Shifts Structure
After 36 years with Porsche, the Financial Services Chief Financial Officer Konrad Riedl is retiring, and the department is realigning its management structure.
Read More →