<prompt> Human: I made mistakes in my youth. I have fully cleared up any debt owed. All paid off and my score is still in the toilet. 614 and not rising. Its stayed there for the past six months. I have two hard inquires on my credit right now. My old truck is about to die and I need to find a new or used SUV for my two daughters and myself. I can put 2000 up front but I cant get a loan. I have read about dealerships that offer your job is your credit. Are they legit or scam artists? Any advice would be helpful.  <response>: You will hopefully get a lot of great, in-depth and broad advice from others. So Im going to keep it simple and just tell you what to buy: A used 2004-2005 Ford Taurus. Boring right? I owned one. I know your feels. But their horrible resale value is a huge advantage for you. They are large, safe, reliable cars that can still get 25mpg on the highway. They are front-wheel drive FWD which makes it easy to get around in poor weather. Very few people really need an SUV. In fact, a rear-wheel drive SUV or truck will actually be worse in the snow than a FWD sedan with a bunch of weight over the drive tires excluding more costly 4x4 or AWD SUVs. Other people will mention japanese vehicles, and they are also a great option. But japanese cars are much more expensive. I was able to trade out of an Accord with 140k miles into a Taurus that was 2 model years newer, with 70k less miles for 500 out of pocket. You too can go buy a used Taurus with 75k miles on it for only 5000 or so. They are boring cars. No one wants them. Which is great news for you, because they are very cheap!I understand if youre hesitant because it is a little presumptuous of me to step in and say buy this car. But as the car guy among my familyfriends, and speaking from experience, this would be my recommendation. Word of caution: be careful about what year you buy. Some model years even with the same body style are significantly less reliable. Invest 10 on a Consumer Reports subscription for a week and see for yourself. IMO Consumer Reports is always a good investment when considering a large purchase that youll be stuck with for years. 