Q. I live in Florida and have a really bad credit rating (590). The auto dealer wants to charge 16% for a new car loan. Is this reasonable or can I get a better rate somewhere else?

A. Unfortunately, 16% is not an unreasonable rate for someone with your credit score.

We checked with Fair Isaac Corp., the company that created the most widely used credit scoring formula. It says Floridians with a credit score of 590 pay an average interest rate of 13.4% for a 36-month new car loan of $20,000. (For a FICO score of 500 to 589 the average interest rate is 14.8%).

You can check out rates from many lenders by going to Interest.com's auto loan comparison charts. But the rates you'll see are for consumers with good to excellent credit. You'll almost certainly be quoted a higher rate when you apply.

We would urge you to read at "6 smart moves to improve your credit score." Boosting your score even a little, say 30 or 40 points, will make it easier and cheaper to get all types of loans.