In case of vehicles, a bad credit loan acts as an unsecured loan. The exception is that the vehicle in question is put up as collateral instead of having no collateral. The terms of agreement are quite harsh in these cases to the extent that the possession of the vehicle may get transferred to the lender even if only one payment is missed. Late payments pave the way for certain unscrupulous used-car dealers to sell the vehicle time and again. It is advisable for buyers to avoid getting into such situations because there could be a delay in payment due to some unforeseen circumstances.
A short term loan is usually called a payday loan. This type of loan is also termed as a cash advance and involves strict terms. Due to astronomically high interest rates, the charges levied under such a loan are called fees (in order to avoid usury laws in some jurisdictions).
A payday loan is offered on the basis of employment information and there is no credit check involved. An alternative to a bad credit loan could be a secured credit card. You can extend your credit line by depositing some money. The extension in credit line could be almost 150% of the deposit amount. The biggest benefit of a secured credit card is that it helps in building credit as it is reported to credit bureaus. Many other bad credit lenders do not report to credit bureaus.
An important consideration in case of a bad credit loan is to carefully read the agreement before signing. Through extensive research, one can find a favorable deal especially in the case of used cars. Some reputed car dealers offer special plans to people with bad credit.