DENVER — If you are shopping for a used car and you have less than A or B credit, you'll pay a higher interest rate on a loan. That's a given, and even subprime borrowers who aren't financially savvy know it from experience. But just how bad a deal can you get? And how many credit unions on the Centrix Portfolio Management Program would make (on their own) the kinds of loans that Centrix made and sold to them?

Credit Union Times has viewed several loan documents that detail a typical Centrix loan that was sold at the height of its PMP in December 2003. A Chrysler Concorde 2000 with almost 50,000 miles was sold to a consumer with a debt to income ratio of 41.26% and a payment to income ratio of 18.97%. The sale price was $11,990, the documentation fee was $779, the license fee was $250 and stamps and other fees were also added to the total amount financed.

What brought the total financed amount to $14,986 were $1,553 for an extended warranty and $500 for GAP insurance. Industry experts Credit Union Times has consulted say that these products are of very doubtful value to the buyer. One expert even termed it "exploiting the poor."