Auto Loans
Auto Lenders Review
& Tips for the Best Loan Rates
Auto loans are a crucial part of the car buying process. If you don't have all the money you need to buy your new or used car, then you'll have to find a financing source to get you the cash you need.
Here you'll find my auto lender review, where you can compare some of the nations top auto lenders loan programs and on my Current Auto Loan Rates page you'll be able to get a quick overview of who's hot and who's currently not.
FYI - up2drive.com , a division of BMW Bank NA, is my recommended source for auto loans. They have great rates and finance all makes and models. Their loans work for purchases from dealers, private parties and refinance. Save yourself some time and be sure to check them out first!
Car dealerships make big finance profits when they arrange auto loans for customers and my goal is to show you how and where to get an auto loan on your own to potentially save yourself hundreds, if not thousands of dollars by doing so.
Where would you like to begin?
Let's get to it and find out what
auto lenders offer the best auto loans for you!
Quick Links - On Page -
Bank of America | Bank of the West | BMW Bank NA | Capital One | GMAC Auto Finance | Hughes Credit Union | JP Morgan Chase | M and I Bank | Mountain America Credit Union | US Bank
Nations Top
Auto Lenders ReviewedHere are some of the nations top auto lenders, some of their auto loan guidelines and their credit criteria. Knowing this can save you from unnecessary credit inquiries and from wasting your time if they don't offer a program that fits your needs. Follow any one of the lenders links to learn more about their programs. If you feel that you may not qualify for these lenders programs please take a look at my Bad Credit Loans page. Before you begin, please read my quick disclaimer.
| | General | - For A+, A, B and upper level C tier credit.
- Minimum credit score of 620 required.
- Minimum 5 year credit file and 3 satisfactory trades.
| | Loan | - Excellent rates for new and/or near new vehicles.
- Decent rates for older used vehicles.
- Up to 75 month financing.
- Maximum advance of 110% of wholesale/invoice, plus TT&L and back end products.
| | Vehicle | - Vehicles must be 5 years old or newer.
- Maximum of 100,000 miles.
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| | General | - For A+, A, and very upper level B tier credit.
- Minimum credit score of 700 required.
- 90 days to first payment available.
- Offers business loans
| | Loan | - Excellent rates for new and/or near new vehicles.
- Decent rates for older used vehicles.
- Up to an 84 month loan.
- Maximum advance of 140% of wholesale/invoice, including TT&L, plus back end products.
- Maximum advance of 110% (for trucks and SUV's) of wholesale/invoice, including TT&L, plus back end products.
- Luxury discount of .25% for amount financed >$29,000.
- Automatic payments discount of .25% (direct lending).
| | Vehicle | - Vehicles must be 6 years old or newer.
- No maximum mileage.
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BMW Bank of North America (Up2Drive.com)
| | General | - For A+, A, B and very upper level C tier credit.
- Minimum credit score varies.
- Offers private party auto loans.
- Offers refinancing of existing loan
- Offers new and used vehicle loans from franchised dealers.
| | Loan | - Up to 72 month financing.
- Decent rates for older used vehicles.
- Excellent rates for new and/or near new vehicles.
- Maximum loan to value of 110% of retail KBB or MSRP.
| | Vehicle | - Maximum of 75,000 miles.
- Vehicles must be no older than 6 years for up to 60 month term.
- Vehicles must be no older than 4 years for up to 72 month term.
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I highly recommend you check out up2drive.com , which is a division of BMW Bank of North America, before you consider any other lenders. They have excellent rates for new and near new vehicles. Although they are a division of BMW Bank NA, they finance all makes and models. They have award winning service, an easy, free application and a fast approval process. Top
| | General | - For A+, A, B, C and upper level D tier credit.
- Minimum credit score of 520 required.
- Minimum 7 year credit file and 3 satisfactory trades.
| | Loan | - Very competitive rates for new and/or near new vehicles.
- Decent rates for older used vehicles.
- Up to 72 month financing.
- Maximum advance of 115% of wholesale/invoice, including TT&L, plus back end products.
- Maximum advance is restricted for certain trucks and SUV's.
- Prime rates are only available for direct lending.
- No longer offer private party, motorcycle or lease buyout loans.
| | Vehicle | - Vehicles must be 7 years old or newer.
- Maximum of 70,000 miles for direct lending.
- Maximum of 80,000 miles for indirect lending.
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| | General | | | Loan | - Competitive rates for new vehicles.
- Best for special offer APR's (0%, 1.9%, etc.)
- Not very competitive rates for older used vehicles.
- Up to 72 month financing.
- Maximum advance of 135% of wholesale/invoice, including TT&L and back end products.
| | Vehicle | - No age or mileage restrictions stated, but shorter finance term and limited advance may apply.
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| | General | - For A+, A, B and select C tier credit.
- Minimum credit score of 580 required.
- First time buyer program available.
| | Loan | - Decent rates for new and/or near new vehicles.
- Very competitive rates for older used vehicles.
- Up to an 84 month loan.
- Maximum advance of 100% of retail/MSRP, plus TT&L and back end products.
| | Vehicle | - No age restrictions stated.
- No maximum mileage stated.
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| | General | - For A+, A, B, C and upper level D tier credit.
- Minimum credit score of 540 required.
- Minimum 3 satisfactory trades.
- Offers business loans
| | Loan | - Competitive rates for new and/or near new vehicles.
- Good rates for older used vehicles.
- Up to an 84 month loan.
- Maximum advance of 90-130% of wholesale/invoice, including TT&L and back end products.
- Maximum advance is restricted for certain trucks, SUV's and Vans.
| | Vehicle | - Vehicles must be 6 years old or newer.
- Maximum of 90,000 miles.
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| | General | - For A+, A, B tier credit.
- Minimum credit score of 690 required.
- Minimum 5 year credit file.
- Auto loan program not available in all states.
- Offers business loans
| | Loan | - Excellent rates for new and/or near new vehicles.
- Excellent rates for older used vehicles.
- Up to 75 month financing.
- Maximum advance of 105% of retail/MSRP, plus TT&L and back end products.
- Luxury discount of .10% for amount financed >$35,000.
- Equity discount up to .80%.
- 48 month, or less, short term discount of .25%.
| | Vehicle | - No vehicle age restrictions.
- Maximum of 95,000 miles.
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| | General | - For A+, A, B and upper level C tier credit.
- Minimum credit score of 625 required.
- AZ, NM, NV, UT only.
- A tier rates offered at 675 score and up.
| | Loan | - Competitive rates for new and/or near new vehicles.
- Good rates for older used vehicles.
- Up to 72 month financing.
- Maximum advance of 100% (used vehicles) of retail/MSRP, plus TT&L and back end products.
- Maximum advance of 110% (new vehicles) of invoice, plus TT&L and back end products.
| | Vehicle | - Vehicle must be 8 years old or newer.
- Maximum of 100,000 miles
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| | General | - For A+, A, B tier credit.
- Minimum credit score of 650 required.
- A tier rates offered at 700 score and up.
- 90 days to first payment available (top tiers only).
- Offers business loans
| | Loan | - Competitive rates for new and/or near new vehicles.
- Very competitive rates for older used vehicles.
- Up to an 84 month loan.
- Maximum advance of 105% (used vehicles) of retail/MSRP, including TT&L, plus back end products.
- Maximum advance of 95% (for full size trucks and SUV's) of retail/MSRP, including TT&L, plus back end products.
- Luxury discount of .10% for amounts financed >$30,000.
| | Vehicle | - Vehicle must be 6 years old or newer.
- Maximum of 80,000 miles.
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Quick Credit
Tier BreakdownThere are six main credit tiers that most full spectrum lenders will use to determine the loan they are willing to approve for customers and what rates they will charge. Your FICO score / Beacon score is what most lenders use to determine the finance rate. Even though your credit score is used to determine your finance rate, it does not guarantee that your auto loan will be approved. Here is a quick breakdown of credit tiers defined by credit score. For a more complete analysis of credit tiers view my complete FICO Score and Credit Tier Breakdown. - A+ Tier typically - 740 to 900 FICO score
- A Tier typically - 700 to 739 FICO score
- B Tier typically - 660 to 699 FICO score
- C Tier typically - 581 to 659 FICO score
- D Tier typically - 520 to 580 FICO score
- F Tier typically - 300 to 520 FICO score
How’s your credit score? 700 US Average; 775+ Excellent. Find out your score now FREE!
Leverage Your Pre-Approved
Auto Loan For Better RatesThis is fairly simple to do. All you need to do is get pre-approved for an auto loan and make the dealership compete to beat your approval. Usually, dealerships will have better rates available to them than what you could get on your own. This is due to the volume they send these lenders on a regular monthly basis. It's very similar to WalMart discounts for buying in large quantities. The tricky part is trying to get the dealership to give you the best rate possible and to not mark up the rate. This can be eliminated or at least minimized if they are trying to compete with your Pre Approved loan and is where the leverage comes in. If the dealership is arranging your financing through a credit union you can be pretty sure that there is no mark up and you are paying the credit unions best available base rate. There are very few credit unions that will allow dealerships to mark up their approved auto loan rates and the rate the dealership shows you is what you would typically get if you applied directly with the credit union yourself.
Where to get approved?
If you are currently a member of a credit union, then I would suggest starting there.
If you are not a member of a credit union, then you can take a look at the Credit Union National Association website to find a credit union in your area. Quick heads up, credit unions are usually looking for above average credit and can take a couple of days to approve auto loans...very frustrating... In addition, you can try your local bank to see what types of rates they are offering. I've found that most banks finance rates, like up2drive.com BMW Bank NA, are very competitive with credit unions and are oftentimes much better for newer vehicles (new to 3 years old), but most banks finance rates become pretty uncompetitive once a vehicle is 4 years or older. For older and higher mile vehicles a credit union will, more often than not, offer the best auto loans.
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