Things to Know

    Our primary goal is to help you locate the best automotive-financing program available to meet your individual needs. Our loan platform incorporates many of the premier lending institutions across the nation, providing assistance to customers with preferred credit, as well as consumers who have been less fortunate. By streamlining the loan process, we are able to direct you toward the optimal loan for your particular requirements. The following guidelines should assist you with the overall automotive-financing process.

    Pre-qualifying for an automotive loan allows you to determine exactly what you can afford and empowers you to control the sales process from a position of strength. Comparing loan rates and financing options enables you to identify the best method for paying for your automobile. If you want to own the vehicle, financing the loan may be your preferred option. The amount you finance is based on the total sales price of the automobile. Once you have made all of the payments, you own the vehicle outright. With a lease, you are entitled to use the automobile for an established period of time in exchange for making payments; however, the financing company actually owns the vehicle. When you finish making all of the payments, you have the option to either return the automobile or make a substantial payment (the lease-end residual value) to purchase it from the finance company. Most leasing companies put restrictions on the number of miles you are permitted to drive and the amount of wear and tear they deem reasonable, and you will incur additional charges for exceeding those limits. If you routinely drive long distances, a lease may not be your best option.

    With our rapid, online pre-qualification process, it is conceivable that you could receive offers from some of the foremost lenders in the industry and have a check in hand within 24 hours, providing you with cash purchasing power. Our process enables you to negotiate from a position of strength, securing the right price without dickering over finance rates with the dealer.

    When considering your loan and determining an affordable price range, we discourage the concept of shopping payments. Your natural tendency may be to focus solely on your monthly payment. Resist that impulse. Although you must take into account the affordability of your monthly payment, that figure alone can be misleading when assessing what you are actually being charged over the life of your loan. By indicating a specific payment amount to a salesperson or finance specialist (such as $400 or below), you are conferring enormous latitude in the way your loan may be structured. For instance, extending a $20,000 loan from four years to five years would lower your individual monthly payments from $506 to $424; however, your overall interest rate would increase from 10% to 12%. Meanwhile, the total amount paid over the loan term would actually increase from $24,288 to $26,640. While you obviously want to have a reasonable payment, it is to your advantage to examine all applicable financing terms and conditions. This will enable you to exercise sound judgment when making decisions regarding your loan.

    Prior to starting your search for the most suitable automotive loan, you will need to ascertain the amount of money you can comfortably borrow. The monthly payment must be affordable - both in terms of the individual payment, as well as its overall impact on your total monthly obligations. Lenders typically want the payment to be no more than 15% to 18% of your total monthly income before taxes, and your total monthly debt (including your new loan payment) should not exceed 40% to 45% of your total monthly income. Use our loan calculator to assist you with targeting that range.

New or Pre-owned Vehicle Dealer Purchase

    Applying for a loan and purchasing an automobile from a dealership has never been easier! We offer consumers an affordable means of obtaining new purchase financing for new and pre-owned automobiles at competitive interest rates. Automobiles may be purchased from any franchised new vehicle dealership in the United States.

    Depending on your overall credit qualifications, we may be able to finance the entire automotive purchase price, including any tax, title, license, registration or lien filing fees, any credit insurance or extended warranty or service contracts, or any other costs typically associated with the purchase of a new automobile from a franchised dealer. In most cases, we will put a blank check good for up to your approval amount in the mail overnight, providing you with cash in hand purchase power to negotiate your next purchase from a position of strength.

Person-to-Person Automotive Purchase

    We provide financing for person-to-person automotive purchases. Person-to-person purchase loans refer to any automobile "for sale by owner" or "private party" which is being sold by an individual, not a franchised new automobile dealer.

    If the seller of the automobile holds the title and does not have a loan obligation to a lender, we will issue a site draft check made payable to the individual from whom you are purchasing the automobile. If the seller of the automobile has an outstanding loan against the vehicle, we will issue a site draft check made payable to both the existing lien holder (such as a bank, credit union, etc.) and the individual seller. Certain documents will need to be mailed via overnight delivery to the existing lien holder, and the charge for this service will be paid by either the buyer or seller, as determined by the buyer and seller.

    For person-to-person automotive purchases, the license, title, registration fees, and use tax cannot be included in the total amount of your loan. All fees and use tax must be paid to the DMV prior to issuing a new title.

Automotive Refinancing

    Refinancing your automotive loan may lower your interest rate, payments, or both. You may even be able to benefit from the equity in your automobile. The process is quick, easy, and hassle-free. Refinancing loans can only be used to refinance existing automotive loans with other lenders. If we discover that refinancing will not save you money on your current lease or loan obligation, we will notify you immediately.

    Monthly Savings: You may be able to reduce your monthly payments on your existing automotive loan by refinancing your loan for the remaining period of time on your loan, only at a lower interest rate. Your original loan may have had a higher interest rate due to a history of late payments or past credit problems, or you may have received a high interest rate when you received your original loan from the dealership.

    Overall Savings: There are a couple of ways for you to save money by refinancing. With a lower interest rate, you could choose to have your monthly payments decreased to receive an immediate savings, or you could elect to reduce the term of your loan. This means you may not see a reduction in your individual monthly payments; however, by making payments over a shorter time frame, the total interest you pay over the loan term would be significantly reduced - often by hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars.

    Lower Payments: We may be able to decrease the amount of your monthly payments by extending the term of your loan. If you have a good interest rate but you are still seeking a reduction in your monthly payments, you may want to consider refinancing your existing automotive loan for a longer term. In other words, if you have only one year remaining on your loan, and you refinance it for a three-year term, your monthly payments would be reduced significantly. This means you would be making payments for a longer period of time, but if you need immediate relief from your overall financial obligations, this might be a viable option for you.

    Loan Equity: If your current loan is nearly paid off (for example, if you have an outstanding balance of $3,000 on an $18,000 loan), we may be able to refinance the existing loan for equity, providing you with available cash.

    When you elect to refinance your automobile, we will handle all of the details pertaining to the existing loan - paying off the outstanding loan balance, ensuring all of the title transfer paperwork is completed, etc. Customers are responsible for fees charged by their respective states to title the vehicle evidencing the new lien holder. These one-time fees range from less than $5 to $65, depending upon the state involved.

Lease Buy Out

    Buying out your existing automotive lease means you have opted to purchase your automobile at the end of the lease term rather than return the vehicle to the leasing company, or you want to purchase it instead of continuing to lease. When you buy out your lease, you take out a new loan that is sufficient to pay off any existing lease payments for which you are responsible, plus finance the lease-end residual value of the automobile. You should consider the following important information before making your decision:

    Sales Tax: The fact that you are leasing your automobile means that no one has actually "sold" the vehicle to you - they have simply leased it. Since no sale transpired, no one paid sales tax. Nevertheless, if you decide to purchase your automobile now, you will owe sales tax on the current value of your vehicle. For example, if the sales tax in your area is 7%, and the current value of the automobile under lease is $18,000, you will be required to pay $1,260 in sales tax when you buy out your lease. For lease buy outs, the license, title, registration fees, and use tax cannot be included in the total amount of your loan. Customers are responsible for fees charged by their respective states to title the vehicle evidencing the new lien holder. All fees and use tax must be paid to the DMV prior to issuing a new title.

    Number of lease payments remaining: In general, it is more logical to buy out a lease near the end of the term; it rarely makes sense if you have just recently entered into a contract. Most lease agreements are written in such a way that you are liable for the entire amount of the lease payments regardless of whether you pay them monthly over the life of the contract, or in one lump sum. For example, if you took out a three-year lease, you may be obligated to include the lump sum of the 36 lease payments in your automotive loan, even if you "buy out" the lease the next day.

    Higher monthly payments: You should expect your new loan payments to be higher than your previous lease payments. You might be able to reduce your monthly payments if you are near the end of your lease and you refinance over a longer time frame. For example, if you are nearing the last six months of your lease and you decide to refinance your automobile over a four-year period, the monthly payment will be less than if you refinanced it over three years. However, you should make sure you intend to keep the vehicle for an additional four years.