Thanks a ton for the tip! My only military experience is that I was a medical discharge for my mom from the Navy (back in the day - when being pregnant was a disability)
Martin, Their web page is a bit confusing. The rate for $10K - 100K for 5-year new car loan is still 3.99%. The rate of 4.75% is for 6-year, $25K+ loan.
Yep, you are correct. I got approved for a 60 mo. loan at 3.99%. btw my score was 881. They did notify me that my first payment would be due a month from the day I applied for the loan - 6/11/09. I said WHOA!! Don't start the repayment clock yet as the car has not been received by the dealer yet; my IIIBLUEII arrived the very next day! Trouble is that the loan was not approved until 6/15/09 AND I have to wait for the docs and check (made out to me and the dealer) to be FedExed to me which hopefully will arrive tomorrow, but probably in the late afternoon; overnight mail takes at least 3 days here in remote NE Oregon. Then I have to pick up my other driver and do the 2 hour one way trip to Lewiston; other driver will bring non-trade-in SUV back to Joseph (dealer didn't come close to KBB fair trade-in value). Gosh these few days are going SOOO S L O W !
Martin, good to hear that it's worked out for you albeit a bit more complicated than the process I went through. I actually applied about 2 or 3 weeks early. They sent me a blank check that was limited to the pre-approved amount that required my signature and dealer's along with the actual amount to be completed by me. The clock did not start ticking on the loan until the check was negotiated by the dealership. Re the trip back, on the upside, you'll have 2 hours to enjoy driving your new Prius through the beautiful Oregon countryside. I wonder how many loans PenFed is giving due to PC word-of-mouth?
Does any of the lenders you guys mentioned asked for proof of income because i'm a financial planner for Prudential and i'm on commission 1099 and alot oflenders don't like that. Thanks
The PenFed loan application form asks all of the usual questions including your gross income. I just operated off of my '08 tax return for that figure. NO proof of anything required, just your word and a credit check, I assume.
I got on to penfed and applied but am still debating. I can go with 3.99% for 60 months or I can go with local credit union of 5.75% for 84 months. I would actually make extra payments so my loan would be less than 60 months (even on the 84 month loan) but then I have a $100 less MINIMUM payment every month...just in case something happens. However, if I paid BOTH off in 60 months, i would end up paying almost twice as much towards interest on the 5.75% one...BUT have the peace of mind for emergencies. Decisions, decisions.hwell:
have the penfed rate in mind, but have the finance guy see if he can beat it. these dealerships have relationships with dozens of credit unions and their customers rarely finance thru toyota unless they have some promotion. that takes the whole hassle of blank checks being fed-ex'ed. I was so relived they could offer 3.74% for 48mo thru first tech credit union. didnt have to bother the the blank check schenanigans.
Waiting for the ckeck to be FedExed was the result of sevral factors. My late May Prius order was quoted for an 8 week arrival. It actually took only three weeks; Oh happy day!!! And I had been scrambling around obtaining loan deals from 1) my bank (6.75%), 2) Toyota Financial (4.99%) and revisited PenFed for membership requirements. Hey, who doesn't have some family member w/ military service if not their own? (I served 6 of an 8 year naval reserve obligation and moved to a remote area and never attended meetings again SO didn't apply based upon my service as I didn't want to get labeled as being AWOL). Another five days have passed while waiting for the app approval & check and will pick up IIIBLUEII tomorrow!!!
I wished it were so easy at the dealer I bought the car from. They were trying to get me to fill out a credit report anyway and basically acted like I had created the check on my laptop... Miserable experience all around, hope not to repeat any time soon.