Auto Loan...keep is simple

CobraBlue · July 5, 2022

Have a question...It's been years since I had an auto loan or a loan of any kind for that matter. Any recommendations on a lender that understands the full-time lifestyle particularly with regards to own a home when in fact my home is my RV. Before I contact a lender I thought I would see what experiences others have had and would welcome any recommendations for particular financial institutions. FYI - I like to keep the process and as simple as possible. Would use my cash but the way things are today prefer to hold onto the cash and use someone else's money. Thanks in advance for your inputs..

Regards...Ben

docj · July 6, 2022

We've been full-time for >10 years and have all the complexities of a MH owned by a MT-LLC, an SD mail service domicile and property we own in TX. We purchased a new car in 2020 and had absolutely no trouble getting the manufacturer's lowest interest rate despite all of this. FWIW we also bought a vehicle in 2014, even before we owned the TX property and has no trouble.

Edited July 6, 2022 by docj

Second Chance · July 6, 2022

Similar to Joel's situation... we've been full-time for 7 years. We purchased a car in 2018 - and not in Texas where we're domiciled. No issues with financing. The dealer shopped their financing resources for the best rate.

Rob

whj469 · July 9, 2022

I don't let the dealer find auto loans for me until I have found the best rate that I can find then go to dealer for the best they can. I don't let them know what rate I have until they give me their best rate. I once told them that I can beat their rate and they gave me a lower rate then I could get.

Kirk W · July 9, 2022

On 7/5/2022 at 5:28 PM, CobraBlue said:

Before I contact a lender I thought I would see what experiences others have had and would welcome any recommendations for particular financial institutions.

If you are still reading this, would you mind sharing how the loan situation is going?

Twotoes · July 9, 2022

Do you have any other loans, credit cards etc. What address do you use for them or your banking? If you already have credit using an address, just use that address on the loan app. That address is going to show up on the credit reports. As far as, "do you own or rent", you are not renting your RV, so check own, if it's financed that your mortgage.

As to getting your own loan or going thru a dealer, as said above, shop around for the best rate first, then give the dealer a try. The dealer gets a commission on the financing and will try really hard to get you the best rate. I also negotiate for a lower price on the vehicle I'm buying since the dealer is getting a commission on the financing.

mrschwarz · July 12, 2022

We belong to Alliant Credit Union. In addition to knowing about full-timers (10 years), we had no trouble getting a loan for a new motor home with better rates than anywhere else. We have even changed states and gotten new titles each time.

They are great to work with.

Vladimir · July 15, 2022

On 7/8/2022 at 6:59 PM, whj469 said:

I don't let the dealer find auto loans for me until I have found the best rate that I can find then go to dealer for the best they can. I don't let them know what rate I have until they give me their best rate. I once told them that I can beat their rate and they gave me a lower rate then I could get.

Way BACK in 1982, I bought a new truck.

General Motors offered me a 13% auto rate. That was a AMAZING low rate in 1982.

So I had them type up the Loan Rates and payments. I then called up my credit union to give them a chance to match GM's promotional rate. They would NOT match. Their loan rate was 17%.

The payments with the credit union at 17% were LESS than the payments with GM at 13%. Seems GM threw it some loan service fees, etc. etc. and pretty soon the load at 13% was significantly HIGHER than the credit union loan at 17%.

The lending disclosures might have changed over the years, but companies like General Motors will always try to maximize their revenue.

Check carefully.

The biggest scams are run by the BIGGEST companies.

CobraBlue · August 8, 2022

Update...Just so happens I use Farmers Insurance to cover my vehicle. My agent in SD told me about Farmers CU and referred to a representative. Talk about a stroll in the park. They are super helpful and terribly accommodating. Great rates and service. 2.99% on a used vehicle purchase. Everything over the phone and computer. They also offer a host of different accounts one being a high yield checking account that pays 4.07% on your balance up to $5,000. A rainy day checking that pays 3% on a balance of $2,000. Check them out. Highly recommend. Ben

Kirk W · August 10, 2022

On 8/8/2022 at 11:14 AM, CobraBlue said:

Talk about a stroll in the park.

That is good to hear. I was insured with Farmers for about 10 years but changed this year after they has slowly inflated my premiums for my vehicles. The quote for my truck and car for renewal this spring as just short of $4k so I complained to them and the agent said that they could run a "markdown" whatever that is, since I was a long term customer. They did that and then came back with a total permium of only $3,200! But since I was shopping around I then checked with several other major companies via a different independent agent and renewed with them for a total of $1,900. My point is that you need to keep a close eye on what happens to premiums over time as all of this happened with no claims on the policy in the entire time and my current agent says that the practice has become common with many larger companies.

TXiceman · August 10, 2022

3 hours ago, Kirk W said:

My point is that you need to keep a close eye on what happens to premiums over time as all of this happened with no claims on the policy in the entire time and my current agent says that the practice has become common with many larger companies.

I have found that I need to shop the truck and RV insurance every 3 or so years. They will creep up fpr a couple of years and then a big bump. Last year they tried a big jump in rates with no claims and no citations. After a call to the HQ, they managed to get my premium back down to a manageable number and in line with another quote.

It does pay to shop.

Ken