[weezgrrl]

My '05 MCS is due to arrive in a matter of weeks, so I've been shopping around for financing. I've been approved through a couple of different lenders - but I have some concerns.

1) My credit union at work approved me on an 8.5% / 60 months rate. Upside: Small credit union - more personalized service. Downside: Highest rate.

2) Capital One Auto Finance (thru their BlankCheck program) approved me at 6.39% / 60 months rate. Upside: Lower than credit union rate, I have two other credit cards through them (albeit those cards have low credit limits). Downside: Large company, after reading customer rants on the net, have reservations.

3) Household Auto Finance approved me at 5.09% / 60 months rate. Upside: Lowest rate I've been offered as of yet. I have a credit card through Household. Downside: Unfamiliar with their auto finance servicing. Same issues as listed above with CapOne.

I plan on taking the lowest rate in to the MINI dealership to see if they can beat it. However, if they can't, I'm still hesitant to take the lower rate offers and go with my credit union... why?? I've never purchased a new car before, and after having some rude awakenings in the credit dept from blunders past, I'm really finicky about accepting credit.

Does anyone have experience with the two lenders - Capital One and Household? Good, bad? Help!

 

[vagt6]

They're both large financial giants, probably not a great risk to go with either one. Just make sure your loan is "simple interest", double check the agreement language, and if you don't understand it, please find someone knowledgeable to help you interpret exactly what it means.

Then, go with the lowest rate!

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

 

[weezgrrl]

Thanks for the info - I'll make sure in the documentation it mentions that the loan types are simple interest, and that there are no prepayment penalties. I see you used Capital One. What was your experience been like with them? Was there a ton of documentation you needed to provide them with?

I guess what really worried me was reading someone's rant about one of the finance companies - saying they had agreed to a 60mo. term - but found out they would probably not be done paying off the loan in 60 mos.? I don't know if this is a common occurrence - or if their situation was "special" (as in, maybe they made multiple late payments and incurred all sorts of fees, etc.).

Ugh - the finance is just one more thing to worry about while awaiting delivery. I can't wait for the car to just be HERE already and all the necessary paperwork dealt with, etc.

 

[vagt6]

I was approved by CapitalOne for my MINI loan, but changed at the dealership when the Finance guy found me a matching rate (3.7%) with a local bank (SunTrust).

I Emailed CapitalOne the next day to inform them, they politely thanked me. I found the entire experience with CapitalOne to be very good, although I didn't use them. They are a HUGE company.

I can't help with your other question, but I'd assume that if we sign a 60 month agreement, the term better be for 60 months, or less. Otherwise, I'd be a little miffed!

Good luck, maybe you'll get an answer to your other questions!

 

[weezgrrl]

Thanks again for your help!

 

[chs4]

I also went through the Capital One process to find out what they could offer. (4.39% / 60 mos.) I had heard rumors that some MINI dealers were hesitant to take "Blank Checks" from online companies (i.e. Capital One, E-Loan, etc.) so I emailed the finance department at my dealer for clarification.

While not outright saying they wouldn't take a Capital One "Blank Check", they did express some hesitation as apparently Capital One makes the dealership jump through hoops and there are some sort of additional fees (???) the dealer incurs.

Long story short, the dealer asked for the rate and terms I got from Capital One, had me fill out the preliminary BMW/MINI financing paperwork and they are going to try to match the rate with one of several local banks they use. Still waiting to hear back from them and will update here when I do.

Please bear in mind that this information comes strictly from my local dealer (MINI of Peabody) and while I feel comfortable enough that they would not mislead me realize that the information I have only tells MINI's side of the financing story. YMMV with your local delaer. Safe bet is to double-check with them regarding their policies with regard to online lenders so there are no surprises when you go to pick up your MINI.

 

[britcarman]

My dealer didn't have any problems with Capital One or they didn't tell me if they did. Capital One process was very simple and went very smoothly.

 

[weezgrrl]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

A call to Household Auto Finance this morning pretty much solidified my mind. The original rate they quoted me (5.09%) was for their 72 month term, and I only wanted a 60-month term - so the rate is now 4.39%... I think that's the lowest I could possibly hope for!! This makes me extremely happy. Now all I have to do is wait for the MINI to arrive... (sigh...)

 

[2phun]

Don't forget too to see if your finance company offers GAP insurance for free. Some do, many others charge for it. Last thing you want to do is go with a cheaper rate only to get smacked by an approaching car coming out of the dealership parking lot and find out you are upside-down by a few thousand bucks.

 

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