You can do as I did though apply for the loan via the phone first then if approved become a member. So worst case it's just another Auto loan pull in your shopping period and you only use the membership hard pull if they offer you terms you want.
Well that depends, it wasn't coded as an Auto Loan inquiry on my report.
We can't see the coding associated with inquiries on our credit reports. I believe it's based on the customer who is requesting the score or similar.