Penfed auto loan process

[bettercreditguy1]

Yes, I understand about the blank check thing. I applied for the loan first to see what I would pre qualify for.  They (Pen-Fed) sent me a "draft check"  with the pre-approved limit endorsed on the check. It said something like "not valid over" and "this draft is valid through ... date".  It was up to me to purchase and complete the sale of a vehicle within those paramaters. Precise, factually, understood. I knew Pen Fed's position. My responsiblities were to fill in the voids.

[bettercreditguy1]

p.s. I forgot to say I "custom ordered a vehicle." My stress was Pen Fed would not guarantee payment or loan terms past the approval date without another credit check. They also would not "Confirm" the draft without a VIN Number. It all worked out just fine. The vehicle was produced about seven weeks after order entry/sales commitment from me and the dealer. The Vin Number/production date occured  about two weeks before the  commitment time would have ended  from Pen Fed.  And Yes, I did place a cash down payment to initiate the "sales order" with the dealership. Win, Win, Win!

[bettercreditguy1]

Totally removed from Pen Fed is this: You will need to cover the difference of all monies due for the purchase of said vehicle and associated costs less the loan upfronted by your Financial Institution. This means you will be required to pay for sales taxes, license fees, insurance and any other fees required by your lender to complete the transaction. I am certain you are aware of this so this is informational in only.

[Lilybuggy]

Thought I would update for any future Penfed auto researchers.  Even though we applied for the blank check, PenFed only conditionally approved us and waited on the buyer's/purchase order with exact numbers before sending the draft.  The timing was difficult.  We closed the deal on Sunday towards the end of the month.  The dealer knew we were going with credit union funding, but the salesguy was a little confused about how the process works. I personally wanted to just sign the buyer's order, put our money down, and wait for the credit union draft in order to drive away with the car.  Yet, we were somehow persuaded to just sign a "courtesy" dealer financing contract and take the car then and there.  I really freaked out that they would refuse to honor the PenFed draft and hold me to the less favorable terms of the courtesy dealer financing.  They assured me that they would never do this and ultimately put it in writing that they woudl give me a week to provide the PenFed draft before acting on the dealer financing contract.  This put me at ease a bit, but in hindsight, I wish I held to my guns about just waiting to take the car when the draft came in, but in the end, the dealer did shred the courtesy financing contract and accept the PenFed funding.

I emailed a buyer's order on Friday night.  I then emailed a second buyer's order on Sunday night for a lower negotiated amount.  On Monday morning, the buyer's order was still being reviewed by the loan department.  I sent many emails and had my husband call twice.  Finally, on Monday afternoon, they cut the draft check and I had them overnight it.  It's a good idea to have more $20-30 in your account than just the required $5, because if you do have to overnight, they take the money from there.

Once it got there, my husband had to endorse it and I took it over to the dealer.  Once the dealer cashes it, PenFed sends us the loan documents.  All in all painless, but a bit nerve-wracking since I  had signed that courtesy dealer financing contract, which again turned out fine but caused me to not enjoy my new car for 2 days wondering if I was about to be ripped off.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience.  I would be frantic waiting and waiting for PenFed to send the check and worried that the dealership would sell the car to someone else. 

I'm thrilled that everything worked out okay for you after all. Congratulations on your new car!!! 

[bettercreditguy1]

Great! I am glad the events all worked out for you. I did go ahead and place a cash down payment to "cement the purchase order of the vehicle". I did need to wait for the draft. However, I had been in the system long enought that I knew my "max pre-approved loan amount"  before I went auto shopping, (via email from Pen Fed).