Just got approved for a "second chance auto loan" (refinance loan) through DCU. I had bought a car for my mom after hers died, and because my credit was so weak (570s) the best I could do was a loan through Consumer Portfolio Services at 19.9%. I was paying $339/mo on a 14.5k loan for 72 months. My new terms with DCU are 4.24% for 48 months for a loan of 10.9k, monthly payment of 248, so almost $100/mo savings!
The only bummer is that I learned DCU's cutoff for their best rate (1.24%) is 675, and my EQ score when applying was 674 (!)
That said, I'm incredibly grateful and really appreciate all the support from this community as I got my credit ready for an improvement like this :-)
Starting score 3/30/13: 570s across the board
Hey haveus:
I was with CPS for 2 years before refinancing. In retrospect that was a year too long. DCU only pulls Equifax, and my EQ score this time last summer was in the 660s, so I would have qualified for the same rate I got this week. CPS' rates are terrible but sometimes you just need the approval to get you started. Once you get a loan with them, I'd just watch your EQ score like a hawk and as soon as you're back in the 650s go ahead and apply. The sooner you can be done with CPS, the more money you'll save!