topic Re: New SANTANDER Loan... in Auto Loans

New SANTANDER Loan...

KeithW — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 01:36:02 GMT

My wife and I buy new cars every 3-4 years. It was time to replace her 2019 Explorer Sport, so we found a 2023 ST for 62k that we liked. They offered us $32k for ours and we jumped on it. All of our last 4 vehicles have been through Ford Credit at 0% interest, but this time they said Ford wouldn't accept us. Our scores are between 640 and 670. They set us up with a Santander loan at 8% interest. We pay off our loans in 3 years, so the interest rate didn't bother me too much.

After searching online I saw horror stories about this company and I was freaking out a little bit. My first thought was that these were all people that paid late or waited until the last minute to pay, but some sound like the company is downright crooked. How worried should I be?

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

WildestDreams — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 03:48:21 GMT

Most of the issues ive seen with them are customer service related, people always seem to complain about trying to get a rep on the phone, having to pay high fees when they are late on payments, and the typical crazy high interest rates to being with complaints, you got a pretty good rate from them, I often see double digits... my ex had them for years, had zero issues but never had to call / never was late, payments were on auto... maybe set up auto pay to reduce the likelyhood of needing to talk to them?

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

fury1995 — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 04:15:00 GMT

@KeithW wrote:
My wife and I buy new cars every 3-4 years. It was time to replace her 2019 Explorer Sport, so we found a 2023 ST for 62k that we liked. They offered us $32k for ours and we jumped on it. All of our last 4 vehicles have been through Ford Credit at 0% interest, but this time they said Ford wouldn't accept us. Our scores are between 640 and 670. They set us up with a Santander loan at 8% interest. We pay off our loans in 3 years, so the interest rate didn't bother me too much.

After searching online I saw horror stories about this company and I was freaking out a little bit. My first thought was that these were all people that paid late or waited until the last minute to pay, but some sound like the company is downright crooked. How worried should I be?

Slightly off topic but why did Ford credit reject your application? 4 previous loans is pretty loyal and Ford Credit is fairly lenient even with new applcants.

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

KeithW — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 04:44:46 GMT

That is a good question. I currently have my '21 F-150 financed through them with a perfect payment history and our '19 Explorer had a single 30 days late last Christmas. I did have a 30-day late 5 years ago on our old Explorer.

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

tricie17 — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 20:24:13 GMT

In my opinion Santander is not the best financial Company to deal with and they are very sub prime which makes them even more dirty. Pay on time each month and like stated (if you are comfortable with it) do auto pay. I personally would not. Try not to call in too much and watch out for indescretions. Make sure to read your contract with them as well as making sure that your purchase (car) is correct. Easy enough would be to read the law suits against them.

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

fury1995 — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 21:15:34 GMT

@KeithW wrote:
That is a good question. I currently have my '21 F-150 financed through them with a perfect payment history and our '19 Explorer had a single 30 days late last Christmas. I did have a 30-day late 5 years ago on our old Explorer.

Interesting. Ford Credit must be tightening up.

Anyway, I wouldn't sweat Santander too much. They have Subprime and PRIME tiers. @KeithW You are within their PRIME auto guidlines and so is your approval at 8%.

Santander was one the major lenders for Fiat-Chrysler (CDJR ) for about 10 years. They underwrote and serviced many of their prime auto leases. At one time you could actually pay a car payment through thier portal with a credit card which was FANTASTIC!

Most people who complain about Santander are Subprime borrowers who usually have an issue far beyond who lent them money.

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

KeithW — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 22:19:46 GMT

@tricie17 wrote:
In my opinion Santander is not the best financial Company to deal with and they are very sub prime which makes them even more dirty. Pay on time each month and like stated (if you are comfortable with it) do auto pay. I personally would not. Try not to call in too much and watch out for indescretions. Make sure to read your contract with them as well as making sure that your purchase (car) is correct. Easy enough would be to read the law suits against them.

I just logged in to the payment portal and noticed they are saying my interest rate is 9% even though my signed contract says 8%. I have emailed the dealer as well as Santander about this and am waiting to hear back.

I don't trust them with auto-pay, so I went and got a pre-paid debit card last night and will be using that to make single payments. Our loan is for just over $30k, so I am going to make double monthly payments and stay a month early. Hopefully, if I pay 30 days early each month I won't have any issues and will get it paid off quickly.

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

fury1995 — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 22:33:27 GMT

@KeithW wrote:
@tricie17 wrote:
In my opinion Santander is not the best financial Company to deal with and they are very sub prime which makes them even more dirty. Pay on time each month and like stated (if you are comfortable with it) do auto pay. I personally would not. Try not to call in too much and watch out for indescretions. Make sure to read your contract with them as well as making sure that your purchase (car) is correct. Easy enough would be to read the law suits against them.
I just logged in to the payment portal and noticed they are saying my interest rate is 9% even though my signed contract says 8%. I have emailed the dealer as well as Santander about this and am waiting to hear back.

I don't trust them with auto-pay, so I went and got a pre-paid debit card last night and will be using that to make single payments. Our loan is for just over $30k, so I am going to make double monthly payments and stay a month early. Hopefully, if I pay 30 days early each month I won't have any issues and will get it paid off quickly.

Whoa.. back up. Did you e-sign or do you have actual carbon copies of the signed installment sale agrement?

Also, did you at any point sign a backup or second contract?

Santander won't increase your rate. They are using what was provided by the dealer. I'd be looking at them first. If there is a rate adjustment by the bank without your consent, it could only be LOWERED with a letter of explaination. The dealer would have first hand knowledge prior to you being notified. Either way, I'd be looking at the dealer for explaination immediately.

One thing I do know about Santander for sure (from first hand experience), you need to make sure you instruct how additional money is to be applied. To the principal or next monthly payment. Make sure you have confirmation for this.

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

KeithW — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 22:38:32 GMT

We signed electronically and were then given the paper documents of what we signed. I am going to the dealer first.

As for extra payments, the Santander sight is extremely basic and doesn't give any options when making payments other than the amount and date. The contract specifies that it is a simple interest loan, doesn't that mean that any extra payment goes to the principal? I have emailed Santander to confirm this.

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

fury1995 — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 22:55:43 GMT

@KeithW wrote:
We signed electronically and were then given the paper documents of what we signed. I am going to the dealer first.

As for extra payments, the Santander sight is extremely basic and doesn't give any options when making payments other than the amount and date. The contract specifies that it is a simple interest loan, doesn't that mean that any extra payment goes to the principal? I have emailed Santander to confirm this.

Simple interest loans means there is no pre-payment penalty. If you pay the loan off early, all unearned interest is waived (you only pay interest on the payments already paid). You probably signed a LAW-553 Simple Interest Retail Sale Installment Agreement. Check the Regulation Z / Truth in Lending Disclosure (Fed Box - big square or rectangle box where the loan terms are) and see what the terms are for additional payments.

Also, does the contract itself state the dealer assigned the contract to Santander or is it blank or another lender? That would be at the bottom below your signature where it says "First Contract Assignment" or "Assignee" or something similar.

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

KeithW — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 04:06:38 GMT

@fury1995 wrote:
@KeithW wrote:
We signed electronically and were then given the paper documents of what we signed. I am going to the dealer first.

As for extra payments, the Santander sight is extremely basic and doesn't give any options when making payments other than the amount and date. The contract specifies that it is a simple interest loan, doesn't that mean that any extra payment goes to the principal? I have emailed Santander to confirm this.
Simple interest loans means there is no pre-payment penalty. If you pay the loan off early, all unearned interest is waived (you only pay interest on the payments already paid). You probably signed a LAW-553 Simple Interest Retail Sale Installment Agreement. Check the Regulation Z / Truth in Lending Disclosure (Fed Box - big square or rectangle box where the loan terms are) and see what the terms are for additional payments.

Also, does the contract itself state the dealer assigned the contract to Santander or is it blank or another lender? That would be at the bottom below your signature where it says "First Contract Assignment" or "Assignee" or something similar.

Yes. It lists Santander on the contract. I talked to the dealer today and the salesman called me and said it was a simple clerical error and they are fixing the issue with Santander. We will see how this goes since I already made my first payment.

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

nimmieamee — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 12:48:59 GMT

I financed a car through them many years ago at a subprime rate and if you make your payments on time, it isn't an issue at all. I refinanced the loan as soon as I found a better rate and the early payoff was simple as well. Definitely make sure they correct that interest rate.

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

fury1995 — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 13:47:51 GMT

@KeithW wrote:
@fury1995 wrote:
@KeithW wrote:
We signed electronically and were then given the paper documents of what we signed. I am going to the dealer first.

As for extra payments, the Santander sight is extremely basic and doesn't give any options when making payments other than the amount and date. The contract specifies that it is a simple interest loan, doesn't that mean that any extra payment goes to the principal? I have emailed Santander to confirm this.
Simple interest loans means there is no pre-payment penalty. If you pay the loan off early, all unearned interest is waived (you only pay interest on the payments already paid). You probably signed a LAW-553 Simple Interest Retail Sale Installment Agreement. Check the Regulation Z / Truth in Lending Disclosure (Fed Box - big square or rectangle box where the loan terms are) and see what the terms are for additional payments.

Also, does the contract itself state the dealer assigned the contract to Santander or is it blank or another lender? That would be at the bottom below your signature where it says "First Contract Assignment" or "Assignee" or something similar.
Yes. It lists Santander on the contract. I talked to the dealer today and the salesman called me and said it was a simple clerical error and they are fixing the issue with Santander. We will see how this goes since I already made my first payment.

If that's the case, you'll get a correction letter from Santander with a credit to your account for the overage on the interest from the payment made. Keep us updated!

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

7774x — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 23:03:42 GMT

Santander cut back on anything but top tier credit auto loans.. 1 month a ago.. .. raised rates,, to front run coming wave of car loans going bad... Did you ever try PenFed / Navy ?

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

KeithW — Fri, 14 Apr 2023 01:58:34 GMT

I talked to the salesman again today and he said they were just waiting on Santander to fix the issue and they would be in touch. So we are still waiting. On another note, my first $1,000 payment was posted to my account today. Our salesman kept telling me I didn't need to make my first payment for 45 days like it was a good thing. I said, won't I be accruing interest during that 45 days? He just smiled.

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

KeithW — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 21:36:43 GMT

Would you believe that we got a call today, after having our car for a month, saying that they paid off Santander, and instead of fixing the interest rate with them, they got us approved through Ford Credit at 7%. I am very happy now.

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

Beefy1212 — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 22:29:46 GMT

@KeithW wrote:
Would you believe that we got a call today, after having our car for a month, saying that they paid off Santander, and instead of fixing the interest rate with them, they got us approved through Ford Credit at 7%. I am very happy now.

But that means you still have an extra brand new account on your profile right? And another inquiry?

I don't like to see people get in trouble but... I hope that salesman got fired.

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

Snoopy916 — Mon, 08 May 2023 23:21:18 GMT

Santander is the worst. I had them a long time ago when I messed up my credit. Had a 6 year loan i paid off in less than 3. I needed my title to sell the car privately and it took them over 6 months to get it to me. I must have called them 20+ times.

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

RedHawaii — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 11:58:56 GMT

Am I the only one that thinks this is weird? Seems to me that they had probably already gotten you approved through Ford but would make more money if they went through Santander. Especially if you normally have a zero interest.

Re: New SANTANDER Loan...

mau471 — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 19:40:57 GMT

@RedHawaii wrote:
Am I the only one that thinks this is weird? Seems to me that they had probably already gotten you approved through Ford but would make more money if they went through Santander. Especially if you normally have a zero interest.

I feel the same, seems shady on the dealers part but maybe I am just paranoid. The negative issues with Ford given the overall history don't seem like they should have been denied. Would be curious if OP ever got an denial from FMC on the original app.

When I bought my current car I told the dealer I wanted to use Penfed but they required financing through them to waive the "market adjustment" and said they could put it through Penfed. Then they claimed I was denied and put me through Wells Fargo instead. When I called to find out why I was denied given my profile the rep said they approved my loan and offered to do a refinance app instead without a new pull. I ended up doing that before I even got my loan documents in the mail from Wells Fargo, I got an angry call from the salesman asking why I refinanced the loan so quickly, informed them they lied and said my app with Penfed was denied when it wasn't and he backed off. The annoying thing to the whole situation was I ended up with the Wells loan on my CR even though I never made a single payment, but small price to pay to teach the dealer an admittedly minute lesson.