Anybody ever have problem using the USAA Preapproval Electronic Check?

[Bmac66]

Approved for up to $75k with USAA for our next auto loan.  USAA sends you an electronic check that you give to the dealership in order for them to receive the funds in 24 hours upon receipt of the electronic check, purchase agreement and title application. It clearly states the instructions on the form.  Simple pimple, right? Not so much.  Dealing with a Honda dealership (that is a USAA certified dealer, by the way) in Long Island, NY.  We are in Maryland.  This dealership is the only dealership we've been able to locate a 2016 Honda Pilot Elite in the color we want.  We find online last Wednesday. I immediately call to see if available and put down a deposit on a cc over the phone to secure it until we can drive up this past Saturday.  I send them the electronic check to them on Wednesday. On Friday the dealership calls to say they never sent in the electronic check and will not let us take the car until they receive the funds.  Since they are a USAA dealership I figured they know what they are doing, and automatically accept USAA's terms.  If I wasn't dealing with a USAA dealership I could understand the hesitancy.  I had USAA call them to verify we are approved for the amount of loan being requested. No dice.  So now we are supposed to drive up on Thursday. No clue if they've submitted the requested documents or not.  My plan is to call USAA on Tuesday to see if they have received the paperwork from the dealership. If it doesn't happen this Thursday then I'm pulling the plug.  Has anybody else had dealings with dealerships using the USAA preapproval process?  Similar issues or did it go smoothly?

[Anonymous]

No experience with them, but considering them for my next auto loan.

Very hard to understand why the Honda Dealer would not be enthusiastic to get this done quickly.

If it doesnt work out and you have to pull the plug, I would suggest letting USAA know they were uncooperative and should not be in the pre-approval network.

Now that I am typing this, really hard to understand why the dealer would risk losing a sale because of this.  At least you know even if it goes through, you are not locked in to having warranty service done at the place, you can go anywhere closer to you.

GL, anxious to hear the outcome.

BTW, what is the color?

[Bmac66]

I will definitely keep you posted.  This car is so hot right now they have the upper hand and know it.  If our deal falls through there are probably 3 other people waiting to purchase the car. I will definitely let USAA know if we are unsuccessful.   I'm in the DC area and around here people are putting deposits on vehicles before they even arrive at the dealership. This is for the Elite trim. You can find plenty of the other trims.  We want either the obsidian blue or the sapphire metallic.  This one is the sapphire metallic. Dealerships around here are saying they will get more in around mid-September but not in either of the blue colors.  Our preapproval expires on Sept 29th.  If that happens then will have to reapply and get another HP on the EQ.  Let me know how the process works for you.  USAA has been a dream to work with and they are being very helpful.  I LOVE USAA!!!

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@Anonymous wrote:

No experience with them, but considering them for my next auto loan.

Very hard to understand why the Honda Dealer would not be enthusiastic to get this done quickly.

If it doesnt work out and you have to pull the plug, I would suggest letting USAA know they were uncooperative and should not be in the pre-approval network.

Now that I am typing this, really hard to understand why the dealer would risk losing a sale because of this.  At least you know even if it goes through, you are not locked in to having warranty service done at the place, you can go anywhere closer to you.

GL, anxious to hear the outcome.

BTW, what is the color?

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[Anonymous]

Very nice!

I have heard for more than 10 years that any of the blue colors were hard to find from Honda and Acura, and produced in samller quantities.

I am a past owner of a Pilot EX (sandstone metallic) and I traded it for an Acura MDX Touring (sagebrush pearl).

I liked the Pilot, but i really liked the MDX, I miss it a lot.

It had all the options I wanted.  Unfortunately, the repo guy liked it more than me when I couldnt pay in 2009.   Worse part was, it was registered in the Acura Owner's Link on the website and I got emails about the new owner and service appointments for about 6 months after it was gone.  I paid the repo charges (about 150% of what was left on it) and the CO is rolling off my CRs now.

I Definetly have another MDX on my short list in the next six months, but will have to consider the Pilot Elite.

[jim44]

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@Bmac66 wrote:

Approved for up to $75k with USAA for our next auto loan.  USAA sends you an electronic check that you give to the dealership in order for them to receive the funds in 24 hours upon receipt of the electronic check, purchase agreement and title application. It clearly states the instructions on the form.  Simple pimple, right? Not so much.  Dealing with a Honda dealership (that is a USAA certified dealer, by the way) in Long Island, NY.  We are in Maryland.  This dealership is the only dealership we've been able to locate a 2016 Honda Pilot Elite in the color we want.  We find online last Wednesday. I immediately call to see if available and put down a deposit on a cc over the phone to secure it until we can drive up this past Saturday.  I send them the electronic check to them on Wednesday. On Friday the dealership calls to say they never sent in the electronic check and will not let us take the car until they receive the funds.  Since they are a USAA dealership I figured they know what they are doing, and automatically accept USAA's terms.  If I wasn't dealing with a USAA dealership I could understand the hesitancy.  I had USAA call them to verify we are approved for the amount of loan being requested. No dice.  So now we are supposed to drive up on Thursday. No clue if they've submitted the requested documents or not.  My plan is to call USAA on Tuesday to see if they have received the paperwork from the dealership. If it doesn't happen this Thursday then I'm pulling the plug.  Has anybody else had dealings with dealerships using the USAA preapproval process?  Similar issues or did it go smoothly?

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I've dealt with USAA Dealer Electronic Checks before and have had no problems with funding.  You stated that the Honda Dealership is in NY and you reside in Maryland. Did you submit your information for the dealer to complete a Maryland MVA application for title or did you send them a completed application with your Dealer E check? Did you also wish to include sales tax, title and tag fees in your loan?  Did the dealership fill out a completed purchase agreement?  These last two forms must be faxed with the completed Dealer Electronic Check to USAA in order for the dealer to receive funding. I'm not too sure how this works with a certified USAA dealer but I know we wouldn't let a customer leave our lot with a vehicle without the proper loan paperwork completed. USAA has the ability to deny funding of their E checks. 

IMHO opinion, I would talk directly with F&I or the office mgr of the dealership to find out exactly what is needed for them to submit your E check and to find out why the delay. Please let us know how this turns out and congrats on the new Honda!

[Bmac66]

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@jim44 wrote:

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@Bmac66 wrote:

Approved for up to $75k with USAA for our next auto loan.  USAA sends you an electronic check that you give to the dealership in order for them to receive the funds in 24 hours upon receipt of the electronic check, purchase agreement and title application. It clearly states the instructions on the form.  Simple pimple, right? Not so much.  Dealing with a Honda dealership (that is a USAA certified dealer, by the way) in Long Island, NY.  We are in Maryland.  This dealership is the only dealership we've been able to locate a 2016 Honda Pilot Elite in the color we want.  We find online last Wednesday. I immediately call to see if available and put down a deposit on a cc over the phone to secure it until we can drive up this past Saturday.  I send them the electronic check to them on Wednesday. On Friday the dealership calls to say they never sent in the electronic check and will not let us take the car until they receive the funds.  Since they are a USAA dealership I figured they know what they are doing, and automatically accept USAA's terms.  If I wasn't dealing with a USAA dealership I could understand the hesitancy.  I had USAA call them to verify we are approved for the amount of loan being requested. No dice.  So now we are supposed to drive up on Thursday. No clue if they've submitted the requested documents or not.  My plan is to call USAA on Tuesday to see if they have received the paperwork from the dealership. If it doesn't happen this Thursday then I'm pulling the plug.  Has anybody else had dealings with dealerships using the USAA preapproval process?  Similar issues or did it go smoothly?

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I've dealt with USAA Dealer Electronic Checks before and have had no problems with funding.  You stated that the Honda Dealership is in NY and you reside in Maryland. Did you submit your information for the dealer to complete a Maryland MVA application for title or did you send them a completed application with your Dealer E check? Did you also wish to include sales tax, title and tag fees in your loan?  Did the dealership fill out a completed purchase agreement?  These last two forms must be faxed with the completed Dealer Electronic Check to USAA in order for the dealer to receive funding. I'm not too sure how this works with a certified USAA dealer but I know we wouldn't let a customer leave our lot with a vehicle without the proper loan paperwork completed. USAA has the ability to deny funding of their E checks. 

IMHO opinion, I would talk directly with F&I or the office mgr of the dealership to find out exactly what is needed for them to submit your E check and to find out why the delay. Please let us know how this turns out and congrats on the new Honda!

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Hi Jim44. Yes, we are paying the MD sales tax, title, tag fees, etc at the dealership.  We submitted everything to the dealer.  So supposedly on Friday the dealership had everything to fax to USAA.  I called USAA today just to check and nope, no electronic check, no purchase agreement and no title application! It's Tuesday and we are to take delivery on Thursday!  So I called my salesman. Of course he's off today. So I speak with the finance manager. She says "I'll fax right now and USAA should have in 15 minutes."  Are you friggon kidding me?! Why hasn't this already been done.  Her response was "I have no clue." Long story short it's all been done and they will receive the wire transfer today or overnight.  After we actually get the vehicle USAA wants me to call back to file an official complaint against the dealership.  They violated the contract with USAA in two ways:  They were not to withhold the vehicle pending payment. Agreement is to accept the electronic dealer check and secondly they were not to try to get me to finance through them in order to get the vehicle, which they did.  Like they say, it aint over until the fat lady sings! I am not going to cause any waves with the dealership until after I drive off the lot!  I could understand if I wasn't dealing with a USAA certified dealership, but that's not the case. They know how the funding process works.  I think they just wanted me to finance through them.  

[jim44]

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@Bmac66 wrote:

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@jim44 wrote:

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@Bmac66 wrote:

Approved for up to $75k with USAA for our next auto loan.  USAA sends you an electronic check that you give to the dealership in order for them to receive the funds in 24 hours upon receipt of the electronic check, purchase agreement and title application. It clearly states the instructions on the form.  Simple pimple, right? Not so much.  Dealing with a Honda dealership (that is a USAA certified dealer, by the way) in Long Island, NY.  We are in Maryland.  This dealership is the only dealership we've been able to locate a 2016 Honda Pilot Elite in the color we want.  We find online last Wednesday. I immediately call to see if available and put down a deposit on a cc over the phone to secure it until we can drive up this past Saturday.  I send them the electronic check to them on Wednesday. On Friday the dealership calls to say they never sent in the electronic check and will not let us take the car until they receive the funds.  Since they are a USAA dealership I figured they know what they are doing, and automatically accept USAA's terms.  If I wasn't dealing with a USAA dealership I could understand the hesitancy.  I had USAA call them to verify we are approved for the amount of loan being requested. No dice.  So now we are supposed to drive up on Thursday. No clue if they've submitted the requested documents or not.  My plan is to call USAA on Tuesday to see if they have received the paperwork from the dealership. If it doesn't happen this Thursday then I'm pulling the plug.  Has anybody else had dealings with dealerships using the USAA preapproval process?  Similar issues or did it go smoothly?

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I've dealt with USAA Dealer Electronic Checks before and have had no problems with funding.  You stated that the Honda Dealership is in NY and you reside in Maryland. Did you submit your information for the dealer to complete a Maryland MVA application for title or did you send them a completed application with your Dealer E check? Did you also wish to include sales tax, title and tag fees in your loan?  Did the dealership fill out a completed purchase agreement?  These last two forms must be faxed with the completed Dealer Electronic Check to USAA in order for the dealer to receive funding. I'm not too sure how this works with a certified USAA dealer but I know we wouldn't let a customer leave our lot with a vehicle without the proper loan paperwork completed. USAA has the ability to deny funding of their E checks. 

IMHO opinion, I would talk directly with F&I or the office mgr of the dealership to find out exactly what is needed for them to submit your E check and to find out why the delay. Please let us know how this turns out and congrats on the new Honda!

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Hi Jim44. Yes, we are paying the MD sales tax, title, tag fees, etc at the dealership.  We submitted everything to the dealer.  So supposedly on Friday the dealership had everything to fax to USAA.  I called USAA today just to check and nope, no electronic check, no purchase agreement and no title application! It's Tuesday and we are to take delivery on Thursday!  So I called my salesman. Of course he's off today. So I speak with the finance manager. She says "I'll fax right now and USAA should have in 15 minutes."  Are you friggon kidding me?! Why hasn't this already been done.  Her response was "I have no clue." Long story short it's all been done and they will receive the wire transfer today or overnight.  After we actually get the vehicle USAA wants me to call back to file an official complaint against the dealership.  They violated the contract with USAA in two ways:  They were not to withhold the vehicle pending payment. Agreement is to accept the electronic dealer check and secondly they were not to try to get me to finance through them in order to get the vehicle, which they did.  Like they say, it aint over until the fat lady sings! I am not going to cause any waves with the dealership until after I drive off the lot!  I could understand if I wasn't dealing with a USAA certified dealership, but that's not the case. They know how the funding process works.  I think they just wanted me to finance through them.  

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Thanks for letting us know the outcome. Yes the dealership dropped the ball and for the reason you stated. Don't let the F&I manager fool you, she knew exactly why that E check and docs were not submitted last Friday.  

Glad it all worked out and I don't blame you for waiting until after you take delivery to file your complaint.  And don't at all feel bad about doing it either.  Sometimes this is the best way for these problems to be corrected.