Capital One Auto Navigator

[Anonymous]

Hey everyone. So I got preapproved for capital one through their auto navigator. Found a used vehicle asking price is $10,995 and I was going to put $1000 down and interest rate would be 16% which is to be expected with my credit score. I have been working on it for a while now and have 3 things on collections that should be coming off in the next month. Last late payment was a year ago. Anyway, I know it's only a preapproval, but how accurate is the navigator usually?

[Grizzly1]

I have fair credit. Low to mid 600's and I had my loan went smoothly with auto navigator. Be forwarned though that your dealer will likely push to try financing the car with one of their financing companies promising better rates. They may or may not be able to but in my case, they couldn't so in the end I ended up going through cap 1 and getting 8-9 useless hardpulls.

[Shooting-For-800]

Very accurate in my case.

Check other vehicles...rates vary with how good of deal the car is.

[Anonymous]

I have used Capital One two to three times over the last several years and I have found that they have always come through for me on the pre-approval.  I've never once had an issue with them and it really does make the dealership side of things so much easier to go into the negotiations with pre-approved financing.

Of course, the dealership will ALWAYS try to beat the rate you get from any outside financer so be aware of that.  Also, be aware that once you give them the go ahead, they will run your credit several times to try and beat the rate you came in with.

Not saying that its always a bad thing, but just be mindful of it.  They never have your best interest at heart and are usually trying to get a finder's fee when they run the credit or find a way to eek more money out of you versus just going with the financer you came in with.

As long as the math adds up, do what is best for you and best of luck!  Look forward to hearing about the follow-up on what happens!

[DebtStinks]

@Anonymous  This is coming from a guy who sat in the finance office for 6+ years at a dealership working directly with customers...both with and without Auto Navigator preapprovals.

You submit your request for preapproval. Cap1 does a SOFT inquiry on your credit at this time and uses this in conjunction with your other application details. If they issue you a preapproval, it's great. They should also, at time of preapproval, let you know if there are any documents they need to solidify your preapproval...for example, I wouldn't be surprised if they asked you for proof of income unless your employer participates in TWN (the work number) where they can verify your employment and income there. If they asked for such documents, you can submit them directly to Cap1 before you even step foot in the dealer. Cap1 verifies your documents, and clears your stipulations.

Now you vist the dealer. If you've used the online "find a vehicle" tool using the VIN for the vehicle you want and punch in all the details (purchase price, down payment (if any...and Cap1 LOVES LOVES LOVES at least $1,000 down on subprime customers), registration costs, and any other costs like dealer DOC fees...The terms given once all these details are input will be EXACTLY what Cap1 approves when submitted by the dealer...as long as nothing has changed like sales price of vehicle, down payment (going down), vehicle having more miles that initially stated, etc. Once the dealer submits for FINAL approval, you will then likely see/get notification of 3 hard inquiries...1 on each bureau and all from Cap1.

All that to say, you can TRUST their "preapproval" as long as everything you told the system is exactly the same as what the dealer tells the computer when submitting for FINAL barcoded approval in either Dealertrack, RouteOne, or (if they have it) the Auto Navigator online tool.

In conclusion, send to Cap1 any documents they're requesting, use their online tool with VIN plugged in to find out what your terms would be....and BUY A CAR!

Best of luck!