Car loan rates and approval plan of action

[Anonymous]

Long time lurker. 
Looking for info seems to feel like getting a drink of water from a fire hydrant. 


Would like to buy a new (Chevy or GMC) vehicle priced around $55k. Plan to put $10k down. 

Due to high credit available usage ($50k) and one late mortgage pay 5 years ago Karma shows husband's credit scores mid 630. 
He's active duty military and annual income in low $100's. 
DTI ratio below 30%. 

We purchased a new Hyundai a couple years ago with a similar score. USAA flat denied us but we're able to get a reasonable rate from Navy Fed and walked into dealer with their "just in case"  financing. But (without having told the dealer about NavyFed) were able to get Hyundai top tier interest rate for 2.0% for 72 months. ($42k minus $8k down). Credit took a surprising hit of 15 points when we did this. 

My scores show a smidge lower. 

Questions: 

1. Do all MyFico plans provide an auto score? Seeing as I likely will not be on the loan for the new vehicle, any reason to also spend the money on pulling my scores? 

2. PenFed is offering 2.39% for 72 months for top tier. Any chance we might be able to get this? 

3. Any thoughts on what to expect from GMAC, Cap One, or any other suggestions on who to try? 

4. Any suggestions for how to avoid a  15 point hit this time around? 

[SouthernCredit]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Questions: 

1. Do all MyFico plans provide an auto score? Seeing as I likely will not be on the loan for the new vehicle, any reason to also spend the money on pulling my scores? No reason to pull your scores if you're not going to be on the loan unless you just want them.

2. PenFed is offering 2.39% for 72 months for top tier. Any chance we might be able to get this? Low/mid 600s is probably not getting top tier from PenFed, but without knowing auto scores and full breadth of profile, no way to be sure. 

3. Any thoughts on what to expect from GMAC, Cap One, or any other suggestions on who to try? CapOne will do a soft pull preapproval; you can check your rates with them before finding a car. 

4. Any suggestions for how to avoid a  15 point hit this time around? Any new credit accounts are going to have an effect on your score. This effect fades as the accounts age. How much of an effect depends on your profile. 

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[disdreamin]

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@SouthernCredit wrote:

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4. Any suggestions for how to avoid a  15 point hit this time around? Any new credit accounts are going to have an effect on your score. This effect fades as the accounts age. How much of an effect depends on your profile. 

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Paying off my installment loans hit my scores way harder than the new auto loan, but even with a relatively thick, aged file, the new loan still dinged me for the better part of 15 points. If there is a secret to not having that happen, I'm all ears.

[jenrn123]

Both PenFed and Cap1 have soft pull pre-approvals. I was approved by both. PenFed offered 3.09%, Capital 1 was 3.22%. My Auto 8 scores were 726 (Eq), 722 (Trans), and 694 (Ex). I went with captive Toyota financing for 2.9%, their current tier 1 rate. Was told by Toyota dealer that my score was tier 2, but I received a tier bump due to being a recent college graduate (which also provided a $500 rebate). I would suggest getting the soft-pull preapprovals to see approximately where you are. Be aware that if you choose to go with PenFed and don't have a local branch, it will take 7-10 days for them to mail the check to you.

Good luck with your purchase.

[Anonymous]

Does Pended wire money to the dealer? I'll be ordering to an out of state dealer and has to be settled in 4 days from arriving at dealer.