Is this an April fool's joke?! hah
On a whim, I decided to try to prequal for a Penfed auto loan. I've been waiting literally 8 years to get some sort of product with them. When I first joined, my utilization was sky high (living off CCs to be able to eat and still pay student loans on time, swell!) and I couldn't get approved for diddly squat. Ended up filing CH 13 BK a couple years later which was discharged in Feb. Applied for a CC last month but was declined, unsurprisingly. I'm in the market for a car (a want, not a need. I've had the same one almost 10 years and I just have the new different car itch, haha) and I decided what the heck, why not TRY? I don't have a specific car in mind, so I just did a general app. Pretty sure it probably used the same pull as the declined CC app from a month ago (score listed on denial letter was 646).
And I'm glad I did! I never thought in a million years I'd get anything like this instantly? I thought for sure a screen would pop up and be like "LOL you're kidding right? here's a link to Santander!" 
Cap1 actually prequaled me immediately after discharge with almost exactly the same terms, APR was slightly lower at 4.25% though... I just thought they were just being super generous to me. I'll take the .05% higher APR in order to be able to go to any dealer though. There were a few cars I had my eye on that weren't at Cap 1 approved dealers, which is what led me to give penfed a whirl.
Disclaimer: I do have very high income now, so I'm sure that's what helped my approval amount be so high.
@Anonymous wrote:Is this an April fool's joke?! hah
On a whim, I decided to try to prequal for a Penfed auto loan. I've been waiting literally 8 years to get some sort of product with them. When I first joined, my utilization was sky high (living off CCs to be able to eat and still pay student loans on time, swell!) and I couldn't get approved for diddly squat. Ended up filing CH 13 BK a couple years later which was discharged in Feb. Applied for a CC last month but was declined, unsurprisingly. I'm in the market for a car (a want, not a need. I've had the same one almost 10 years and I just have the
newdifferent car itch, haha) and I decided what the heck, why not TRY? I don't have a specific car in mind, so I just did a general app. Pretty sure it probably used the same pull as the declined CC app from a month ago (score listed on denial letter was 646).
And I'm glad I did! I never thought in a million years I'd get anything like this instantly? I thought for sure a screen would pop up and be like "LOL you're kidding right? here's a link to Santander!"
Cap1 actually prequaled me immediately after discharge with almost exactly the same terms, APR was slightly lower at 4.25% though... I just thought they were just being super generous to me. I'll take the .05% higher APR in order to be able to go to any dealer though. There were a few cars I had my eye on that weren't at Cap 1 approved dealers, which is what led me to give penfed a whirl.
Disclaimer: I do have very high income now, so I'm sure that's what helped my approval amount be so high.
That is awesome!! And that's with a BK...amazing rate!
Thanks everybody! I'm just blown away!! Thank you PenFed 
Bolstered by this approval, I cold apped for an Amex BCE and was approved for $1000! What a day!!
Bolstered by this approval, I cold apped for an Amex BCE and was approved for $1000! What a day!!
Congrats. I will be looking for a car loan from them in September.
@Anonymous wrote:
I'm going to put down $25k-ish and pay TTL out of pocket as well. I haven't bought a car yet but the one I want is in the 60-65k range. My DTI is under20%
I am in the same boat as you I am waiting for my 2017 Cadillac XT5 to be built and it costs $63k-ish and I am looking to put down $20k-ish and pay for TTL out of pocket as well. PenFed offers both GAP and Route 66 Extended Warranty Protection plan are you going to get those as well? I know that I am since I will be buying new and getting GAP and Extended Warranty is WAY CHEAPER via the Credit Union route versus the dealership route. Also what car are you looking at? I live in the DC area so I will be going to my local branch next month to get the ball rolling once I have a VIN for my new truck. What paperwork did you have to show for your PenFed loan? I will be pitting DCU vs PenFed vs USAA in an auto loan/credit card Death Match ala Mortal Kombat style...LOL!!!!
