How Can I Find My Auto Lender?

[Credit_Fight_TKO]

I'm in the market for a used car. Found one last week, was pre-approved, and then they forwarded my info to three or four banks/credit unions (I have decent credit, at a median score of around 606). 

Long story short, I test drove the car and didn't like it. Was too small, and too many things I didn't like about it for the price.

I texted the salesmen, asking him if he could give me the name of the lender I was approved through. I want to contact them, to see if the amount I'm approved for is transferable to another lot (if/when I find the car I want). That way I don't have to start over there. He told me he would get back to me, then ghosted me (after losing my sale I assume).

Anyone know how I can run down this info of who the lender approval was through? I have an account here on Fico,  if that helps.

[cashorcharge]

Agreed that the salesperson isn't likely going to respond as his job is to sell cars and make money.  You "may" be able to call the dealership F&I department, have them pull up your file and find out who approved you...though they too are focused on customers and making deals so a response may not come.  Depending on your 3 CB's....you could find out which reports are showing Inquiries lately and from there, narrow it down but even then...its not entirely guaranteed.  Though I see how that would be helpful to call them and ask.  

I will add, often times a dealership will tell you "Sure, your approved" or "We've gotten you preapproved for this X car" however, not every dealer has jumped through the hoops of pushing your deal through to get an actual preapproval from lender(s) and instead....can look at your credit report, evaulate your situation and know what banks they do business with that will approve you...and then push the contract and all your details through after you've bought the car.  

Your best bet...go back to the dealer, try and befriend someone in finance to determine how far they took your loan in the process?  You could always say "I want to come back and look at A, B and C cars" if they come in this month and I'd like to know how long my preapproval with Bank X is?

Good luck...

[fury1995]

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@Credit_Fight_TKO wrote:

I'm in the market for a used car. Found one last week, was pre-approved, and then they forwarded my info to three or four banks/credit unions (I have decent credit, at a median score of around 606). 

Long story short, I test drove the car and didn't like it. Was too small, and too many things I didn't like about it for the price.

I texted the salesmen, asking him if he could give me the name of the lender I was approved through. I want to contact them, to see if the amount I'm approved for is transferable to another lot (if/when I find the car I want). That way I don't have to start over there. He told me he would get back to me, then ghosted me (after losing my sale I assume).

Anyone know how I can run down this info of who the lender approval was through? I have an account here on Fico,  if that helps.

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Your best bet is to call and directly ask for the finance office. Then ask about the status of your application. Don't elaborate as to what you want until you get someone on the phone that can tell you they can see your aplication and the results. Be nice in an inquisitive way. Mention that you are still considering moving forward but need some information to think about first. The finance office will be sensitive to disclosing the terms (rate and loan length) more than the information regarding the which lender approval they have. If you really want to get tricky, toss out a rate you know is higher than they have for you by a couple of percentage points and they'll disclose the entire approval for you if they knbow they have it beat. The call should only take a few minutes but will save you alot of research guesswork..

[dunn2500]

what i did is found my highest fico auto score and lenders that used that scoring model.....applied to those to get best rate, i had a 65-70 point difference at the time between best and worst......it worked out really well