Lindsay Acura in Columbus, OH uses VANTAGE 3.0

[CJ1985]

Hi Everyone. 

Just as the title states, Lindsay Acura uses VANTAGE 3.0 instead of FICO scores to acquire auto financing. 

I was there a couple of weeks ago for recall work on my TL and I was discussing the new Acura MDXs with my usual salesman for my last 3 cars. I just happened to ask which FICO version(s) the financing department uses. His reply with no hesitation was "We use the Vantagescore 3.0 scoring model instead of FICO, yea Credit Karma scores and we check Transunion 99.9% of the time.". 

Just thought some of you would find that helpful!

[Appleman]

Thanks for the info. It may be what the dealership pulls but it would be a safe bet that any final lender will pull a FICO score as dealerships utilize many streams for their loans. eg Chase, WFDS, CapitalOne, HFS.

[StartingOver10]

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@Appleman wrote:

Thanks for the info. It may be what the dealership pulls but it would be a safe bet that any final lender will pull a FICO score as dealerships utilize many streams for their loans. eg Chase, WFDS, CapitalOne, HFS.

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^^^Totally agree with this statement above.  Loans are sold every day. In fact, it is in a large part where the dealerships make their $$ is the premium par rates they charge over what the bank/lender will charge.  The lenders aren't going to change platforms to accommodate individual dealerships. They are going to want the FICO scores that apply to the platform they use. 

So, after thinking about this, why would the dealership advertise that they use Vantage 3.0 scores knowing that they don't lend the funds at all? All they do is broker the loan and the lender is likely to require FICO scores?  The dealership does this for marketing purposes to draw in more buyers to the individual dealership. JMO  

If someone elects to use one of these dealers that advertise Vantage scores - please come back here and let us know if they funded the loan with Vantage scores or if they actually ended up using your FICO scores to fund the loan. 

[Appleman]

It could be a cheap way to pre-qualify people for an auto loan. If Advantage is cheaper than pulling a FICO for the dealer I could see them using that to see if the client is in the 'ballpark'. We all know that Vantage and FICO can and often, do vary from each other. But at least they can see negatives that may block financing.

I too would be interested in seeing if the close with a Vantage score only.