Ok, so this was very interesting, but it worked out in the end. Warning....this is a bit long. I currently have two auto loans with Navy Federal. One for a new Audi and one for a refi. When I took the loans out in March/April of this year Navy approved me for $61,000 for the new Audi although I only needed $57,000ish for the loan. Then I refinanced my sons car which was $17,000. Fast forward to this weekend, I applied for another loan with Navy. I started out by asking for a used auto loan for $80,000 which they denied. After calling them they suggested that I apply for a loan with a lower amount over the phone to see if that would be approved so I applied for a $65,000 loan. DENIED AGAIN!
Knowing that this might happen since I already have two auto loans, I also applied at PenFed. So with PenFed I only asked for $79,000 since I planned on using up to $15,000 of my own cash if needed. My application was showing as pending so I called them and they said they would call the underwriter to see what the decision was. When they came back on the line they just had a few questions that I needed to answer for them and then placed me on hold again. Then after about 5 minutes they came back on and said "You're Approved!" So PenFed stepped up when Navy would not.
As a result they're overnighting me a check and I will be flying out from Tampa to Atlanta tomorrow to pick up my "newish" 2019 Porsche Cayman GTS that has 11,000 miles on it and is still under factory warranty. The total price on the car after tax, tag, title, etc is $91,000. I am so excited right now and I feel like a child waiting for Christmas morning to come so I can open my presents.
I honestly thought Navy might approve me due to the history that I've built up over the last year with them. I have my direct deposit go to Navy and I earn $140,000 plus annually. I also realized though that they pull Transunion and my transunion Fico 8 was only 710. PenFed on the other hand pulls Equifax and my Equifax Fico 8 is 769. I have very little history with them (PenFed), I only have about $4,000 in my savings account and I rarely use the two credit cards that they gave me this year.
I guess it just goes to show that doing your homework and having options can make the difference between getting denied and getting approved. And I can honestly say I appreciate every single person who contributes to this forum. Without you folks this would have never happened because I would never have had the priceless knowlege found here in the forums. When I started my credit journey almost 2 years ago my scores were in the high 500's and the two cars that I had financed were at 21% or 24% interest rates. And these were only $20,000 cars! .....Fast forward to now and this new $79,000 used vehicle loan is at 4.01%. Now I know it could probably be lower but for a used car loan at 72 months with a rate of 4.01% it sure feels like a win!
I just wanted to share some of my credit and car journey with those of you who are still digging and trying to improve your situation. Give it time, stay dilligent, and follow the advice on these forums. If you have a plan you'll eventually get there. I'm proof that it can be done.
One of the things on my bucket list was "Own a Porsche" I can now check that off of my list. Thanks again everyone. And have an amazing Holiday Season!
