Question about PenFed

[Anonymous]

I know there's a thread right below mine about PenFed but I didn't want to hijack their thread. Anyways, I'm looking to get a new car within the next couple months (hoping for August), and I read so many good things about PenFed on myfico. I made the donation on American Red Cross and put down $50 for an account. Right after I opened the account I google PenFed and was SHOCKED by all the negative reviews. Now I'm wondering if I made a mistake in opening an account and wary of getting my auto loan through them. I saw that PenFed had really good rates but I keep reading that customer service is horrible. I'm not really sure what to do now. I picked out couple other credit unions and banks to get financing but the rate isn't as good as PenFed. Should I still go with PenFed if their rates are the best when it comes time for me to buy the car?

[p-]

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@kmpxx wrote:

I know there's a thread right below mine about PenFed but I didn't want to hijack their thread. Anyways, I'm looking to get a new car within the next couple months (hoping for August), and I read so many good things about PenFed on myfico. I made the donation on American Red Cross and put down $50 for an account. Right after I opened the account I google PenFed and was SHOCKED by all the negative reviews. Now I'm wondering if I made a mistake in opening an account and wary of getting my auto loan through them. I saw that PenFed had really good rates but I keep reading that customer service is horrible. I'm not really sure what to do now. I picked out couple other credit unions and banks to get financing but the rate isn't as good as PenFed. Should I still go with PenFed if their rates are the best when it comes time for me to buy the car?

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I applied for a refi and a new purchase with penfed using the same credit pull as my membership application.  I ended up refinancing my wife's car and getting a 1.49% rate.  I have had no problems with their customer service.  

[Anonymous]

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@p- wrote:

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@kmpxx wrote:

I know there's a thread right below mine about PenFed but I didn't want to hijack their thread. Anyways, I'm looking to get a new car within the next couple months (hoping for August), and I read so many good things about PenFed on myfico. I made the donation on American Red Cross and put down $50 for an account. Right after I opened the account I google PenFed and was SHOCKED by all the negative reviews. Now I'm wondering if I made a mistake in opening an account and wary of getting my auto loan through them. I saw that PenFed had really good rates but I keep reading that customer service is horrible. I'm not really sure what to do now. I picked out couple other credit unions and banks to get financing but the rate isn't as good as PenFed. Should I still go with PenFed if their rates are the best when it comes time for me to buy the car?

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I applied for a refi and a new purchase with penfed using the same credit pull as my membership application.  I ended up refinancing my wife's car and getting a 1.49% rate.  I have had no problems with their customer service.  

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Thank you so much for the reply!! This is my first time buying a car, and I'm really worried about the complexity of the process. Is the loan process completely done online, and I just have to print out the confirmation to show the dealership?

[p-]

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@kmpxx wrote: Is the loan process completely done online, and I just have to print out the confirmation to show the dealership?

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When I did the refi they mailed me a payoff check that I had to send to the original lender.  I think that if you use the penfed car buying service you get a rate discount and just get something to print out and bring in to the dealer.  The CS reps will fill you in if you need help.  Be careful at the dealer, they may try to get you to take thier financing or add on stuff.

[Anonymous]

So while surfing through websites I found out that banks now hard pull when opening deposit accounts. I have one inquiry from February that brought my score down from 760 to 730 but it bounced back to 760 after a month. I got another inquiry beginning of May that brought my score back down to 730 and it hasn't bounced back yet. Is this inquiry going to bring my score down another 30points? I made sure not to app or do anything that would ding my score and now this happens. I called and begged the CSR but he said since I opened the account online there was nothing they can do. By August I have couple inquires falling off so I'll have 4-5 inquires total. How bad is this going to effect my chance at a good interest rate?