I went to a Toyota dealership in northern California today to trade-in my wife's 2016 Highlander XLE for a certified pre-owned 2019 Highlander Limited. 2019 was the last year the Highlander came with a flip-up rear window, which is important if you have big dogs!
Anyway, I prequalified for an auto loan through Chase, with whom I have a long relationship. They were carrying the loan on our 2016 Highlander and were happy to finance our new one at 4.74 percent for up to 72 months. I suspected I could do better through Toyota Financial Services (TFS).
After I made the deal for the 2019 Highlander, I inquired whether TFS has a subsidized interest rate on CPO cars for returning customers. They asked if I'd financed a Toyota with TFS in the past 10 years, and I responded that I had. Like many auto manufacturers (including Ford), Toyota offers a 1 or 2 tier bump for returning customers in good standing. TFS ended up offering me 2.89 percent for up to 72 months on my 2019 Highlander, which I accepted at 60 months.
For the record, TFS pulled both TU and EX (I keep my EQ locked because for some reason it's about 20 points lower than my other scores). I believe they obtained FICO Auto 8 scores in both cases but not certain.
@4sallypat wrote:very nice!
glad to hear you gave your business to TFS instead of Chase Auto...
It was a no-brainer due to the much lower interest rate TFS offered us as returning customers. The rate we got on our CPO Highlander is slightly better than the rate TFS is offering purchasers of new 2021 Highlanders!
Many years ago, we financed a previous Highlander Hybrid through TFS and had two 30-day late payments. While those were still on our reports, TFS wouldn't give us another loan, so we financed our next Highlander in 2016 through Chase.
Thankfully, those 30-day lates fell off my reports so we're back in TFS good graces. That experience showed me that even relatively minor blemishes on a credit report can prevent you from getting the best financing.