I was prequalified through the CapOne navigator, and when I went to the dealer it was a true approval with 0 down and 100% financing. (Scores below dec 2018) But the answer is no it’s not a firm approval because it only means you’re a good candidate for an approval based on everything that you stated on your pre qualifying app. CapOne also looks for required vehicle information such year and mileage. But that’s easy because this is clearly disclosed to you.
So as long as everything you stated on the app is truthful then you have a very high chance of becoming actually approved by Capital One. Hope this helps!🙂
Pre-qualify/pre-approval worked for me and my wife. We were initially "approved" just 3 weeks post-discharge, end of July 2018. The first one was only good for 30 day and we couldn't find the right vehicle for us during that time, so we had to re-pre-qual at the end of August and bought within a week afterwards. I was pretty nervous at the dealership that something was going to fall through, but it all worked out! Financed around $37k - had to put $500 down to stay within their limits - @ 9.29% on the vehicle we wanted. Of all the vehicle options on the CapOne site, we could've financed as low as 6.7%, but on a different make/model. We planned to refi within 6 months anyway (coming up next month), so the higher rate didn't bother us too much.
Thanks and likewise... glad it worked out for you, too. It was our first time at the dealership we ended up buying through, but they really didn't seem to mind the CapOne pre-qual piece. The only thing they did that I didn't like was trying a few other lenders to see if they could beat CapOne's rate, even though I told them I didn't want any other HPs and was fine with the CapOne deal. It cost me 3 additional HPs with no other approvals, but after getting to the end of the CapOne process and driving away in a new ride, I wasn't too upset. LOL