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PenFed financing process.

Okay, so PenFed financing update including inevitable hiccups:

I called PenFed and provided the requested information indicated in my previous post: owner information, address, VIN, and copy of the title (more accurately, it was an attached photograph of the title). What I was not initially told was that they require a copy of both the front and back of the title. Not sure why this mattered because the back of a California title is just typical government form BS that provided no additional info specific to the car, but I guess it is different for titles from other states. Regardless, I sent that off.

A few hours later I called again and apparently what was missing now was a completed form 127B available from the PenFed site: "statement of intent to sell vehicle." A post earlier in this thread indicated this was probably needed but up until today, no one at PenFed ever mentioned it. Notified the seller and immediately got it sent back completed, then forwarded it onwards. Of course, it would be several more hours for the "firewalls in their system" to process everything accordingly.

Did I mention that each time I called, I needed to provide the car's VIN, verify the make/model/year/body style of the car, and sympathize that "NSX" was not available in their drop-down menus and had to be entered manually? This wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that each time I gave the specifics, it got me more excited while reminding me I did not have the car yet.

Then I learned that another "probable hurdle" that would need to be overcome is that the document I sent over indicated the seller had financed the car and "Capital One Auto Finance" was still on the title. I was assured by the seller that there were no liens on the vehicle but he simply did not have the title with just his name on it (it would take two to four weeks to get one). Okay, great. So what is required now is documentation for "release of lien" from Capital One indicating the car was fully paid off. Apparently, this is something I can get myself without the seller's involvement and is sometimes acquired by people interested in buying a car. Learned something new today.

Of course, Capital One is already closed and they don't open on Sundays so I'm left sitting here looking at NSX pictures until Monday. Will update again soon.
 
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Honestly, the seller should of got the lien release attached to the title when it was returned to him after being paid off. They sort of go together. Most people don't waste the time going to the DMV just to get a new titled issued out.

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Honestly, the seller should of got the lien release attached to the title when it was returned to him after being paid off. They sort of go together. Most people don't waste the time going to the DMV just to get a new titled issued out.
 
So Penfed recently dropped their rates for used auto loans from 1.99% to 1.49%.

I've seen people mention on here that they refi'd to the lower rate. How?

https://www.penfed.org/refinance-auto-loan/

"Keep in Mind: This rate is not available for refinancing of an existing PenFed loan."

:confused:
 
Update:
Got things sorted out with PenFed. We ended up not needing the 'lien-less' title because ultimately, the only thing PenFed cares about is getting the current title on the car they financed. Therefore my options were: get lien-less title in CA, then have that signed over only to convert it to a VA title OR get the existing title in CA and just convert that over to the VA title. PenFed recommended the latter.

PenFed sent out the check and I set up travel logistics to go pick up the NSX. Everything went very smoothly. In my case, the seller's bank (Bank of the West) insisted they could NOT just call PenFed and have the check cleared. Apparently the funds will be released into his account over a couple of weeks. This did not disappoint my seller (at that point, the issue was between him and his bank and didn't involve me or PenFed) and we went ahead with getting the paperwork sorted. We went over to AAA and got the title signed and transferred.

Finally my favorite part:
You get a signed title and drive off in your shiny NSX
-

Pics/excited owner thread soon :biggrin:
 
Considering it's already 2013, will PenFed grant me a loan for a privately sold 1991 NSX? Technically it's over 20 years old. I was hoping to get 1.49% APR for 48 months.
 
Considering it's already 2013, will PenFed grant me a loan for a privately sold 1991 NSX? Technically it's over 20 years old. I was hoping to get 1.49% APR for 48 months.

in october of last year, i bought my 92 NSX and financed it through penned at 1.49% APR for 48 months so you should give them a call. keep in mind they need a low debt to income ratio or need to put a big down-payment.
 
in october of last year, i bought my 92 NSX and financed it through penned at 1.49% APR for 48 months so you should give them a call. keep in mind they need a low debt to income ratio or need to put a big down-payment.

Well if you bought a 92 in 2012, doesn't that make it a 20 year old car? Is 20 years the age limit for the 1.49%? I will hear from them soon enough, but was hoping some others could chime in here.
 
Well if you bought a 92 in 2012, doesn't that make it a 20 year old car? Is 20 years the age limit for the 1.49%? I will hear from them soon enough, but was hoping some others could chime in here.

yes it was 20yrs old and i did qualify for the 1.49% APR.I don't think the year matters because they offer financing to classic cars as well I believe. But if the car has over 100k then there are some restriction and cars with over 125k cannot be financed through Penfed. Good luck w/ ur purchase!

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Well if you bought a 92 in 2012, doesn't that make it a 20 year old car? Is 20 years the age limit for the 1.49%? I will hear from them soon enough, but was hoping some others could chime in here.

yes it was 20yrs old and i did qualify for the 1.49% APR.I don't think the year matters because they offer financing to classic cars as well I believe. But if the car has over 100k then there are some restriction and cars with over 125k cannot be financed through Penfed. Good luck w/ ur purchase!
 
yes it was 20yrs old and i did qualify for the 1.49% APR.I don't think the year matters because they offer financing to classic cars as well I believe. But if the car has over 100k then there are some restriction and cars with over 125k cannot be financed through Penfed. Good luck w/ ur purchase!

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yes it was 20yrs old and i did qualify for the 1.49% APR.I don't think the year matters because they offer financing to classic cars as well I believe. But if the car has over 100k then there are some restriction and cars with over 125k cannot be financed through Penfed. Good luck w/ ur purchase!

Well I'm just worried that they'll try to demand something like 8% for 24 months for cars over 20 years old regardless of mileage. I will update here as soon as I get an answer.
 
I just got an email denial from PenFed this morning. I haven't gotten specific reasons yet, but I'm guessing it's due to my Average Account Age of 1 yr 1 mo. I have 2 credit cards, one is 2 years old, the other is only 3 months old. My debt-to-credit ratio is only 3% though, my combined credit limit is 8900, and I have very solid monthly income (started work full-time 7 months ago).

Should I try calling them and see if they'll reconsider or is it a lost cause?
 
I would at least find out what the specific reason was and determine whether it was valid. The worst they can do is tell you "no" if you try to get them to reconsider something that they may have missed.
 
another reference point:
I opened an account with them in Jan or Feb of year, both for 5% cashback on gas and because I had started my NSX search.

In August I was pre-approved for 39k and they sent me a draft. All I have to do is fill out the private seller's name, sign the front & endorse the back and then hand the seller the draft to deposit. They needed me to call in and give them the VIN so they could verify the NADA value. They did not need the name of the private seller, or a "Letter of Intent to Sell", presumably because I am pre-approved and have the draft in-hand already.

Thanks to the fed's decision today, rates are back down to 1.99 too :D
 
Financed my 2000 earlier this year with Penfed. Got 1.74% for 5 yrs and I was so happy as that is the best interest I have gotten on any car let alone a 13 yr old one :). Overnight-ed check and seller's BOA asked me some questions to verify, but otherwise transaction went very smooth. They also have great offers on credit cards and mortgage so this could be the beginning of something nice ......
 
Anyone who's financed recently, any idea what the rates are for a 100k+ mileage car? Ideally I'd want sub-100k but I want to keep my options open.

not sure about rates, but I was told that the term is 36 months max for a car with >100k miles.
 
Hello everyone!

After much searching and aborted deals, I think I've found the right car but the seller's bank have made it complicated enough that the seller might back off ! I have couple of questions here on final process of paying the seller without any risks for both the concerned parties. The background I, the car is out of state, we have the agreed to a price, I have a preapproved loan with penfed for 25k and the seller is ready to send in the intent to sell but there are a couple of issues that I and him want to clarify.

The whole transaction is going to be 3 payments, "A" one check from penfed to pay the outstanding loan amount existing on the car, second check for the my remaining preapproved amount minus A, C the downpayment from my side. The total splitup is approximately say 15k(A)+10k(B)+12k$(C)

The problem I am running into is the seller is hesitant paying off his loan with just the checks A & B because his bank would release the title ONLY to Penfed and immediately so after the check A clears and he feels that puts him at risk if I don't honor the rest of the payment. But If I pay him full payment then there is of course a situation that he doesn't pay his loan at all and gets away with the check B and my cash C and that puts me at risk.
I called penfed and they were like, " If he runs away with our check then we cant do much, you still have to pay us the monthly payments for the money he cashes out from B". I kind of do trust the guy but I am not comfortable putting trust over a legally binding document. Is there any other option to this ? Penfed suggested notarizing the intent to sell from him as a proof in case things go bad.

Me and the seller are probably over complicating the whole thing but I couldn't really find much information on this when scenario ! Any help and suggestions would be much appreciated guys !
 
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Ravi
Can't help with your dilemma but wishing you good luck on finding a way to get your deal done.
 
Ravi,

Are you and the seller in the same city/state. The "Intent to Sell" is not legally obligating the buyer, it only lets PenFed know that someone is going to sell a vehicle and they can release your funds. I am a little fuzzy on the other two checks? Why not just combine the two non-PenFed checks and go with the seller to his bank and bingo your done.
 
Ravi,

Are you and the seller in the same city/state. The "Intent to Sell" is not legally obligating the buyer, it only lets PenFed know that someone is going to sell a vehicle and they can release your funds. I am a little fuzzy on the other two checks? Why not just combine the two non-PenFed checks and go with the seller to his bank and bingo your done.

My apologies if I might have made that post sound a little complicated ! I am in Michigan and he is in South Carolina. As far as the checks are concerned there are actually 2 checks from penfed ( 1 for loan payoff and rest to pay him ). Also Ill be paying my part of the payment through cash or wire. So the split up would be sort of like $15k+$10k from Penfed in checks and rest is my cash

The problem here is, he is hesitant to do the loan payoff first because his bank MTC credit union says that they will put my PenFed on docs once the outstanding loan payoff is completed. Apparently penfed in that case would have their name on docs even if I don't do the remaining payment so MTC is recommending him to get the complete payment from me before the payoff.( I understand his concerns here) So basically even If I go with him to the banks to deposit the amount the deal is still not done because he still has to get the loan paid off as the final payment and only then does Penfed get the name on their title. Is that how this supposed to work ? Surely there is better way to do this and keep both parties safe.
Penfed customer care is pretty much not helpful when I asked them for opinions.

Would a notarized "intent to sell" be any better ? I suppose an actual contract saying he received " X amount of cash " towards the sale of the vehicle would be the better way to do this ? Also say I do end up doing the full payment upfront, is a cashier's check from my side as well a better option legally speaking ?
 
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Ravi,

Are you going to pick the car up or have it shipped to you? If you are going down there, I am not too sure why the "in person" method would not work for him. You go with him to bank A with payoff. Seller pays off loan, Bank A titles car/loan to PenFed. You give him second PenFed check and your cash and he gives you the keys and you drive off with a HUGE smile on your face! Am I missing something? When I used PenFed they were extremely easy to work with, granted my situation was a little different from yours (Seller had title in hand).

Hope it works out for you, maybe others can chime in on other possible solutions. But once it is over, you will have no regrets about the car!
 
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This is the sellers problem, not yours. He should figure out a way to pay off the loan himself and then hand you over the title free and clear of the lien. If it means he has to take out a cash advance on his credit card, so be it.

You may have to walk away from this deal, but don't worry because a better car may turn up.

Good luck.
 
Ravi,

Are you going to pick the car up or have it shipped to you? If you are going down there, I am not too sure why the "in person" method would not work for him. You go with him to bank A with payoff. Seller pays off loan, Bank A titles car/loan to PenFed. You give him second PenFed check and your cash and he gives you the keys and you drive off with a HUGE smile on your face! Am I missing something? When I used PenFed they were extremely easy to work with, granted my situation was a little different from yours (Seller had title in hand).

Hope it works out for you, maybe others can chime in on other possible solutions. But once it is over, you will have no regrets about the car!

Hey Blackhorse, yeah this is what I am exactly going to do ! The only difference being I cant drive away with the car right away. Apparently even after I give the cash and the checks, it would take a few days for checks to be approved/cleared and only then would the title be transferred to penfed. Can I actually drive the car when the title is still not there with penfed ? I guess not ?

I would of course love to limit it to just one trip but I suppose this is the easiest way to go with now ?


This is the sellers problem, not yours. He should figure out a way to pay off the loan himself and then hand you over the title free and clear of the lien. If it means he has to take out a cash advance on his credit card, so be it.

You may have to walk away from this deal, but don't worry because a better car may turn up.

Good luck.

DocL honestly I cant be walking away from the all the deals for the best car can I ? This car is absolutely "prefect" for its age with records and a lot of recent work done to it ( 5.5 k in recipts in the last 18 months and 1000 miles) and I would rather not walk away just because of the issues with payment ! About it being his problem, I don't think people would just have 18-19grand laying around for payment ? If I was a seller 2-3 years down the line, I certainly would not be up for this option !
 
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