Anyone manage to lock in a loan with just the VIN?

[Rubi64L]

Hi everyone - I'm new to this forum (normally use a different forum for my supercharged WJ). I'm waiting for my 2022 Rubicon 392 XR to be built, and I'm trying to lock in a low loan rate before things start to go crazy. Dealer says they can't secure a loan until the car is in their possession, but in the past I've been able to get the loan locked in (and start paying for it) with just the VIN through my credit union. Since PenFed has some great loan rates right now, and they're definitely going to go up soon, I'd like to see if anyone has any current strategies for making that happen.

Thanks in advance!

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[Kansas JL]

I think you won’t be able to get your financing until the vehicle is at the dealer. You may be able to get pre approved for 30 days just prior to dealership delivery, but the Jeep would need to be actually built and in shipping ( which can take up to 3 weeks ish). I understand your concerns we all know rates are going up in the near future. Best of luck to you. Keep us posted if you figure out a solution as well

 

[Deleted member 59498]

My credit union locks in pre-approval for 90 days. I have never heard of a closed loan for a VIN myself without any delievery. If it is in a train crash or gets damaged before shipping could be serious issue. Or lost of money, for you. I have no idea why your CU would give a loan for non-existent collateral.

Or to edit why you would want to pay for something you don't have? 1000 things could happen.

 

[GATORB8]

There used to be a program "Sold Order Consumer Incentive Protection" that could be used to lock incentive rates (like 0%), not sure if it's still around.

I think @Scott.B is probably on the right track for getting a locked pre-approval if you're going CU.

 

[Rubi64L]

My credit union locks in pre-approval for 90 days. I have never heard of a closed loan for a VIN myself without any delievery. If it is in a train crash or gets damaged before shipping could be serious issue. Or lost of money, for you. I have no idea why your CU would give a loan for non-existent collateral.

If I could get them to lock the rate in for 90 days, that would be fine with me. A bunch of years ago, I was able to buy a Viper that was in the process of being built - it had the VIN and was going through the build process. That said, the dealer had to jump through some hoops and take a chance in using the VIN to go to the DMV, get the title in the name of the credit union, and then I had to take out an insurance policy on it before they'd send the check to the dealer. It was pretty complicated, but the credit union had such a fantastic rate for government employees on memorial day (0.99% for 60 months) that I decided to try and make it happen. These days things seem to have tightened up quite a bit, though...

 

[garyji]

Soooooo . . . Have you asked the Credit Union??

G.

 

[Rubi64L]

Soooooo . . . Have you asked the Credit Union??

G.

It's a long story - the short answer is yes, and they said they could do it, and then they say they can't do it.... But, I've also been wrestling with some very "challenged" people there that don't believe a Wrangler could cost $90k and they're treating this loan like it is a mortgage. So, I was hoping others have had a "bulletproof" way to accomplish this. I've done it before, but as noted earlier, it was very complicated and it was a rather unique car buying situation with a dealership that I'd been doing business with for 20+ years. I'm not sure my current dealership would want to jump through the kinds of hoops my old dealership was willing to.

 

[BuyHold]

...they're treating this loan like it is a mortgage.

Typically lenders offer lower rates on mortgages than other types of lending at same term. So this might be a good thing if you could get a 5 year to 10 year "mortgage" on your Jeep. Right?

 

[JABCAT]

Until you sign the papers & pay the dealerships, the dealerships owns the vehicle. I would imagine it would be difficult to get a loan on a vehicle that you do not officially own. And unless the Dealership has been invoiced and paid FCA, they don't own it yet either.

 

[Rubi64L]

Typically lenders offer lower rates on mortgages than other types of lending at same term. So this might be a good thing if you could get a 5 year to 10 year "mortgage" on your Jeep. Right?

It's a great idea, and I thought about it, but I have a property that is extremely difficult to appraise. So, opening the mortgage can of worms was super tough in the past and I don't want to go through that hassle again When I refinanced about ten years ago, I should have taken out a HELOC for purposes such as this, but I didn't bother because I figured I would never need it.

 

[Rubi64L]

Until you sign the papers & pay the dealerships, the dealerships owns the vehicle. I would imagine it would be difficult to get a loan on a vehicle that you do not officially own. And unless the Dealership has been invoiced and paid FCA, they don't own it yet either.

Exactly - and I went through that the last time I tried this. But, there were ways around it that required me to put money in escrow, get the dealer to obtain title in the name of the lender, etc. It was a pain. I might just end up biting the bullet and paying the higher rate once the car is here. It's in D1, and the dealer says it should be here in about a month - but with the craziness in the world right now, and with rates about to jump at the next FED meeting, I wanted to try and lock something in at today's rates (which are free money considering inflation is close to 10% now).

 

[Kiki392]

Hi everyone - I'm new to this forum (normally use a different forum for my supercharged WJ). I'm waiting for my 2022 Rubicon 392 XR to be built, and I'm trying to lock in a low loan rate before things start to go crazy. Dealer says they can't secure a loan until the car is in their possession, but in the past I've been able to get the loan locked in (and start paying for it) with just the VIN through my credit union. Since PenFed has some great loan rates right now, and they're definitely going to go up soon, I'd like to see if anyone has any current strategies for making that happen.

Thanks in advance!

I am a finance manager at a dealership and we secure loans as long as the vehicle is in transit status. We don't like to but we can and have.

 

[Rubi64L]

I am a finance manager at a dealership and we secure loans as long as the vehicle is in transit status. We don't like to but we can and have.

That's very cool of you! It would seem that once the car is in KZ status and the dealer has been invoiced, it should be OK to move forward with the loan process. I suppose it is risky, but if the buyer is willing to deal with the risk, everything should work out OK. In my case, I'd insure the heck out of the car (for a 392 XR I'd use Haggerty and do an agreed value policy) just in case the train derailed or something completely crazy happened in transit.

 

[Rubi64L]

So, an update. After wrangling with the credit union for a couple of weeks, they approved the loan and they're sending a check directly to me. Once the car is in, I just endorse the check (which is payable to the dealer) and it's a done deal. Rate is locked in, I start paying off the loan a month and a half from now, and I have a "ship date" for my 392 of 3/18.

Now I can relax and know that I've locked in a great rate before the stupid Fed decides to crank rates up. If anyone is interested in some of the things I had to go through with the credit union, just PM me.

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