Navy Federal Credit Union Auto Loans Review!
Navy Federal helps you purchase a car of your choice whether you’re looking to buy a new or used car. Not only that, but it also allows you to refinance your auto loan from another lender if you need to. Navy Federal offers auto loans with suitable rates, 100% financing, and exclusive military discounts. All you need is to wait for a few seconds before they approve your loan.
Pros
Cons
Quick Stats
Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) offers great chances to finance new or used cars with one of the best auto loan rates for active and retired military members and those who are related to them.
In addition to their auto loans, Navy Federal Credit Union offers highly competitive loan deals, including credit cards, mortgages, and personal loans. It is considered among the most flexible and competitive loan providers on the market.
Filters and Features
1. APR rates for auto loans are as low as 2.29%.
2. Get $200 when refinancing your car with Navy Federal.
3. Customer support is responsive and available on multiple communication channels.
4. Easy and fast online application.
5. More than 20,000 cars to choose from.
Navy Federal Union Credit allows you to choose from between 20,000 different car makes and models. You have more options when choosing from the Used Cars section, but you can still get all types of popular cars with the New Cars section as well.
With Navy Federal, what you need to do to get the loan is to search for the car you want to purchase and see what others paid for it. Then, you can get a real price online, including incentives, dealer discounts, and fees. The third step would be to apply for a loan, and finally, you connect with a dealer and test the car to buy it immediately.
Getting prequalified with Navy Federal Credit Union does not affect your credit score, but it's important to find a car that fits your budget and is personalized to what you need. Unfortunately, Navy Federal does not offer many search filters, but it does allow you to pick your car through the following features:
If you're choosing to purchase a new car:
First, you need to choose the car made for the options to appear. Once you do that, you will get two options; Build and Price and Choose a Default Build.
If you choose the "Build and Price," this is what you're to expect:
- Next, you will be taken to the Style page to choose Engine and Transmissions type.
- Once you choose your preferred types, you can click on 'Next' to be taken to the next Style options.
- From this page, you can choose your car doors style.
- Choose your preferred door style and then click on 'Next.'
- Next, you will be taken to the Exterior page to choose your preferred Car color.
- After that, you will get to choose your interior car colors by going to the Interior page.
- The next page will allow you to choose other options for your car; you can either go for the recommended options or customize it.
- In the custom tab, you get to choose options like Reverse Sensing System, Power Outlet - Back Side of Center Floor Console, Front Row Heated Seats, Auto-Dimming Interior Rearview Mirror, and many more options.
If you're choosing to purchase a used car:
You'll get the following options:
- Price: You can choose the preferred price for the car you're purchasing by typing it in the box or moving the bar to the price you want.
- Mileage: You also get to choose the mileage of your car to narrow down the options and give you a clearer view of what you want to purchase.
- Make and model: Once you choose the make of the car, you can select the model and see the options you get on the screen.
- Body style: This drop-down menu allows you to choose the preferred car body type like Convertible, Coupe, Hatchback, Sedan, SUV, Truck, Van, and wagon.
- Color: You have a wide variety of interior and exterior color options to choose from.
- Price rating: You can choose to check one or more of these price rating options; Excellent, Great, Fair, and High price.
- Popular features: Here, you get to check one or more of many features, including adaptive cruise control, backup camera, blind-spot system, Bluetooth, cooled front seats, and many more features.
- Condition and history: In this menu, you get to choose what condition the car is in and the history it went through, like Salvage, Lemon, Theft recovery, and Frame damage.
You also get to customize many other options like drive type, engine, fuel type, bed length, cab type, and roof height.
Financing and Prequalification
Navy Federal Credit Union requires you to be a member before applying to any of its auto loans. In addition, after becoming a member, you must open a Navy Federal savings account with a minimum deposit of $5.
To qualify for the auto loans, you must be in one of the following groups or a household member or immediate family member (parent, grandparent, spouse, child, or grandchild) of someone who is:
- An active-duty service member in the Air Force, Air National Guard, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, or Navy.
- Delayed Entry Program (DEP) enlistees.
- Department of Defense officer candidates/ROTC participants.
- Department of Defense government or civilian employees.
- Veterans, reservists, retirees, and annuitants.
You will need the following requirements to apply for membership and an auto loan:
- Direct membership eligibility: Your military branch, rank, date of discharge.
- Membership eligibility: The Navy Federal Access Number, Social Security number, and date of birth of the person who makes you eligible for membership.
- Personal: Name, Social Security number, address, and contact information.
- Employment: Employer name, address, and contact information.
- Vehicle: VIN or year, make, model and mileage.
- Trade-in vehicle: Title or loan info and registration
- Proof of Income.
- Proof of residence.
Navy Federal Auto Loan Preapproval
In order for you to get approval from Navy Federal for an auto loan, you need to provide them with how much you'd like to borrow (including fees, taxes, and add-ons), for how long, and your personal information. NFCU will approve you for an amount, a loan term, and an APR based on this info.
You might get the preapproval check sent in the mail or by visiting one of their branches. We recommend that you choose a vehicle that is a few thousand dollars less than your preapproval so you can have enough to cover fees instead of requesting a larger amount of loan. Once you have made your decision, you can contact Navy Federal to finalize and confirm the loan.
GAP Coverage
Navy Federal Credit Union offers GAP coverage. You only need to pay $399 one time (or get it rolled into the loan), and NFCU will cover the difference between your vehicle's cash value and the loan's outstanding balance when it is totaled in an accident or stolen and not recovered.
GAP coverage is also available for up to 150% of the MSRP for new vehicles and 150% of the actual cash value on used vehicles. In addition, GAP coverage can be added to an existing loan or when refinancing a loan.
You only need a couple of minutes to fill out the application online and a few hours to get approval. You can also receive a preapproval so you can go out and shop as a cash buyer.
Refinancing with NFCU
Luckily, NFCU offers auto loan refinancing. The good news is that the same APR ranges and loan terms that apply to its new, late model and used auto financing also apply to refinancing loans for vehicles in the same categories, which means that for people with good credit, there is a good chance for a big rate decrease.
To obtain refinancing with NFCU, you will need to provide them with the info and documents in addition to the vehicle's VIN, exact mileage, state of registration, current loan number, payoff amount, and lender info.
It doesn't matter if you're buying a new or used car or you're refinancing because the application takes a short time to fill in, and the approvals are fast. You can try to receive preapproval for up to 90 days so you can go out and shop as a cash buyer.
Customer Support
You can contact NFCU for help with any of your queries through one of the following customer support options:
- Phone support
- Email
- Live chat
- FAQs
- Social media
- Secure messaging
- In-person
Conclusion
Navy Federal is a lender with multiple financing solutions for those who are currently working or previously worked for the military, alongside their families, who can benefit from Navy Federal's offers as well. You can choose from 20,000 different used and new cars, which you can choose depending on your income and other factors.