Bank Auto Loan Rates
Compare Top
Auto Lenders Rates
Who's Hot & Who's Not!
The following bank auto loan rates are updated weekly and I try to be as accurate as possible, but I'd recommend using this only as a guide. Click on the name of any bank below to access their websites auto loans page for the most accurate rates.
To compare these auto lenders loan programs, who they loan to, loan to value, their general guidelines, etc. visit my auto lender review.
This could save you unnecessary credit inquiries if they don't offer what you are looking for...
Most of the lenders websites are very vague!
Dealerships will typically be able to get better bank auto loan rates (roughly 0.5% - 1.5% better) than you could get on your own, but it never hurts to get pre-approved to keep the dealers honest:)
Skip down below the
rate chart to learn more on:
| Additional Discounts | Dealer Rate Mark Ups
These sections will help you to better understand the "as low as" aspect of the bank auto loan rates below and how you can possibly get even better rates than posted...
Current Bank
Auto Loan Rates
View the:
[ rate review definitions and disclaimer ]
Most rates are based on indirect lending rates (through the dealership) and may be higher for direct lending.
New Rates: Based on a 60 month loan term for the lenders best credit tier and may include the lenders equity discount. If the equity discount is included, then you will notice an * next to the rate.
Used Rates: Based on a 60 month loan term for a 2007 vehicle, rates may be higher for older vehicles and may be lower for 2008 or same year used, the lenders best credit tier and may include the lenders equity discount.
If the equity discount is included, then you will notice an * next to the rate.
Additional Discounts (Add Disc): Equity discount may already be included in rates posted and if so there will be an * next to rate.
EQ = Equity Discount; for smaller loan to values. See below the rate review for definition and common discounts.
LX = Luxury Discount; see below the rate review for definition and common discounts.
NF = No Flat Fee; see below the rate review for definition and common discounts.
CK = Checking and ACH payments; see below for the rate review for definition and discounts.
SH = Shorter term than 60 months. For instance some lenders will offer a rate reduction for 36 or 48 month loans. This discount will vary from .10% to .25%.
Max Term: This is the maximum loan term the lender offers and the rates shown for new and used are not reflective of what the rate for the longest term a lender offers may be. Restrictions will apply to qualify for the lenders longest term.
Minimum Credit Score (Min Score): This is the minimum credit score a customer must have, on the lenders preferred credit bureau, in order to be considered for a loan and does not mean this score will qualify for the lenders best rates, or even be approved for a loan.
Restricted Vehicles (Rst Veh): Many lenders are limiting how much they will loan on specific vehicles, such as trucks and SUV's.
If there is a Y listed under Rst Veh for a particular lender, then they will loan less money in relation to the value of the vehicle and a larger down payment, or lower selling price, may be necessary in order to approve the loan structure.
Maximum Age/Miles (Max Age/Miles): Rates reflected may not apply to older vehicles and/or with higher miles. This is simply to inform you of what may be the lenders maximums to even consider a loan on a vehicle.
Disclaimer
I am not affiliated with any of the lenders listed in this rate review and do not get paid to refer customers to their site. This page was not intended to be a recommendation as to what lender to apply for auto loans, or not apply for auto loans.
I assume no responsibility for the accuracy of the information on this page and it should be used for general informational purposes only.
Any information pertaining to auto lenders and/or their auto loan guidelines is based on information, rates and terms that can change at any time.
Although, every effort is made to keep this information current, I can make no guarantees as to the accuracy of any of the auto lenders information reviewed on this site.
It is strongly recommended to check directly with the specific auto lender for their current program guidelines and available rates.
In addition, certain restrictions may apply to certain available auto loan programs, again please see lender for details.
There are many variables that may affect your auto loan approval (your approvals rates, terms, restrictions, etc.) and/or turn down, such as, but not limited to:
* Credit score
* credit history
* age of vehicle
* miles on vehicle
* type of vehicle
* state of residence
* term of the loan
* loan structure
and/or
* whether the loan is secured direct from lender or indirect from the dealership.
| New Bank Auto Loan Rates - and - Used Bank Auto Loan Rates |
|||||||
| AUTO LENDER |
New Rate 60 Mo. |
Used Rate 60 Mo. |
Add Disc |
Max Term Mo. |
Min Score |
Rst Veh |
Max Age/ Miles |
| Bank of America |
*2.99% | *3.49% | All Inc. |
72 | 640 | Yes | 6 Yrs/ 100,000 |
| Capital One |
2.99% | 3.99% | CK SH |
72 | 540 | Yes | 7 Yrs/ 70,000 |
| GMAC Auto Finance/ Ally Bank |
0% & up |
4.59% | N/A | 72 | 621/ ROC 580 |
No | No Max |
| Harris Bank |
5.81% | 5.81% | SH | 72 | 100 | Yes | 6 Yrs/ 70,000 |
| Hughes Credit Union |
4.50% | 4.50% | N/A | 84 | 580 | No | No Max |
| Chase Prime |
3.29% | 3.39% | EQ | 84 | 540 | Yes | 6 Yrs/ 90,000 |
| Mtn America Credit Union |
2.99% | 2.99% | CK CS |
72 | 625 | No | 8 Yrs 100,000 |
| US Bank |
*3.96% | *3.96% | EQ LX NF |
84 | 650 | Yes | 6 Yrs/ 80,000 |
| Wells Fargo |
5.24% | 5.99% | ? | 72 | 560? | ? | ? |
Loan Basics
and Loan Structure
Loan structure is certainly not the most exciting topic, but it plays a very important role in determining bank auto loan rates. The more you plan to borrow in relation to the value of the vehicle the higher the rate.
On the other hand, the less you borrow in relation to the value the lower your rate.
Some lenders will use the wholesale value while others use the retail value of a vehicle.
Wholesale Values
- Invoice
- Wholesale Kelley Blue Book Value
- NADA Trade Value (NADA wholesale)
- Black Book Wholesale (not very commonly used)
Retail Values
- MSRP
- Retail Kelley Blue Book Value
- NADA Retail
Retail
Auto Lenders:
- Hughes Credit Union
- M and I Bank
- Mountain America Credit Union
- US Bank
use retail values. The banks using retail value to determine loan structure will be banks that cater to stronger credit customers. No subprime auto lenders use the retail value, only wholesale values.
Bigger Down
Equals Bigger Discounts
In order to get the best bank auto loan rates you'll want to be sure you are not borrowing an excessive amount of money in relation to the value of the vehicle.
An example, if you were trying to borrow $17,000 on a car that had a wholesale value of $10,000. You would be trying to borrow 170% of the value of the vehicle and that, for most auto lenders, is considered way out of line.
If you were to be approved for a loan like this, you could expect your finance rate to be much higher.
Lenders have tightened up quite a bit lately and like to see loans in the 110% to 115% range. If that is doable, then you will qualify for the better rates.
If you can put a nice chunk of money down, then you could qualify for additional discounts, like the ones below.
Shorter Loan Terms
Equal Smaller Finance Rates
Loan term plays a very important role in loan structure as well. As you may have seen from the chart above, not many auto lenders are offering 84 month auto loans.
The longer the loan the higher the risk and therefore, auto lenders will loan a smaller percentage at higher rates.
Additional
Rate Discounts
The most common additional discounts that auto lenders offer to customers to get the best bank auto loan rates are:
-
Short Term Discount (SH)
The shorter the loan the better the loan rate. This is especially true if you are able to finance for 48 months or less.
This discount is usually .25% to .50%.
Equity Discount (EQ)
This discount comes into play if you have a sizable down payment (from trade equity or cash) and your amount financed is a certain percentage below (usually 90% or less) invoice, wholesale blue book, NADA wholesale, or even MSRP/retail book value for some lenders.
An example would be a used vehicle with a wholesale book value of $10,000 and your total amount financed is $9,000 or less.
This discount can knock another .25% to .50% off of your auto loan rate.
This discount may already be reflected in the rates above and if so, then the rates will have an * next to them.
Luxury Discount (LX)
Most banks offer a luxury discount when you finance over a certain dollar amount. This amount varies from bank to bank, but is usually an amount financed greater than $29,000 to $35,000.
This discount is usually not quite as big as the others and is typically in the .10% to .25% range.
No Flat Fee (NF)
This is applies when the dealership waives their flat fee that is paid to them from the lender when a loan is sold to the customer at the base buy rate.
This is usually an additional discount of .10% to .25%. FYI: It is very rare that a dealership will give this discount up easily and you will have to work for it.
Checking and Automatic Payments (CK)
This is most common with credit unions, but some banks, such as Chase, will offer this discount and it's typically in the .25% range.
All you have to do is arrange to have your monthly payments automatically deducted from your checking or savings account each month.
Credit Score Discount (CS)
Lenders are slowly beginning to shift their lending strategies and are beginning to give additional discounts to their auto loan rates for customer they deem to have excellent credit based on credit score.
This discount is separate from just falling into a higher tier and is an actual discount from their top tier auto loan rates.
For some lenders this will mean an additional discount for credit scores 730+ and for other top tier auto lenders this will mean 800+.
This discount will typically range between a .25% and .50% discount.
Allowable
Dealer Mark Ups
If you are looking to receive the best bank auto loan rates from a dealership, then it's important to note that dealers can and do mark up bank auto loan rates.
Credit unions typically do not allow dealers to mark up rates, but in the case of Mountain America Credit Union (above), they will allow a mark up on new members, but not on existing members.
As for traditional banks,
their mark ups are as follows:
- For loans up to 60 months - 2.5% mark up
- For loans up to 72 months - 2.0% mark up
- For loans up to 84 months - 1.75% mark up
These allowable mark ups to a dealers bank auto loan rates are general and not every auto lender follows this exact formula, but what they will allow is typically pretty close.
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