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Mountain America
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| I am not affiliated with Mtn. America and do not get paid to refer customers to their site. I also do not hold a grudge against Mtn. America and did not build this page to discourage anyone from using their services. 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 |
Who Do They Loan Too -
Credit Types and Credit Scores
As mentioned above, Mountain America Credit Union loans to the mid to upper level credit customers and they do require a minimum Experian credit score of 625.
Their credit tiers breakdown like this:
- A Tier = 675+ Experian credit score
- B Tier = 645 - 675 Experian credit score
- C Tier = 625 - 644 Experian credit score
In order to qualify for their program, customers need a satisfactory credit history that shows a prior timely payment history and the ability to pay on the new vehicle.
They also only loan money to (at least indirectly) customers residing in AZ, NM, NV and UT. This changed recently and they used to lend nationwide, but were apparently having titling issues with some dealerships.
Medical collections are something they are willing (case by case basis) to over look if your credit history has proven, through one or more well paid auto loans, mortgages, other installment loans and/or revolving credit (credit cards, etc.), that your intentions are to repay your debts.
Mountain America Credit Union takes into consideration a number of factors when deciding on an approval and will consider loaning money for different credit and loan structure situations.
Just know that the longer your credit history and the overall better paying it has been, the better your chances are for an approval.
If you are lacking some in the credit department, but can show them a nice financial commitment, like a good sized down payment, they may be willing to make exceptions.
Mountain America Credit Union
Guidelines and Restrictions
Vehicles That
Do Not Qualify
- No vehicles with over 100,000 miles.
- No salvaged, rebuilt, hail damaged or branded title vehicles.
General
Conditions
- Must have a minimum FICO score of 625.
- No 84 month auto loans.
- Maximum debt to income (gross monthly) ratio of 45%.
- Maximum debt to income (gross monthly) ratio of 36% for C tier.
- Trusts and refinancing only through MACU braches, not available through dealerships.
- Must finance $15,000 or more for 72 month financing.
- 72 month financing not available for C tier.
In addition, they offer very competitive GAP insurance rates.
Mountain America
Credit Union Auto Loan Structures
For new vehicles, MACU will loan up to 110% of factory invoice and for used vehicles they will loan up to 100% of retail plus approved back end products:
- Tax, Title & License
- Vehicle extended warranty
- GAP insurance
- Credit life insurance
- Disability insurance
The 100% is the used vehicle loan to value based on Kelley blue book retail.
An example, if a vehicle had a $30,000 retail blue book value, then Mountain America Credit Union would be willing to loan $30,000 (100%) plus the extra back end products from above.
The 100% may not seem like a lot, but keep in mind this is the retail value they are lending off of and not the wholesale value like the majority of lenders.
This is a great benefit to customers looking for no money down auto loans and/or are having to roll over negative equity from a trade in vehicles loan.
The 110% of invoice for new vehicles is not nearly as strong and will more often than not require you to put money down in order to get the loan structure in line with their program.
Another great benefit of their program is that they do not appear to be limiting advances on trucks and SUV's as many auto lenders have begun to do these days...
They seem to offer the same rates and terms to customers whether lending direct (from them direct to you) or indirect (through the dealer to you).
Be Careful...They do allow dealerships to mark up the finance rate up to 1% for new members!
Additional Discounts
Mountain America Credit Union does offer an additional discount to their rates for one of the following:
- .25% discount for members with Advantage Checking.
- .50% discount for members with Advantage Plus Checking.
Loan Terms
The terms that they are willing to loan for are currently as follows:
- 2006 - 2009 = 72 month max
- 2004 - 2005 = 60 month max
- 2003 = 48 month max
- 2001 - 2002 = 36 month max
Mountain America Credit Union
Customer Service and Payoff Information
If you're looking for some quick contact information, here you go:
Summary of Mountain America
Credit Union Auto Loans
All in all, they offer some decent rates and terms for new and used vehicles.
At the time that I borrowed from them for my auto loan their rates were much more competitive.
MACU's real sweet spot seems to be in the 645-699 credit range and for those credit customers, you'll probably find that their rates are very competitive.
If you have excellent credit with a credit score over 700 then you will more than likely be able to find a lender with better loan terms and rates out there.
Check out my Bank Auto Loan Rates page to compare auto lenders rates.
You can access their website here: Mountain America Credit Union. Don't forget to bookmark this site so that after you get your approval you can learn some very valuable time and money saving car buying tips.
Mountain America Credit Union appears to offer refinancing rates that are similar, if not identical, to their purchase rates (I'm not 100% sure as I do not offer this service at my dealership).
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