Re Pen Fed: while YOU may have read all the loan information they sent you; I doubt they have read much about smart cars. They might assume it's one of the "grey" smarts. CUs often have regulations pertaining to electric, bio-diesel, hybrid & "experimental" cars. Credit unions are conservative by design. The CU I work for is completely willing to finance the smarts. Partly because I've been talking to my supervisor (manager of lending) about smarts for about 3 years. EVERYBODY in the loan department has seen the videos on the smart USA web sight and know they are real cars. Our marketing department is even considering wrapping my smart. If the lending manager is willing to listen, respectfully provide him / her with information on the smarts. Hope this helps & good luck!
I called back Pen Fed today and I got ahold of someone much more concerned about our plight. I think her name was Morgana or Jordana? Firstly, she was much more interested in the car. She currently drives a Chevy Metro and likes the idea of the smart. Secondly, she went to her supervisor and when she got a shrug of the shoulder she CC'd everyone in the lending department. She promised me that'd she'd have a supe call me back with an answer.
A supe named LeAnne called back and said that since this was one of the first requests for a smart she would have to take up to with the head of the lending department. BTW if you are ever feeling lonely, call Pen Fed and ask to speak to LeAnne, she's got a GREAT voice
They are supposed to get back to me on Tuesday. Hopefully we can get things worked out and they can rush a check over so I can get my little smart by the end of next week without having to finance somewhere else first. I will keep y'all posted.
After reading your posts, BOY DO I LOVE MY CREDIT UNION.
I spoke with them on Friday.
Based on 5 years 100% financing (incl tax/lic) @ 4.99% with auto payroll deduction or
if I put down 10% then 4.24%
if I put down 20% then 3.99%
I wasn't sure what the car would cost out the door, so we based it on $16,500 and I would do a 10% down and the payment would be $275 a month or $137.50 out of each check.
I think this is pretty good......
If dear hubby does well in the stock market (if the damn thing picks up), we'll pay it off early anyway..
After reading your posts, BOY DO I LOVE MY CREDIT UNION.
I spoke with them on Friday.
Based on 5 years 100% financing (incl tax/lic) @ 4.99% with auto payroll deduction or
if I put down 10% then 4.24%
if I put down 20% then 3.99%
I wasn't sure what the car would cost out the door, so we based it on $16,500 and I would do a 10% down and the payment would be $275 a month or $137.50 out of each check.
I think this is pretty good......
If dear hubby does well in the stock market (if the damn thing picks up), we'll pay it off early anyway..
if you don't mind my asking, what credit union do you belong to?
Many Thrift Savings Plans and 401Ks can make loans to you that you must pay back to your self...
My government TSP will loan me my own money at 4.00% and charge me $50.00 for the privledge...
I pay myself back all the principal and interest as payroll deduction every two weeks.... During the term of the loan I pay myself back exactly the same interest I would have earned by leaving it there...
In my case $30K for the car, upgrades, and a few home improvement projects will cost me $2500 in lost interest that I pay back to myself.... cost to borrow my own money is $2550
Those out there that for what ever reason will not qualify for some of the exceptional interest rates quotes here might explore this option
Many Thrift Savings Plans and 401Ks can make loans to you that you must pay back to your self...
My government TSP will loan me my own money at 4.00% and charge me $50.00 for the privledge...
I pay myself back all the principal and interest as payroll deduction every two weeks.... During the term of the loan I pay myself back exactly the same interest I would have earned by leaving it there...
In my case $30K for the car, upgrades, and a few home improvement projects will cost me $2500 in lost interest that I pay back to myself.... cost to borrow my own money is $2550
Those out there that for what ever reason will not qualify for some of the exceptional interest rates quotes here might explore this option
Is that in an bull market (now bear but it will go back up)that 401k $$$ that you took out will cease to earn money for you. Last year, for example, if you took out $30,000 to buy a car (worst investment one can have, BTW, unless it is a classic car investment) and your portfolio's performance that year was 15%, you would have lost out on $4,500 of gains.
The bigger caveate is this.....you wind up paying taxes on it twice....the first time being when you used after tax $$$$ to repay the loan....the second time being when you take the money out during retirement.
Not good idea to borrow from 401K even though it is your own money.
I'm with Kaiser. It used to be Kaiser Credit Union, but now it's called Kaiser Federal Bank. I'm not certain of the why's for the change and I do not think you have to be a Kaiser employee to join, but again, not sure.
They told me the moment they pulled up my account to let the dealer know that I am pre-approved for purchase. She said I had an excellant Deacon (or was it Beacon?) score........whatever, I've got nice credit.
I've worked for Kaiser for 34 years and always had my accounts with them and used direct deposit and payroll deduction so I'm sure they know I'm a good bet.....
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I will keep y'all posted.
Today
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