Securing a car loan can help you purchase your dream car. Buying your first car to get you around town? Need a bigger vehicle for your growing family? No matter your needs, First Federal can help you get your car loan. With extremely quick approval turnaround and competitive market rates, our car loans can place you in the driver seat.
Looking to buy a motorcycle for the open road? Need a boat for the lake? Camping in the great outdoors with your family? We offer auto loans for motorcycles, boats, and RVs! Contact our team to discuss loan options today.
If you’re unfamiliar with car loans, check out some helpful links below. Otherwise, feel free to reach out to our consumer lending team with any questions!
A car loan is often a secured loan that is used to purchase your desired vehicle. The vehicle serves as collateral for the loan. If you default on your repayments, the lender can seize, or repossess, your automobile. Car loans are often repaid in installments. The lender retains ownership over your vehicle until you completely repay the car loan, similar to a mortgage.
Car loans can be offered as a secured and unsecured loan. As mentioned previously, a secured loan requires the borrower to put up collateral until the loan is paid in full. If you fail to make your payments, then the lender can repossess your vehicle. Secured loans tend to have lower interest rates, higher borrowing limits and longer repayment options (or terms).
Unsecured car loans require no collateral as it’s simply a line of credit. The rate issued to you is based on your credit score. If you fail to make your payments, your debt is sold to a collection agency since there’s no collateral for the lender to seize. These tend to have higher interest rates because they pose more risk to the lender. Unsecured loans may also be called personal loans.
When you are approved for a loan, you receive your money in a lump sum which is determined by your credit score and other factors through the application process. Then you’ll pay it back over time. The length often depends on what terms are available and which one fits your budget. The amount you borrow, the time you take to repay the loan, and your interest rate all determine your monthly payment.
Ultimately, it comes down to your financial goals and priorities. You should be asking yourself these questions:
Use our car loan calculator to determine how much you’ll need to borrow and what your monthly payment will be. Feel free to contact our consumer lending team with your questions.
Market rates can fluctuate and over time you may find yourself with more money in your budget. Refinancing your current car loan with new rates or a shorter term can save you money each year, just like refinancing a mortgage can.
The primary purpose of refinancing a car loan is decreasing the overall cost of the loan as well as lowering your monthly payment. If you’re trying to determine if refinancing is the right option for you, ask yourself these questions:
When you refinance your car loan, you have two options: traditional refinancing or cash back refinancing.
When it comes to traditional refinancing, your lender will completely pay off your old loan and provide a new loan with new terms. Just like your old loan, it’ll be at a fixed interest rate and fixed term.
Cash bank refinancing works similarly to traditional refinancing, but you’ll borrow against the equity in your vehicle. If your car has a higher appraised value but your loan is much lower, you have equity in your vehicle. For example, you have $10,000 car loan but your car appraises at $15,000, you have $5,000 in equity in your car. You’ll then receive a check for the amount of equity you wish to borrow against your vehicle. The amount you borrow is added to your new loan and you receive a new interest rate and term.
Ultimately, you should contact your bank and ask if refinancing is right for you.
We believe everyone should be the boss of borrowing. That’s why we have a team of lending consultants ready to answer questions and help you navigate the process.
*Annual Percentage Rate (APR) as low as 3.00% available, subject to credit approval. Programs, offers, rates, terms and conditions are subject to change and expiration without notice and vary based on creditworthiness, qualifications, collateral, and loan terms.