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Loaners and Loan SharksMay 17 '02 Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Cars
The Bottom Line Plan ahead!
This Review is about WFS Financial, WFS is a lending company. In my process of buying a car, the lending company has been one of the biggest decisions I had to make. I could not find the exact right catagory. I think it applies to buying a car because most people will need a loan. My main point is this, when buying a car, if you need a loan, please try and get the best company you can for the loan. I believe in keeping my money locally, and if you feel the same way, go to the smaller banks around and see what they have to offer. Do not believe the car dealer when they say "This is the only company that would accept you" That may not be true. I have heard rumors that they get a kickback from some lending companys. I know now that WFS was not the only company that would accept me. Of course, they are not going to research who will be best for you. I have heard rumors of Ford dealers just running your credit thru Ford Credit, and if you are buying a used car, they will almost always deny you. Other stories I have heard is that if you get approved for a 10% Interest rate, the dealer will come back and tell you it was 12.9% and they pocked the rest. You can do the math, but I know a couple percent can add up to thousands of dollars that should be in your bank account. Be prepared when you go in. I would seriously recommend getting a loan before you even look for a car. Find a price range and go to your bank, or a trusted lender in your area BEFORE you even go shopping for a car. That way you can find out what your price range might be. You will be prepared to get the car you want, and know the price you need to get it at. Another point is do not trust the dealer to get you the best interest rate when they tell you they can finance you. They will start with the most likely company that will finance you because that is less work then trying for the best. They will try for the worst first. Here is my story One fine day in January 2001 I wanted to buy a truck. I have questionable credit, and knew I would not get the best interest rate. So going in I expected to get a high rate. Eventually I found a truck I liked, and had a good amount to put down. I then applied for credit. As it turned out, WFS was the only financial institution that would accept my terms. My interest rate Here is the kicker, the approved me with a Twenty One Percent Interest rate. I talked to WFS over the phone and the person promised me after a year of paying my payments on time, they would cut that rate in half. And I thinking nobody else would accept my credit, I took on the loan. One Year Later Here we are today, I was just turned down for the second time to refinance my loan with WFS. I had paid all my payments on time. They would not explain to me over the phone saying that they just accept the applications and then turn them over to some obscure company that does not explain things. I was actually upset. The payoff on my truck had gone down to half the blue book, and I know they have nothing to lose at this point to refinance me. I then took my loan to a small bank in my hometown, and they were happy to lower my interest rate to Nine Percent Saving me over four thousand dollars in the process. Why is this? Because WFS is a bad company to deal with, they are too big, and do not care about the costomers. I tried to tell someone about their promises and could not reach someone who cared. They did state I could talk to someone with the company if I sent them a letter requesting a phone call. Let me reiterate, I had to send a letter requesting a phone call. They are just trying to make it hard for me, hoping I forget about it. Online help When getting a loan, try and check out the companies website before you get the loan. You can find out alot. As for some of the nuts and bolts of the company WFS, they have a decent website that is up to date. Fairly easy to navigate. You can check your balance of your loan, request a payoff amount that is good for two weeks, unless your balance changes by a payment. Phone customer service Another idea is to get the 800 number of the lending agency interested in your loan, and calling it, find out how long it takes to get a real person on the phone, as per WFS, On a few occasions I have spoken to them on the phone they have been at lease polite, although any serious questions have to be delt with thru the mail. They did call me countless times once when my payment was over ten days late, and my payment had just been delayed in the mail. Overall They let you have 14 days for a late payment, and that is four more days that most other lenders. The statements are sent every month on time, and very clear as to where your money is going (All interest) Most companies will give you ten days for a late grace period, find out if you will need more, find a company that better suits your needs. I just want to make it clear that they lied to me, trying to get my loan. I followed the rules they set, and they did not follow thru. Never take a loan that is as high as twenty one percent. On my truck alone that was Ten thousand dollars In interest in only four years. They only good thing I can say about the company is that they are a legitimate lending institution. Overall I would not deal with this company ever again, and do not recommend it for the reason that they lied to me about the refinance, and hearing my local banks opinion on how they "screw" people. I would say if you have to deal with these people because of bad credit, go ahead, they are a legit business, but 21 percent ?  |
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