Banking finally moves online
Written: May 06 '05 (Updated May 10 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great rates, full online account management, fast & reliable site, quick service
Cons: some additional requirements over standard banks
The Bottom Line: They have good service, offer everything online, and usually have the best rates. What more can you ask for?
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| nbostaph's Full Review: Capital One Auto Finance |
Overview
Capital One Auto Finance, who 'absorbed' PeopleFirst, is an online finance institution that offers loans for buying and refinancing new and used cars. The entire system is online, offering no real brick and mortar services, but the idea is that they use this online dependence to offer better rates than banks with the additional overhead.
I have personally used COAF (cute acronym, huh? ;) ) for some time now. I refinanced my '99 Trans AM with them, purchased a used '98 GTP some years later through them, and finally recently refinanced my 2002 Firehawk with them. Obviously, they're doing something right as far as I'm concerned.
The Rates
Well, they SAY that their online only attitude allows them to offer lower rates than competitors. You know what? They're right. I've been pleasantly surprised as many institutions that try to take that tact will offer no better deals than conventional brick and mortar offerings. However, COAF consistently appears at the top of the list on Yahoo Finance when I check in, and that's rather often.
The last three times I needed financial services in regards to my vehicles, COAF has offered the absolute lowest rates available. This includes comparisons with several conventional banks, dealership programs, credit unions, and a plethora of online offerings. This is the one area where they truly shine.
The Buying Process
The process is, in my opinion, a world better than the traditional offerings. You do not have to drive to a bank, nor spend hours with a loan officer or sign 100 documents. You fill out a simple application online. They run a credit check and either approve or deny you within minutes. This approval/denial is sent via email and they follow up with you via the phone number you provided. This has happened within 15 minutes every time I've worked with them.
Should you accept their terms they will send you your 'blank check'. In a few days (or the next day if you are willing to pay an extra few dollars), you will receive an instruction sheet along with a check from COAF. The process is rather simple. You fill out the check for the amount of the purchase or refinance, then use it to buy/payoff your car. So the transfer of money is clear and easy to follow.
There are, as always, some documents that you need to sign. Most of them require only signatures, though, and much is prefilled in for you. The entire process is much easier than when I've had to go through dealers or banks. I give them a thumbs up here.
After the Sale
Everything is handled online. In fact, the only way to get the best rates is to setup an electronic transfer of funds. This makes sense as it better insures that they receive their money. So you can easily log in with your social security number and password and view your account status in real time.
The web site is excellent. All of your loans (if you have more than one) are shown on screen with the start date, end date, amount due, etc listed. You can easily drill down into each to get additional information, a payoff quote...even an amortization table of sorts that allows you to see previous payments and how much applied to principle as compared to interest.
The site is fast, reliable, and easy to navigate. They contact information for both mail and email, as well as their phone number, are easily accessible. I've never mailed anything to them, but have used email several times and the phone on rare occasions. Every time they have been helpful and I left feeling like I had a good customer service experience.
Payoff and Leaving
I had to sell my GTP about a year and a half ago. I have to admit that I was a little annoyed with COAF at the time, but I don't think that was an honest emotion. I was annoyed at banks in general, and how they don't offer a good way to sell a car that you have an outstanding loan on.
See, to put it simply, until you pay your car off the bank technically owns it. Now, to sell it to another person, you need to transfer ownership. The buyer won't generally give you much money until you do that. However, you can't do that unless the ownership is yours. Of course, how do you get ownership when you don't have enough money to pay off the loan? It's circular. I swear, the first business to offer assistance in situations like this as a third party will make an absolute KILLING.
Despite that, my experience was positive. I was loaned a few thousand dollars by my parents to pay the car off. I signed online, printed my payoff quote, and had everything in an envelope ready to send less than ten minutes after I started. Mailed it the next day. No more than two weeks later everything was taken care of and I was ready to sell my car.
There were no hassles of any kind. There were no delays of any kind. I would like to be able to say the support staff was helpful too, but I can't...I never had need to contact them.
Drawbacks
So what were the drawbacks? None that I can really see. Though I will try to nitpick for fairness:
They require an automatic funds transfer be setup for you to get their best rate. This is easily accomplished and I have never had any problem with it. I would think that most people would find this preferable anyway, as they don't have to worry about remembering to send the check each month. However, it is an extra requirement above other banks, so worth noting.
They don't like repeat customers. Alright, that was more of a joke line ;). I've been treated well through my dealings. However, I find it strange that they refuse to refinance a vehicle whose current loan is also through them. I need to refinance my Hawk right now, but I have a COAF loan. Since they refuse to refinance it, I'm moving to another bank. I don't want to, but they left me little choice. I find this confusing, and definitely a drawback, but something that won't affect many people.
Conclusion
Despite one or two quirks, as mentioned in the last section, Capital One is a first rate choice for financing your vehicle. I've used them in the past, and will use them again in the future. They have good service, offer everything online, and usually have the best rates. What more can you ask for?
As always, please feel free to email me with any questions.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
nbostaph
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Member: Nicholas Bostaph
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 6 members
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