PenFed Credit Union Car Loans

PenFed advertises great auto refinance rates, but try getting one of the low ones. My FICO score is 850, literally no outside debt other than a low mortgage payment, excellent annual income, and an excellent debt to equity ratio (I owe $30k, and the car is valued at $56,000), and still, I was offered horrible rates. I am currently at 5.56% and wanted to refinance with a rate similar to my current rate, but all PenFed offers were over 6% for the same term. Don't fall for their low-rate advertising.

I joined recently because my godmother suggested I give them a try, and she recently purchased a new car and received favorable rates. It's been about 3 months, so I called and asked about credit cards and car loans and was told something that didn't make sense. So, I made the mistake of going to the Alexandria branch to make a deposit, get cashier's checks, and ask questions. After waiting approximately 20 minutes, I went to the teller and he told me his terminal was down and he couldn't process any cashier's checks, and directed me to go to the teller who could print checks. I stepped to the side to allow 3 other people to go ahead of me. By now it's at least 30 minutes. I went to the teller I was previously directed to, and to my surprise, he also told me he could not print checks either. I was flabbergasted. Nonetheless, I waited again and got to another teller who was professional and was able to print my check, make my deposit, and pointed out the branch manager. So, I asked to speak with her and she sort of brushed me off, then stated she had to assist someone else. So I stood to the side and waited. While doing so, I watched another person walk in and the same branch manager attended to her while I was waiting. I didn't say anything, I just waited. Then she went back to the people she was previously helping when she told me to wait. While waiting, she calls over another employee and sends him over to me. He asked if I needed help; I explained I was waiting for the branch manager. So he continued to ask, and I again explained I had been and will continue to wait for the branch manager. He then proceeded to tell me he is also a branch manager. I was caught aback and asked him three more times because in 30-plus years I have never seen a bank with 2 branch managers. To my knowledge, it's one branch manager and an assistant branch manager. I asked the gentleman if he was the assistant or branch manager. He then responded with, "I can help." I held firm again, stating I wanted to speak to who I was advised is the branch manager. Then the branch manager calls over to him and asked him what I wanted, as if I am not standing there. So now, I must admit I am curious about why she is doing everything but coming to talk to me. He tells her something, and after several more minutes, she finally comes over and asks, "What was it you wanted?" I was caught off guard and I responded by asking why it was so difficult for her to speak with me. She became abrupt, aggressive, and disrespectful. In fact, I felt some sort of discrimination. So I asked her if she was the branch manager and advised I was a customer who waited as she asked me to, and reminded her I was a customer and I had a question. She gave me a look of disdain, so I turned and walked away and went to the teller to ask for the branch manager's name and number for customer service. He obliged and gave me the information, and I went and sat in my car, in the parking lot, and called customer service to lodge a complaint. I am awaiting a response. You know, I wrote a lot but I wanted to share content to affirm what others have said: customer service is lacking, to say the least. I will wait 48 hours for a response; if not, I will close my accounts and go elsewhere.

I had never envisioned myself providing negative feedback regarding this credit union. I became a member of PenFed in 2017 with the intention of purchasing an Audi R8, a loan that no other institution was willing to approve. However, PenFed not only approved the loan but also offered the lowest APR available in the market. Throughout the process, the loan officer I corresponded with via email was exceptionally kind and helpful. She went out of her way to personally mail my check and advised me not to miss out on securing the car.

After successfully paying off my Audi R8 in 2019, I sought another loan in 2021 for a Mercedes AMG63. To my delight, PenFed approved the loan without requiring any additional documentation. Over the past seven years, I have been a dedicated customer who has never missed a payment.

Unfortunately, it seems that PenFed's customer service has shifted towards automation through bots or AI systems, resulting in a lack of personalized assistance for members like myself. Recently, when applying for an auto loan to purchase a BMW, I was surprised when prompted by an AI system to provide tax returns from the past two years.

I expressed my dissatisfaction to them regarding their treatment towards me, stating that I was not pleased with it. The following day, they withdrew my loan application without providing any clarification. I believe that requesting tax returns for a seven-year loyal member to approve a car loan may not be necessary, considering the sensitive nature of these documents.

Credit unions are designed to assist and uphold their members rather than operating with a profit-driven mindset akin to corporations. I kindly advise all readers to steer clear of this organization. Regardless of the duration of your business relationship with them, their lack of friendliness is evident. Communication with them often involves interactions with automated systems. It's really heartbreaking, almost like saying goodbye to a close friend you've relied on for a long time.

*Update: I successfully secured a car loan from a smaller credit union by submitting my bank statements from the past three months. 0% down but the APR is 1% higher than PenFed.

This company is a fraudulent setup. I didn't even know I was opening a bank account. I only went to the dealer to purchase a vehicle, but when I left, I had a bank account with PenFed. They are also scam artists. My vehicle was a total loss; therefore, on the date of loss, I removed my insurance because the other party's insurance was covering the vehicle. They immediately tried to charge me for insurance with their company. Run as fast as you can, and if a dealer pushes this as your lienholder, you should examine the dealership carefully; they're fraudulent too.

Every few months, they add $2,700 to the loan, claiming I didn't pay the car insurance! I have to jump through several hoops to get them to remove it!

This company is very disorganized or has a significant lack of training for their call center for car loans. I was told after seven days of Penfed having my financials that I was qualified for the loan, and they just needed the VIN. So, I went out and bought a car. When I gave them the VIN, they gave me significantly worse terms than quoted. The problem was that they didn't recognize my income as a small business owner beyond what I pay myself in salary. So, I got my wife to co-sign. But three more times, they called for information they could have obtained before I was scrambling to qualify AFTER buying the car. I went with a different company and got a better rate ultimately, anyway. Don't fall for their bait and switch tactics!

Pure trash. It took over two weeks to process a simple used car loan despite a good credit score. The car ended up being sold to someone else. Meanwhile, they failed to notify me, took two weeks, and then negligently performed a hard credit check without authorization.

Horrible customer service. I got a new phone number and that itself looks my account! Cannot get anyone to change my phone number so I can pay online. I sent a colored copy ( why?? I don't know) of my cell phone bill and a copy of my dl but it was not good enough. I'll see in a few days if I'm going to be able to pay over the phone. If not I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Thank God I only owe 3 more payments. These people are terrible.

Poor service! Don't work with them! The software platform is crappy. The people are incompetent. The charge hefty fines after 3 day of due date. They increase my percent rate because they failed to process the title or execute their paperwork. Just a BAD experience!

The level of incompetence with this credit union is unbelievable a simple auto loan, and they couldn’t get that right, I dealt with person after person, and they wound up canceling my loan after it was preapproved because they couldn’t figure out that they had to pay a lender and a seller for a vehicle I was purchasing