Car Insurance, Loan, Purchase, Lease Decisions

Auto Loan Deals at Easy-To-Join Credit Unions - Rates as Low as 4.50%

Before going to a dealership, make sure you get pre-approved for your car loan. Instead of a bank, you should try a credit union. The only problem with a credit union is that you have to be eligible to join. You often can find many local credit unions in which you can be eligible. Here’s a useful credit union locator tool to find local credit unions.

In addition to local credit unions, there are several credit unions that serve members nationally and provide for easy ways to be eligible to join. Easy membership is usually done by allowing you to join an association which is in the credit union’s field of membership. This usually costs between $10 and $40. Once you join that association, you can join the credit union, and once you’re a member of the credit union, you no longer have to maintain membership in that association.

Auto Loan Rates as Low as 5.49%

Two credit unions with easy membership are Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PFCU) and Agriculture Federal Credit Union (AFCU). You can join both of these online, and during the online application, you can also join the qualifying association to meet the eligibility requirements. Both of these credit unions regularly have great auto loan deals. Currently, PFCU is offering rates as low as 5.54% APR for terms from 36 to 72 months. AFCU is offering rates as low as 5.49% APR for terms from 24 to 60 months.

Auto Loan Rates as Low as 4.50%

Justice Federal Credit Union (JFCU) currently has the best auto loan deal. Its current promotion has auto loan rates as low as 4.50% APR for both new and used cars. These rates apply to terms from 24 to 60 months.

JFCU’s membership eligibility is a little bit more restrictive than that of PFCU and AFCU. However, you can still be eligible by joining an association. This has to be done by mail or fax. In addition to this auto loan special, JFCU is offering a $100 sign-up bonus for joining and using its Web BillPay. For more information for joining JFCU, please refer to the Bank Deals Blog.

To decide on the best auto loan term for your needs, check out The Loan Calculator Tool.

China Has Humvees Too (Sort of)

Well, in the past few postings I was focused on the decision making associated with buying a hybrid vehicle - tax incentives, HOV lanes, etc. Then as I was reading one of the China related sites over the weekend I came across a reference to an article on Tom.com

The article is about China’s new crazy vehicle — not to be left behind, China decided to invent its own big beast of a SUV — a copy of the Hummer. Here is an image:

Dong Feng HanMa — you can see for yourself — isn’t this a copy of a Hummer? The specs for the vehicle (according to Tom.com ) show a 8 cyl. AMG engine, 0-80 km/h acceleration of 17sec.; and the price tag is apparently 250K RMB (approx. US$35K). So, how about that? Ready to buy one… More images here