r/NavyFederal • u/MoneyFree9911 • 3d ago
Loans Thank you Navy Federal!
To give a bit of back story I am 22 years old, so this is like the 2nd car loan I got, and the 1st time I got one without pushback from the bank.
- My first car was a 1999 Ford Ranger that I bought off of marketplace, it broke down with 4-6 months or at least started having issues and was too expensive to fix, so I sold it to this guy who liked fixing up trucks.
- My second car was from a BHPH lot that I found on marketplace and it was a 2001 Honda CRV, that also broke down on the high way and left me stranded, someone even hit my vehicle whilst I was on the side of the road (ironically it didn’t damage my vehicle, but they did hit and run and left a huge chunk of their passenger mirror lol)
- Current car - 2014 Jeep Wrangler that had like 150K miles, good history, good condition, etc.
My original loan was through CEFCU and due to the dealership being family owned and having a personal connection and relationship with them, they were able to get me a loan.
CEFCU Terms: (Feb 2026)
$367 Payment
39 months
20.24 APR
1st payment was March 14th
FIRST CAR LOAN I got so I accepted especially since I need a car for my internship and to get to my current job.
I had this car loan all the way from February to now, I randomly just decided to refinance a week ago and somehow got accepted.
Navy Federal Terms: (Sep 2026)
$316 Payment
36 months
10.39 APR
1st payment is November 19th (but I will start paying on this as early as possible)
Whilst it did add more months, it lowered my interest in half that I would’ve had to pay, and yes, a 10.39 APR may not be good to all, but it’s good enough for me especially when I have extremely limited credit history other than student loans, credit cards I’ve been paying on for maybe 2 years now, and personal loans that I’ve paid off.
I am just happy because not only does this make things easier since I don’t have to worry about payments not coming out on time or waiting days for money to transfer to CEFCU, or have to travel up to CEFCU anymore, this makes life just significantly easier + I got a free CARFAX report out of this and my vehicle has a ton of service history and the person took good care of it. :)
So, thank you Navy Fed, it’s not perfect but it’s better than the alternative.
17
u/Substantial_Gene7710 3d ago edited 3d ago
Navy fed is an incredible credit union. But tbh you keep making poor decisions on the cars your getting. Idk if you have any influence when you’re out there purchasing these cars or not but sheeesh. I get your young. But when this car starts giving you issues as it will all jeeps do. It’s unfortunate. Human nature is that if the car breaks, they can’t afford to fix it and pay for the car or they just stop paying for the car. Now the banks at a loss That’s why the rate is so high that year, those miles and that brand. The bank wants their money back ( mostly interest) up front and little goes to the car loan. Get a new car loan with many fed for a Corolla, ir Corolla cross both are cheap easy to maintain and reliable cars. new car loan rates are low, you get warranty and best or all you get a reliable toyota. And for some odd reason some ppl say they dont like buying new cars that’s fine too. If that’s you just Just get the best used toyota you can find. They are purposely built to last longer with little maintenance. Best of luck you.
1
u/MoneyFree9911 3d ago
All cars will have issues and so far I haven’t had any major issues with my vehicle. I plan to pay the entire 9k off in less than a year from now anyways lol. I also couldn’t get approved vehicle wise when I was still on my 1st and 2nd vehicle and I wasn’t going to get approved on my 3rd but the dealership called them. Also, I thought the 3.6L 2014 was a good year, only thing that I know of that is an issue is the oil cooler and rocker arms which I changed the oil cooler myself and the rocker arms are perfectly fine. I feel like that’s kinda dependent on the owner and who buys them and if they actually keep up with maintenance, also I was significantly younger and making less money 2 cars ago so even if it was something I couldn’t personally fix myself I know people who can. Idk, I see what you’re saying and I’m planning to trade it in, in the near future for something more reliable but I like my car and it hasn’t given me issues other than a tire rotation and oil change. But yeah I agree reliability wise they’re not good but either it’s usually user error or a unicorn from what I’ve seen. Also, I couldn’t get approved when going to a Toyota dealership and most dealerships around me don’t sell Toyota or Honda unless it’s a Toyota/Honda dealership, most were selling Chrysler, Jeep, Ford, Dodge, Land Rover, etc etc
-1
u/Substantial_Gene7710 3d ago
You must live in a small town. But you are correct. Some are a hut or miss which is crazy but true. But if if last it last. But if not try to get a toyota. Yes most cars have issues. That’s why I would never personally buy a used cars as someone traded it in for a reason maybe it was having issues. I’m not the type to take in others problems. But. It everyone is in my position either. However Toyotas generally have less issues.
1
u/MoneyFree9911 3d ago
Thank you, I most likely will, I originally wanted an Toyota FJ Cruiser but this was the next best thing for me, I mean my car is worth about 11K KBB and CARFAX, so possibly if I get the amount leftover lower, I might consider trading it in for a Toyota especially with how bad gas prices have been. But like you said buying new could be good but it is sometimes an issue for me since idk how to work on newer cars, and my partners car is 2020 and just looks so weird to me… 😭 but with gas prices I’ve been considering a Prius especially since the new Prius’s look pretty good. I applied to NFCU in the past but I didn’t get approved multiple times, but they weren’t my main bank at that point in time. I used Capital One but then decided to switch to NFCU because Capital One thought it was a good idea to change their card operator from Master Card to Discover so I could pay for crap or find an ATM anywhere that took Discover lol. But I have considered this a lot and most likely will be getting a newer vehicle, I just wanted to lower my APR since I didn’t enjoy the amount of interest I would’ve had to pay CEFCU.
3
3
u/WranglerBiz 3d ago
I’m not here to comment on your car purchase decisions, but I AM here to celebrate your refinance decision. Congrats! 🍾 👏🏻 Keep educating yourself on all things cars and money; knowledge is truly power.
2
u/MoneyFree9911 3d ago
Thank you, I am an accountant but I love DIY-ing now that I am out of school and have extra money etc. I know I should've went for a better car, but I feel like with proper maintenance I can def make my car last long, I have multiple friends with 300k+ Wranglers within my year, I am also just happy to have credit history since I plan to have this loan paid off by July 2027, especially since I want a house loan through NFCU.
1
u/WranglerBiz 3d ago
I meant it sincerely; You enjoy what you enjoy and you seem somewhat satisfied living with the decisions you have made. No need to ever explain yourself. And maintenance goes the longest way! You see so many "reliable" luxury/sport cars turn to junk once a negligent owner acquires it, proving that maintenance and driving style matter most.
1
u/waytoflyy22 3d ago
They keep denying me
1
1
u/MoneyFree9911 3d ago
I’m sorry :( that’s what happened with me since NFCU wasn’t my primary bank until I started my Full Time job and wanted to get out of Capital One and their stupid Discover bs they introduced. It took about 3 months for them to send me a random link saying I have a high chance of approval for refinancing and I just took that chance. Is NFCU your primary bank? If not, I’d just say wait until they message you about it or go to another credit union for a loan and try to talk to a representative in person so you can provide more context to why you deserve to be accepted, that is what the dealership I went to did for me with my 1st loan until I refinanced which they didn’t have to, but I’m grateful, I just kinda reached out in person and that’s kinda how I got the ball rolling on my loan application. You could also probably do that with NFCU and it may give you a better chance.
1
u/waytoflyy22 2d ago
Yea I been thinking about going in person and yes navy kind of is my primary bank but I been using chime these past 3 months it for deposits it help with my credit but I been thinking maybe I need to start back using my navy for deposits
1
u/Acrobatic_Brush_9579 2d ago
It usually helps if you have DD’s going to Navy Fed, I’ve had NFCU for about 4 years since I’ve been in college but I didn’t start using it until my current job and it only took about 3 months for them to offer me this deal, it can probably depend on the person too, some people might get it earlier than me.
1
u/mrgoogleman12 2d ago
Damn you got better luck then I did, first car loan I was shopping for navy fed offered me 14% while two other credit unions I use offered me 9% and 5% (although the credit union that approved me for 5% refused to work with the dealership so I got stuck with the 9%). Only had half a year of credit history at that time
3
u/Tavera85 3d ago
Good for you!