Capital One Auto Finance Consumer Reviews Capital One

It's exactly what they say it is.  

-You apply
-They give you the basic terms of your approval
-You get a check in the mail a few days later
-You follow their directions
-You buy a car.

I was skeptical at first and looked up reviews.  I saw a lot of positives but some negatives as well.  I REALLY hate car dealers and the idea of having the financing worked out ahead of tme was most appealing.

So, I figured what the heck, I would give it a shot.  After all, if nothing els, nothing said that I HAD to use the check.

I applied, the terms were favorable.  I got the package with the check in the mail a few days later.

I carefully read the instructions and followed them to the tee.  Really, all you have to do is fax them proof of income, copy of your DL and some references.

I found a dealer on their list (for the most part, any major car dealer is going to be on their list.  You will find some of the mom and pop shops not in there...which is too bad as a lot of times they are the best places to go).  But alas, point is, there was no trouble locating approved dealers.

I picked out what we wanted and battled the dealer on price for a bit.

Note - and I think that this might be what can mess people up - you have to understand the Loan to Value limits.  And they are generous too.  Often up to 110%.  However, you have to understand that this will include taxes, and any add-ons you get.   And for new cars, it's not based on the MSRP.  It is based on the "invoice" price.  This is the price that the dealer paid for the car.  I found that cars.com had a tool that allowed you to build out your model and easily find out what the invoice price was.  Figure 110% of that (or whatever your LTV is) and that is what the absolute max your "amount financed" can be.  If you have a trade in or put some cash down, this shouldn't be an issue.  If you are trying to do a zero down kind of thing or roll in money owed on a trade in...it might get tricky and you will have to really crunch the numbers.

After agreeing on price, I signed the appropriate docs and signed over the check to them.  I was driving away that day and all was funded within a week or so. 

I read some reviews that said that the dealer did not like the system and claimed that it wasn't legit..etc..

That was NOT the case with me.  While the dealer did of course try to talk me into financing through them (they often tack on a bit to your interest rate in order to make more money..a financing fee they call it...a lot of people don't realize that), I just solidly told them that I was sticking with Capital One and they quickly backed off.  They had no issues processing everything and in fact commented on how the Blank Check purchases are actually really easy for them (less paperwork on their part).

As long as they continue to offer competitive rates, I don't really see myself going any other route for car financing.

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