Refinancing your car loan is a great way to lower your monthly interest rates or change your loan term. But shopping around for a lender with the most suitable rates and terms can be a time-consuming task. This is where Caribou comes in. Caribou works with a network of lenders, which means that it will shop around on your behalf. If this sounds good to you, read on to see some of the benefits of procuring a loan through Caribou and learn how Caribou’s auto refinance process works.
What Type of Company is Caribou?
Caribou, formerly known as MotoRefi, is an auto refinancing company that has partnered with a group of carefully vetted and high-performing lenders to provide you with an easy and simple way to compare loan offers. The company provides an end-to-end platform for refinancing. What’s more, you can go through the process from the comfort of your couch, since it’s completely online.
Refinancing With Caribou
Caribou is a brokerage company, which means it acts as a middleman between you and lenders. Since it effectively does the shopping for you, Caribou charges a $399 processing fee. If your lender agrees, this fee can be included in your refinanced loan amount. Although $399 may seem steep, Caribou claims that its customers can save $100 and up each month by refinancing through them.
Here are a few other reasons why you may want to refinance through Caribou:
- Since Caribou works with trusted and carefully vetted lenders, you can be assured of competitive rates and professional service.
- The pre-qualification process is super fast. You can expect loan offers within 90 seconds of application submission. Plus, pre-qualifying only includes soft credit checks, so it won’t hurt your credit score.
- The whole loan application process happens online. All the steps you need to take are clearly laid out on the company’s website and are easily accessible.
- You can book live chat appointments with a refinance specialist on the website.
- Caribou has partnered with Uber. The company provides Uber drivers with access to lenders who can refinance their vehicles.
How To Refinance Through Caribou Auto
Refinancing your car through Caribou is straightforward and easy. First, you are supplied with pre-qualified offers. Once you’ve selected an offer, either Caribou or the lender will perform a hard credit check, which involves looking at your credit history to see if you’ve kept up with debt payments and whether there are negative marks on your reports. The hard credit pull will impact your credit score, but only by a few points. The last step of the application process involves submitting and signing documents.
Here is a short overview of the process to give you a clearer idea of how Caribou auto refinancing works:
Provide Your Basic Personal Info
The first step of the application process asks you to provide personal information, such as your address, vehicle make and model, and details regarding your current car loan.
Compare Different Loan Offers
Once you’ve supplied all the necessary info, Caribou matches your criteria with lender criteria and then provides you with competitive, pre-qualified loan options to choose from. The loan offers will include the loan amount, the new interest rate, the loan term, and monthly payments. You also will see how much you’ll save with each refinancing offer.
You don’t need to provide your Social Security number in this step, and a hard credit pull won’t take place at this point. Caribou’s customer support team is available throughout this process to support you, whether you require a different loan term or lower rates.
Finalize Your Refinance
After you’ve selected the loan offer that’s best for you, the application process begins. At this point, the lender will do a hard credit check. If all is OK, you’ll be required to submit documentation that verifies your identity and ownership of the car. Required documentation will include your ID, driver’s license, vehicle registration, auto insurance, proof of residence, and proof of income. You’ll also sign your loan refinance documents online.
What Other Services Does Caribou Offer?
As far as car loans are concerned, Caribou focuses exclusively on auto loan refinancing, which means it does not offer auto purchase loans. However, the company has recently started offering car insurance quotes. This means that clients now have the option of using one application to request refinancing offers and car insurance quotes from a national carrier.
A Few Useful FAQs
What Is the Difference Between the Loan Interest Rate and APR?
Although some people use these terms interchangeably, they refer to different things. Your interest rate is the amount of interest a lender charges for loaning your the money. While the annual percentage rate (APR) includes the car loan interest rate, it also includes other costs, like loan origination fees. Therefore, APR is a more accurate reflection of how much a loan is costing you.
Which Vehicles Can Be Refinanced Through Caribou?
The requirements regarding which types of vehicles qualify for refinancing differ from lender to lender. In general, the vehicle must be a passenger vehicle with less than 120,000 miles. However, if your vehicle has higher mileage, Caribou may still be able to find you a lender.
What Credit Score Do I Need To Qualify for Refinancing?
To pre-qualify for refinancing, you typically need a credit score of 670 to 739, which is regarded as a fairly good credit score. If your credit score falls within this range, lenders will consider you a low-risk borrower. If your credit score is higher, you will have access to lower interest rates.
Refinancing your vehicle through Caribou is quick and convenient. The pre-qualifying process provides competitive and suitable offers within a few minutes, and a customer service agent is always on hand to answer your questions or help customize an offer to better suit your needs and pocketbook. The loan application process is just as easy and streamlined. Since all steps happen online, you can quickly refinance your car from the comfort of your home with Caribou.
At FIXD, our mission is to make car ownership as simple, easy, and affordable as possible. Our research team utilizes the latest automotive data and insights to create tools and resources that help drivers get peace of mind and save money over the life of their car.
