does penfed charge any penalty for a person:

Paying more than the monthly payment each month,
If I get to the beginning of the final year of the loan and decide to pay off the balance.


or if there are penalties for things I haven't listed(and yes of course there are penalty charges if you don't pay or are late or under pay)


And if after a month I decide that I do have money left over I can add, lets just say I make a payment of $5315(my regular payment is going to be 315). Will the 5k go towards principal?

 

Those are good questions. I can answer one of them. PenFed won't charge any fees for early payoff. I know it because I remember I talked with customer service and also I read it online.
For the second question, I assume if you pay more than monthly payment due, extra money would go towards principal. But I'm not sure whether they would make adjustment for monthly payment due or make adjustment at the end of loan term. I guess we need to talk to customer service for that.
I hope this helps.

 

I took a PenFed loan of close to $20,000 but my Mini costs $27,000. I plan on putting a down payment of $7,000 which I can charge to my credit card. Should everything workout?

Also.

I'm trying to pick up my Mini tomorrow evening and my dealer is asking for my insurance company to fax the i.d.card+binder, with the lienholder info( name, address, and phone number). Is that something I can provide on my own?

 

negative. you INS co knows how to do that.
they just need VIN #, and basic info about the car.

after you give that to them, they fax proof of insurance to your dealer.
Its real easy.

Penfed lets you pay extra/month. It takes off the principal..

 

I see thanks! Since I'm exptecting to pick it up tomorrow I'm a little worried I didn't do things correctly. i was planning to give them my penfed check and charge the difference to my credit card. Is that fine?

 

Yep, no problem. It is a requirement to show proof of insurance, so that is why they need them to be faxed.

YOu can split the purchase of a car into 25 different payment types if you want. They dont care as long as the bottom line equals the cost of the sale.

Good luck! You are good to go.

 

Err it looks like my dealership has a $2,000 limit for credit cards. I don't know what to do now.. because I didn't request the full amount for the loan and I still have the difference that I owe. Perhaps I can divide it among several credit cards, or finance the rest through Mini Financial Services?

 

I think every dealer has its own policy on credit card charge. I was initially told that I could only charge $3000 for the purchase of MINI regardless number of different credit card, just total of $3000. I made downpayment of $1000 using my credit card, and when I picked up my car, I thought I could only charge $2000, but manager told me that I could charge $3000, so total of $4000 was charged to my credit card eventually. So if you convince manager, probably he or she will allow you to charge extra $1000 or less, maybe more. Good luck!!

 

I found a good spreadsheet for pricing out a loan

btw, I have no affiliation with this website at all

http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplat...-schedule.html

 

Thanks for your input I appreciate it. I just received e-mail stating it'll be $2000 only for using credit card. I'm trying to look into other payment options besides requesting another check from PenFed. Are money orders purchased from the post office appropriate?

 

If I were you, I would use my personal check instead of money order. If you have money in your bank account, why don't you use your check?

 

If you really want to get pushy, it is a violation of the agreement between ANY business and the credit card companies.

It is in the small print that is signed by the business and the cc company. Businesses that say you must have a minimum amount before charging, or limiting the max amount is all in violation.

Assuming you wont want to press that, talk to your CC company. You can get whats called a cash advance. Get it and put it into your checking account. Prob need a certified check otherwise writing a regular check the dealer wont give you the car until the check clears.

Some CC companies charge you a different interest rate for cash advances vs swiping the card... You have some options here.

 

Heh this whole time I didn't think about my personal check. But my personal check isn't a certified bank check is it? I can't drive off with my Mini until the check clears?

 

correct. You can go to your bank and get a certified check. Sometimes they charge you a small fee like $5. Most dealers will hold the car until you check clears, but if you give them a certified check then you get your car that day.

 

We live in America!!! What kind of dealer won't accept personal check for car purchase? If you write a personal check, manager will provide a legal paper you need sign, which indicates that upon return of your personal check due to insufficient balance or wrong account(fraud), they have right to seize your car back or right to cancel transaction and charge fee. If you don't use your personal check, manager won't provide that paper. I personally wrote my personal check of $2083 and signed the legal paper (I don't remember what it was called.)
Eventually, personal check is a legal document after all, and we live in America. You have right to use your personal check. I don't see why not. Also your whole information such as driver license number, address, SSN, birth date, VIN, and etc. So it would be difficult for you to hid your identity.

 

Heh well I understand I have every right to use it, but since my dealership is one hour away, I don't want to make the trip only to drop it off and drive my new Mini a few days later.. I'm trying to find solutions for me to take it home with me asap! In any case, I will try to get a certified bank check from my bank or if it comes down to it I will mail the check to my dealership or request another loan.Thank you all for your support.

 

I totally understood your position since I was in same shoes 9 days ago. If you are really worried, certified check will be the way to go. But my point is that MINI buyers who have nothing to hide don't need to worry about writing their personal checks and going back home without MINI and coming back again. We, buyers, should have power over dealer, not the other way around.
I hope you do what you need to do to pick up your new born baby. I'm sure you are very very excited. I won't forget the feeling I had on the day and day before I picked up my new baby. It's a real excitement of my life. I've enjoyed my new baby since that day. What a fantastic car!!!! Good Luck!!!!!!!!

 

is it possible to use a penfed check to pay for the car a few weeks before pickup? reason I ask is that I get paid the last day of the month for the whole month. and I think if the last day falls on a weekend day, I get paid on the next first weekday, ie in that case the first or second of the new month.

moral of the story, I don't want to potentially be behind on my payments due to getting paid monthly, and would like to have my payments start on, the lets say, the 7th of every month.

is this possible ? is this not wise for any reason?

 

most banks if you are a customer there will give you a certified check for free. also i just bought a car with a personal check and had no trouble at all. so email them and ask if theywill take a personal check that is the best for you.

 

yes PenFed will withdraw from your account automatically on whatever day you specify. If you owe $398 for your loan they will not take $400 if you request it...If you want to send extra every month you have to do it through billpay from your bank....it's pretty ridiculous if you ask me...

I have to wait 10 business days for my PenFed check to clear....it depends on how long it takes the Federal Reserve to transfer the money to the dealership's account......My car is waiting for me and my check has been cashed but not reconciled........

my bank had a bank check for $10 fee or certified check for $15....both should be as good as cash anywhere.

 

toolazyforalogin so you gave the dealership your Pen Fed check and they wouldn't give you the car for 10 days????

Also you can't pay extra one month if you specify it?
Ok maybe I'm glad I am not going to end up going with Pen Fed after all.

Yes, it's a good rate but they aren't being very cooperative with me so far. I'm going to stick with Mini Financial, it's about a point higher but less hassle for me at least.

 

It is very common on auto loans that when you want to make an extra payment to principal, that you send in a separate check with directions to be applied to principal clearly marked. With some banks, sending in extra payments may not go to principal but rather come off the back end of the loan. Be very specific when you start a loan and ask how the lender handles a principal reduction payment.

 

is the 4.5% a fixed rate with penfed?

and yes, it did go up:(

 

Correct. I gave the dealership the check and have to wait 10 days.

 

was it a preapproved check or certified?

evidently if you get a preapproved check from pen fed, what you described is what happens