Auto Loan Pre-Approval

You may be able to get car loan pre-approval from a dealership, but you will be limited to buying from that dealership and you may be limited by the terms that the dealer offers. With an auto loan pre-approval from SCCU, you're free to shop at any dealership in Florida! That means you can shop around and find the most car for your money. 

You don't have to already be a member of SCCU to take advantage of our auto loan pre-approval process! Should you ultimately qualify for a loan on a new or used car with us, we will process both your car loan application and your new SCCU membership application at the same time, which gives you access to the full range of SCCU membership benefits.

A pre-approval is not a binding commitment from a lender that it will give you a loan. Pre-approval is an interim step to final approval that lets you know how much you can afford and that gives you information that a dealership or other seller views as proof of your ability to get financing. Only a loan approval is a guarantee that you will get the loan, but pre-approval from a reputable lender such as SCCU is an excellent indication to sellers that you are a good candidate for receiving a loan for a specified amount. Being pre-approved can strengthen your buying power and help you stay on budget.

You do not have to make any down payment during the pre-approval process as you would during the formal loan process. You should factor in your down payment amount; however, when calculating the amount you plan to finance.

Auto loan pre-approval is an option that's offered by many finance auto purchase lenders. The pre-approval process allows prospective car buyers to find out what their auto-buying budget is, what specific auto loan programs are available to them, and what their interest rate may ultimately be when they close on the loan. At SCCU, we make pre-approval easy: You can apply online, call us at 800-447-7228, or stop by your local SCCU branch office. Once you are pre-approved and find the car or truck you want to buy, the process is simple: The dealer will fax a Buyer's Order to SCCU, then when it's time to close on your loan, we offer the convenience of online loan closing through Express Sign.

SCCU makes auto loan pre-approval fast and simple. You can get pre-approved in just minutes, either online or by calling us:

• Brevard: 321-752-2222
• Broward: 954-704-5000
• Miami-Date: 305-882-5000
• All other areas: 800-447-7228

 And after you've found the car you want at the price you can afford, you can even close your new auto loan online with our convenient Express Sign online. It's free, fast and secure.

At SCCU, auto loan pre-approvals are good for 30 days. If you need an extension of the application beyond 30 days, please contact us.

Although there is no requirement to get pre-approval from a lender before you purchase a new or used car, we recommend it! There are a number of advantages to being pre-approved, including knowing exactly how much you can afford to spend on a new or used car or truck and having a stronger negotiating position with sellers. Being pre-approved can help you as you research the types of cars you're interested in, letting you narrow down your choices to the models, model years, and features that you know are within your pre-approved loan amount. In effect, car loan pre-approval makes you a "cash" buyer in the eyes of sellers, so it's a smart way to shop for your next vehicle.

Pre-qualification can be a first step toward understanding how much car you can afford, and what your payments and interest rate may be, but it does not include the critical steps of having your credit report and other financial information reviewed, which is part of the pre-approval process. The pre-approved auto loan process can bring you closer to a loan offer than pre-qualification, and sellers or dealerships will know that you are a good candidate for obtaining a loan for a certain amount when you have pre-approval in hand. At SCCU, we make the car loan pre-approval process fast, simple and easy to understand. Contact us if you have questions about pre-approval vs. pre-qualification or, if you're ready to get started on becoming pre-approved for an auto loan, apply online now!

Getting pre-approved for an SCCU auto loan does affect your credit score. Here's why: Lenders can make what's referred to as a "hard" credit inquiry or a "soft" one. Hard credit inquiries are done when a formal application for credit has been made with a credit union, auto dealer, bank, or other type of lender. The lender will contact one or more of the credit bureaus to get your score and your credit report, and such contacts are tracked by the credit bureaus. Although there are exceptions, a high number of these inquiries on your record may be taken as a negative sign, which can lower your credit score. A soft inquiry, on the other hand, is made by a lender that's checking your credit before the formal loan process is executed. Our process for a pre-approved car loan is an example of a hard inquiry, and it's done to gauge how likely a prospective buyer is to qualify for a loan.

It depends. You will have to read the contract from your leasing company. If they offer the option to buy out your lease, then we’ll be happy to help you finance a lease buyout.

Once you obtain the necessary documents, such as your lease contract, from the leasing company, you can submit them to us and start the auto loan application. Please note, the lease contract will usually have an expiration date and it is recommended that you contact us at least 90 days before this date in order to figure out which documents you need from the leasing company, and when would be a good time to submit your loan application.

The DMV charges a flat fee of $500 for tax, tag, and title that can be financed into your loan.

Unfortunately, we can’t process title changes with a lease buyout. The title must stay in the lease owner’s name. Once you receive your registration documents from us, you can add or remove names from the title through the DMV.

No, all lease buyouts have to be signed in person, as the DMV requires a physical signature for all title changes.

It typically takes around 60 days for the leasing company to provide us with the vehicle’s title and another two or so weeks to process the title change through the local DMV. In total, it may take up to 90 days for you to receive your registration documents by mail.