AUTOPAY Refinance Review

AUTOPAY is an online loan broker or aggregator. Customers seeking a new auto loan or wanting to refinance an existing auto loan may find AUTOPAY helpful. The company describes what it does as “Applicant to lender matching and loan coordination.” In other words, AUTOPAY is a middleman between you and the lender you end up working with.

About AUTOPAY Refinance

AUTOPAY is based in Denver Colorado and has been in business for 14 years. Although not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, AUTOPAY does earn an A+ rating. We looked closely at the customer reviews and complaints related to AUTOPAY and they were much better than average.

AUTOPAY refinancing services make sense if you're paying a high interest rate, perhaps because when you first obtained your auto loan, your credit was less than stellar. Now, you’ve improved your creditworthiness, and you may be able to get a better rate. AUTOPAY makes some bold claims. For example, the company says that the average percentage reduction is about 7%. Holy smokes, that means the first loan was at a rate of about 10% or more. AUTOPAY goes further and says that the average savings are just under $100 per month. That is a meaningful amount of money for any family.

AUTOPAY tries to manage borrower expectations by saying, “If we can’t match a lender’s offer, we’ll happily salute you (Congrats!)...” To keep costs low, AUTOPAY uses “...savvy Loan Champions who help you navigate the lending process like a pro.”

AUTOPAY does offer cash-out vehicle refinancing. While this may seem wise in the short term, it is almost always unwise, so be careful. AUTOPAY suggests that you might use that money to pay off a separate higher-interest loan. Great idea. Perhaps to shorten the duration of your loan. Fantastic idea. Or take a vacation. Bad idea. Having less equity in a mainstream vehicle that is depreciating is a bad financial move for almost everyone.

Read more on Average Auto Loan Rates here.

AUTOPAY Reviews

When we list out the best lenders we find in our research, Car Talk generally does not use reviews as part of that ranking process. The reason is simple; Who the heck bothers to go out of their way to do a positive review of an auto loan? Few people do this, it turns out. However, in our research of AUTOPAY, we found the opposite to be true. Our first clue was AUTOPAY’s 3.75-star review rating on BBB. Odd, because most loan companies earn a score near 1.

When we looked at Google Reviews we were very surprised. AUTOPAY earns a 4.7-star review average, and there are over THREE THOUSAND reviews. That’s crazy!

Here is one example, “I called to inquire about refinancing my car to get a lower monthly payment. I gave my information to one of their representatives and the next day Ryan, a loan specialist, contacted me to let me know he was working on my refinance. He was able to get the refinance done in just a few days with a much lower payment. He was great to work with and very responsive to my questions. I would definitely reach out to him again if I needed to finance another car. Thank you Ryan for all of your help.”

Here is a second review from Google of AUTOPAY: “Erik Munir was quick and swift with the turn around time of refinancing my car. I got myself in a bind and needed a car and unfortunately my interest rate was sky high. Erik was able to not only cut my interest rate nearly in half but he was able to save me $150 dollar a month. Erik was very professional and communicated and responded almost instantly. I recommend asking for Erik because honestly, he was the perfect agent.”

The reviews for AUTOPAY almost seem too good to be true. Local Guides on Google are users who do a lot of reviews, and who offer not just all complaints or all love letters. Your author is one. We looked closely to see if some of the Google Reviews were from Local Guides who had posted up multiple other reviews, and in fact that was the case. As far as we can tell, AUTOPAY is an outlier. An auto loan company that folks like so much, they go out of their way to post up a positive review.

Why Consider AUTOPAY Refinance for an Auto Loan

The pitch all aggregators and middlemen make is that they have this vast network of lenders they work with regularly. So, they offer up your deal to their network and whoever wants it the most will offer up the best terms. Cool! You then walk into the new car dealer and negotiate a cash deal. Win-win for you, right? Not always.

Many dealers do not offer their best price to shoppers who are not going to finance through the dealership and automaker’s finance company. In fact, some deals are off the table for those who don’t finance with the manufacturer. We know this to be true from our time researching the best EV deals in New England.

One big upside to having an auto loan from a place like a credit union or a local bank lender is you don’t have to use it. If the deal you get from the dealership is better, you simply use that. Be sure AUTOPAY offers that same option. And be aware that a full approval will be noted on your credit history.

Read more on Common Auto Loan Mistakes here.

How To Apply for an AUTOPAY Refinance Auto Loan

Applying for an AUTOPAY loan is as simple as filling out the forms on the company’s site. First, you do a pre-qualification. This is a general process, and uses estimates of your vehicle costs. AUTOPAY does this type of credit peek that does not negatively impact your credit. Once you know exactly what car you wish to purchase, AUTOPAY does a full credit check and then offers you final terms. If you are not familiar with the difference between a soft and hard credit check, this story may be helpful to you. There is online support to help walk you through the process.

AUTOPAY Refinance Auto Loan Details

AUTOPAY offers three types of auto loan refinancing. Here is a quick snapshot of how they might work for a borrower:

• Traditional

  • Reduce your monthly payment
  • Lower your interest rate
  • Shorten the term of your loan (pay it off faster and with lower overall interest paid)

• Cash-Out Refinancing

  • Get cash back (AUTOPAY suggests up to $12K)
  • Use the cash to pay higher interest loans you might have - great idea!
  • Splurge and spend the money on an electronic dog polisher - awful idea!

• Lease Payoff Refinancing

  • Finance a car at the end of your lease
  • Pay off your lease sooner than its full term
  • Buying a car at the end of a lease can work well if the equity is more than the market value of the vehicle, something very common right now

Pros and Cons

Read more on the Best Auto Loans in the industry here.

Read more about Buying a Car here.