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Reviewed By
Reviewed By
Published: Oct 12, 2022, 5:00am
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, Auto Approve is an online lending platform that offers vehicle and motorcycle refinancing as well as lease buyout loans through a nationwide network of banks, finance companies and credit unions. Loan amounts range from $5,000 to $85,000, and repayment terms generally extend from 12 to 84 months, depending on the lender and other factors.
While Auto Approve publishes its minimum available interest rate (2.94% as of Oct. 5, 2022), your actual rate could vary depending on the lender you work with as well as your financial profile. Additionally, the company doesn’t disclose its maximum rate, which means borrowers could encounter high annual percentage rates (APRs) through the platform—so it’s a good idea to prequalify beforehand to see what rate you’re likely to get approved for.
Despite this lack of transparency around rates, Auto Approve reports that its customers save more than $100 per month on average by refinancing with the company. We made several attempts to ask Auto Approve further questions regarding its rates and loan features but received no response.
Auto Approve offers refinancing for several types of vehicles as well as lease buyout loans. These loans range from $5,000 to $85,000 and come with terms from 12 to 84 months.
Both loan options allow borrowers to add a vehicle protection plan, which covers work by mechanics certified by Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), 24/7 roadside assistance, rental car reimbursements and courtesy towing.
The company also works with borrowers to ensure they have GAP insurance on new loans. The costs of both this insurance as well as the vehicle protection plan are rolled directly into your monthly payments.
Auto Approve’s main offering is refinancing for cars and motorcycles, but the company also provides refinancing for trucks, SUVs, recreational vehicles (RVs), boats and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Note that Auto Approve doesn’t refinance commercial vehicles, heavy equipment or vehicles that are titled in a company’s name.
According to the company, most of its refinancing customers benefit from lower monthly payments.
Auto Approve provides two types of lease buyout loans:
Get up to 4 loan offers in minutes at myAutoloan.com.
Auto Approve doesn’t publicly disclose the credit requirements or other underwriting criteria for any of its products. However, these will likely vary depending on which of its partner lenders you work with.
Additionally, the company says that you’ll need a credit score of at least 730 and must choose a loan term of at least 72 months to qualify for its lowest advertised interest rate. Ultimately, whether you’ll be approved as well as what rate you’ll get will depend on your creditworthiness, payment terms, the vehicle being financed and the individual lender.
Auto Approve fees vary by state and lender as well as if you’re refinancing or buying out a lease. For refinancing, you can generally expect administrative fees, doc fees, title transfer fees and state fees (if applicable), though you won’t have to worry about an application fee. These fees are incorporated into your loan amount, which means there won’t be any out-of-pocket fees for completing your refinance.
Note that you could also incur additional costs for optional plans like GAP insurance or extended warranty coverage.
If you want to work with Auto Approve, follow these steps:
If your application through Auto Approve is rejected, contact the lender you applied with to find out why. If it’s a situation where the application contained inaccurate or incomplete information, you might be able to reapply.
Other common reasons for denials include insufficient income, low credit score or too much debt. If your application was rejected for one of these reasons, you’ll need to focus on improving that specific area to potentially get approved in the future.
You could also think about applying with a creditworthy co-signer to increase your approval chances. Keep in mind that a co-signer agrees to share responsibility for the loan. This means they’ll be on the hook if you don’t make your payments—so be sure to consider what you can reasonably afford to pay on the loan.
Also be sure to shop around and compare your options from as many lenders as possible. Some lenders have less stringent requirements than others, so you could have better luck with one versus another. This might also help you find a better interest rate.
Current and prospective borrowers can contact Auto Approve via phone or email. The lender’s customer support team is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central Standard Time.
These hours are more limited compared to many other auto lenders, which could make it harder to reach a representative. That said, Auto Approve provides online resources and a list of frequently asked questions to help its customers.
As of Oct. 5, 2022, Auto Approve’s Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating is 4.41 out of 5.00 stars based on 432 customer reviews. The BBB has closed 42 complaints in the last 12 months and 66 complaints over the last three years.
The company has received an A+ rating from the BBB—though keep in mind that these ratings don’t factor in customer reviews. Instead, it’s based on how the company responds to complaints, its size, time in business and other factors.
Auto Approve has received a 4.7 star rating on Trustpilot based on 5,291 reviews as of Sept. 7, 2022. Positive reviews focus on the high quality of customer service provided by loan representatives and the streamlined application process. That said, customers also report slow loan payoff speeds and disorganized communication as well as a confusing application and refinancing process.
Get up to 4 loan offers in minutes at myAutoloan.com.
We reviewed Auto Approve based on 16 data points in the categories of loan details, loan costs, eligibility and accessibility, customer experience and the application process. We rated Auto Approve based on the weighting assigned to each category:
Within each major category, we also considered several characteristics, including available loan amounts, repayment terms, APR ranges, applicable fees and available discounts. We also looked at minimum credit score requirements, maximum accepted mileages, whether each lender accepts co-signers or co-borrowers and the geographic availability of the lender.
Finally, we evaluated Auto Approve’s customer support tools, borrower perks and features that simplify the borrowing process—like online application options, mobile apps and turnaround time.
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