In this review, we’ll look at Consumers Credit Union auto loans to help you decide if CCU’s auto financing and refinancing are right for you. We’ll cover the credit union’s reputation, loan details, rates, customer experience and more. We’ll also compare it to other lenders with competitive rates and features to help you find the best auto loan rates and the best auto refinance rates.
Year founded: 1930
Headquarters: Gurnee, Ill.
BBB rating: A+
Consumers Credit Union provides auto financing and refinancing for new and used vehicles, RVs, motorcycles and boats. While all of the credit union’s branches are in Illinois, its auto loans are available nationwide. In addition to auto loans, it offers personal loans, a range of home loans and banking products such as credit cards and checking accounts.
If you’re approved for a Consumers Credit Union auto loan and have excellent credit, you could get an APR as low as 5.24%. The credit union’s minimum APRs vary based on the age of the vehicle you want to buy or refinance. Its flexible terms mean there’s no minimum or maximum loan size and you have up to 84 months to pay your loan off.
Source: Automoblog
CCU offers prequalification, which doesn’t affect your credit. It also offers a preapproval option if you use the car-buying service through TrueCar.
You only pay interest on the unpaid balance of your auto loan, and you could get an interest rate reduction of up to 0.25% for opting into auto pay. Additionally, there’s no prepayment penalty if you pay your car loan off early and no loan application fee. You must join CCU to get an auto loan. Membership requires a one-time fee of $5.
Minimum loan payments vary depending on your loan offer. A car loan calculator can help you find out what your monthly payments might be.
*Rate range as of January 24, 2023
Below are the lowest auto loan rates Consumers Credit Union advertises.
*Rates as of January 24, 2023
Below are the starting APRs for model years 2016 and older:
*Rates as of January 24, 2023
Consumers Credit Union doesn’t disclose the exact factors it uses to evaluate potential borrowers. However, lenders typically consider these things when you apply for a loan:
To qualify for Consumers Credit Union auto loans, borrowers must be at least 18 years old and have a minimum credit score of 640. CCU is available nationwide.
To become a member of Consumers Credit Union (which is required for getting an auto loan), you need to pay a one-time, $5 membership fee to the Consumers Cooperative Association.
Consumers Credit Union auto loans are easy to apply for thanks to a five-step process:
Though Consumers Credit Union’s website doesn’t specify application requirements, the following examples are common and will give you an idea of what to have ready:
Here are a few other services and products to consider along with a Consumers Credit Union auto loan:
While Consumers Credit Union has an A+ rating and accreditation from the BBB, it has low customer review scores on the company’s site, earning an average of 1.7 out of 5.0 stars. More than 60 BBB customer complaints have been closed in the last three years.
Customers on Trustpilot rate Consumers Credit Union an average of 2.3 out of 5.0 stars, but this is based on only a handful of reviews. Our review team gives CCU a rating of 6.4 out of 10.0 for its customer experience.
The positive reviews for Consumers Credit Union are sparse. Some consumers mention a fast application process and attention to the customer’s financing needs, as well as a user-friendly website and mobile app.
Most of the negative reviews relate to customer service. Numerous users mention mistakes by customer service representatives and being placed on hold for a long time. Some reviewers warn others about poor management of third-party contacts and lowered credit scores due to false reports about missed payments.
Our review team reached out to Consumers Credit Union for a comment on its negative customer reviews and low customer experience ratings but did not receive a response.
Overall, we rate Consumers Credit Union auto loans highly. However, it’s important to pay attention to the company’s many negative customer reviews. Before moving forward with any auto lender, compare providers’ offers to find the best one for you.
It’s important to shop around to find the best lender for you. Here are two comparable auto loan providers to take into consideration.
MyAutoloan accepts borrowers with FICO scores as low as 575, meaning even those with poor credit may get loan approval. The company connects applicants in 48 states with lenders offering new and used car financing, lease buyouts, private-party loans and refinancing. In our review of myAutoloan, we named it Best Low-Rate Option because of its low starting APRs for people with excellent credit.
Keep reading: myAutoloan review
Available in all states for borrowers with a minimum credit score of 575, Autopay offers auto loans with terms lasting 24 to 96 months. We gave the company the title of Most Well-Rounded because of its many loan options, which include new and used auto financing, standard and cash-out refinancing and lease-buyout loans.
Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best auto loan companies. We collected data on dozens of loan providers to grade the companies on a wide range of ranking factors. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the companies that scored the most points topping the list.
Here are the factors our ratings take into account:
Our credentials:
*Data accurate at time of publication.