Chase Auto Loans Review 2024

Pros Explained

• No down payment required: Making a down payment is always useful to reduce the amount you’re financing (and your monthly payment). But if you don’t have one, that’s not necessarily a barrier to buying a car through Chase. 
• Offers auto loan pre-qualification: Pre-qualification gives you an idea of whether or not you’ll qualify for financing, and only requires a soft credit check, which doesn’t lower your credit score. It’s useful, but you’ll have to formally apply to find out your actual annual percentage rate (APR) and gain final approval.
• High lending limits: Chase’s highest stated potential loan amount for qualified borrowers is $1 million, the highest available among lenders we surveyed. 
• Discounts for Chase Private Clients: If you’re a Chase Private Client customer, you’ll get a 0.25% discount off standard rates on your auto loan. 

Cons Explained

• Doesn’t offer refinancing: Unlike many other lenders, Chase doesn’t offer car loan refinancing. Chase only offers loans for purchasing a new or used car. 
• Not all cars qualify: Chase sets limits on the types of used autos you can borrow for—and will say no to vehicles more than 10 years old, vehicles with more than 120,000 miles, certain exotic makes, and vehicles you plan to use for rideshares, among others.
• No RV or motorcycle loans: While some competitors lend for RVs and motorcycles, Chase does not. 
• Only available at partner dealerships: Your Chase auto loan application can only be used at the specific dealerships partnering with the bank, and many of the dealerships are franchised rather than independent. If you apply for a loan and decide later to buy a car from another dealership, you’ll need to apply for a new auto loan. 

Types of Auto Loans Offered by Chase

Chase only offers two types of vehicle loans: new and used. You’ll have to look elsewhere for auto loan refinancing options.

New Auto Loans

• APR: Not disclosed
• Loan amounts: $4,000–$1,000,000
• Loan terms: 12–84 months

Chase only offers loans for new cars purchased at partner dealerships. 

Used Auto Loans

• APR: Not disclosed
• Loan amounts: Starting from $4,000
• Loan terms: 12–84 months

Chase auto loans can only be used to buy a used car at a dealership in its network. Chase may be able to offer financing for lease buyout loans for cars leased from partner dealerships as well.

Time to Receive Funds

It typically takes about one day to complete financing on your new car, but it may be as short as two to three hours. Since Chase already has existing business relationships with dealerships, Chase will work with the dealership itself to hand off the money. 

Borrower Requirements

Chase is pretty tight-lipped about what kind of borrowers it offers financing for. Other lenders are more up-front about credit, income, and residency requirements you’ll need to meet, but not Chase. It is, however, widely available across the country:

• Minimum recommended credit score: Not disclosed
• State availability: All 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Vehicle Requirements

Chase provides a bit more information about what types of vehicles qualify for financing:

• Maximum age: 10 years
• Maximum accepted mileage: 120,000
• Maximum loan-to-value ratio: 140%

Chase Auto Loan Features

A few other extra details you should be aware of with Chase auto loans:

• Origination fee: $0 in all states except Indiana, where the origination fee is $195
• Prepayment fee: $0
• Discounts: You’ll get a 0.25% rate discount if you’re a Chase Private Client customer (available for those with $150,000 or more across all their Chase deposit and investment accounts).
• Can change due date: Chase allows you to adjust your monthly payment due date up to two times over the life of your loan.
• Partner dealerships: Chase offers an online portal where you can easily browse cars available for financing with local partner lenders. 
• First-time car buyer program: Available for Chase Relationship customers and select dealer partnerships. 
• Mobile app: You can use the general Chase banking app to manage your auto loan along with any other accounts you may have with the bank. It’s available for iPhone and Android.

Co-Signers and Co-Applicants

You can apply for an auto loan through Chase with another person as a co-applicant. This means they’ll be listed on the car’s title as well, unlike a co-signer who doesn’t have any ownership rights to your car and only serves to guarantee your loan in case you don’t repay it. 

Customer Service

Chase offers a few different ways to get in touch if you have questions or run into problems. You can get help over the phone, by snail mail, or by sending a secure message through your online account. 

Customer Satisfaction

Chase has a bit of a mixed reputation when it comes to its auto loans. Over 1,484 people have filed official complaints against Chase’s auto loans department with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since 2017. Most complaints concerned managing the loan or lease, and problems at the end of the loan or lease. 

However, the CFPB’s complaint database isn’t necessarily representative of most consumers’ experiences, and this number of complaints isn’t all that unusual, considering this is the fourth-largest auto lender in the nation.

If you look at more comprehensive reviews, J.D. Power rated Chase quite well in its annual survey of overall customer satisfaction. The company got above-average rankings among luxury car owners and mass-market car owners alike, although it still didn’t make it into the top three lenders for each category.

How to Apply for a Chase Auto Loan

A major advantage of going with Chase for your auto loan is how easy it is to apply. However, before you go down the Chase road, we recommend checking your rate with other lenders so you have a baseline for whether Chase’s offer is good or not.

If you decide to apply, this is how a Chase auto loan works. 

1. Get pre-qualified: Chase offers a simple form on its website where you can get pre-qualified to see if you’re likely to be approved for financing before you head to the dealership. Note that this initial step won’t tell you your estimated rate and term. For that, you’ll need to go to the next step. 
2. Choose a vehicle and apply: If you’re ready to buy a car, you can browse available options for financing on Chase’s website. If you find a vehicle you’re interested in, you’ll fill out a full auto loan application. This doesn’t mean you’re obligated to buy the car; you’ll just be approved for financing to buy this specific vehicle within the next 30 days. 
3. Test-drive the car: After your application is approved, Chase will forward your contact information to the dealership to help arrange a test drive. You can also test-drive other cars while at the dealership to swap over the financing if you like another vehicle better. You can also apply for the loan directly from the dealership prior to approval. 
4. Sign the loan agreement: If you like the car and you’re happy with Chase’s financing offer, all you have to do is sign on the dotted line while you’re at the dealership and the two companies will handle the rest. If you like the car but you got a better offer from another lender, you’re free to ignore Chase’s offer and instead arrange another financing option. 

Alternatives to Chase

Final Verdict

Most auto lenders offer loans for cars you’ve already decided to purchase, but Chase works the other way around. You’ll start the car shopping process with Chase, line up your financing, and then be referred to a partner dealership to seal the deal. It’s a good choice if you’re looking for an easy way to finance a car—particularly if you’re already a customer with Chase Private Banking and are hoping to take out a big loan—but make sure to check your rates with other lenders first, so you get the best rates and terms available to you.

Methodology

Investopedia is dedicated to providing consumers with unbiased, comprehensive reviews of auto loan lenders. To rate providers, we collected hundreds of data points across more than 20 auto loan lenders, including interest rates, fees, loan amounts, borrower requirements, and vehicle requirements, to ensure that our reviews help users make informed decisions for their borrowing needs. We also conducted a survey of 1,016 auto loan borrowers for attitudes and opinions about lenders and the loan approval and disbursement process. See our full auto loan review methodology for more information.