Chase Auto Loan Review 2024

Chase Bank offers auto loans in addition to a wide range of financial services, including checking and savings accounts, credit cards and home loans. Auto loans are available from $4,000 to $600,000 for new vehicles and used vehicles not more than 10 years of age.

Rates vary based on credit history, loan term, loan amount, debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, age of vehicle, current market rates and down payment amount (though no down payment is required).

Cars must be purchased from one of the thousands of dealers in the Chase network, and the financing of private seller vehicles is not available. However, Chase does provide a digital car-buying service that can help drivers find their next vehicle.

Here are the main types of auto loans offered by Chase:

New Car Purchase

To qualify for a new car loan through Chase, the vehicle must be from the current year or two preceding years. For example, drivers in 2022 can finance a 2023, 2022 or 2021 vehicle with Chase’s new car rates. Chase auto loans also are not available for vehicles purchased from private sellers.

For borrowers with excellent credit, rates start around 3.5%, but Chase doesn’t disclose its maximum rates. Terms are available from 12 to 84 months, and no down payment is required.

Used Car Purchase

Chase also finances the purchase of used cars from its network of dealers. To be eligible for financing, vehicles cannot be more than 10 years old. As with new car loans, borrowers have access to terms from 12 to 84 months with no down payment.

Lease Buyout

Chase offers a lease buyout program for customers who finance through its private label partnerships with Aston Martin, Maserati, Jaguar Land Rover, Subaru and McLaren. Drivers can opt to buy the vehicle outright or convert it to a loan product through Chase.

Chase doesn’t disclose credit or underwriting criteria for its auto loans online. This includes minimum credit score, credit history and income. However, to improve your chances of qualifying for a Chase auto loan, we recommend a credit score of at least 620.

Chase doesn’t charge borrowers any application fees or prepayment penalties if they pay off their vehicle before the end of the loan term.

There are two ways to use Chase to finance a vehicle purchase—through Chase’s digital car-buying tool or by applying directly through a network dealer.

The process varies slightly for each, but these are the general steps to follow when applying for a Chase auto loan:

1. Prequalify. Unlike some auto lenders, Chase offers a prequalification process that won’t impact a prospective borrower’s credit score. To prequalify, navigate to “Get prequalified” from the auto loans homepage. Then, enter your personal information, including gross annual income and the last four digits of your Social Security number.
2. Shop for a vehicle. Chase’s digital car-buying service lets you shop for a vehicle through local and online retailers, including from the lender’s network of dealerships. The approval process partially depends on the make, model and trim of the vehicle—as well as the dealership where you plan to purchase the vehicle.
3. Complete an application. Applications take a few minutes to complete, which streamlines and expedites the car buying process. Chase allows drivers to apply with a co-applicant. To do so, just choose the option to apply with a co-applicant when starting your application. Also, be sure to provide information about the car you’re buying and the dealer you plan to purchase it from.
4. Await a lending decision. It generally takes two to three hours to receive a decision from Chase, but it could take longer. Chase emails a lending decision to the address provided in the application, and you can also check your status online. Once approved, rates are locked for 30 days after approval.
5. Purchase a vehicle and sign the loan. Your car choice can change after applying for an auto loan through Chase. However, you’ll need to call to update your application and this may result in an adjusted rate, term and decision. Once you’re ready to buy, the dealer acts as the original creditor so you’ll have to visit the dealership to pick up your car and sign the loan documents.

Related: Auto Loan Payment Calculator: Estimate Your Payments

What to Do If You Get Turned Down

If your application is turned down, contact the lender to determine why it was denied. Depending on the reason, you can:

• Correct any errors. If you discover there was an error in your application or you failed to submit all of the necessary documentation, ask whether you can correct the error and reapply.
• Improve your credit or other eligibility. If your application was denied due to an inadequate credit score, income or other eligibility requirement, improve your approval odds before reapplying. For example, it may be necessary to pay down current loans and take steps to improve your credit score. Then, use Chase’s prequalification tool to evaluate your approval odds based on your improvements.
• Consider a less expensive vehicle. Depending on the nature of your denial, it may be better to purchase a less expensive vehicle that requires a lower loan amount.
• Compare other lenders. Alternatively, choose a lender that is more transparent about its lending standards and minimum credit and income requirements. Lenders that specialize in borrowers with poor credit often come with higher interest rates, but may provide faster approval speeds for certain credit profiles.

Related: How To Get A Car Loan With Bad Credit

Current Chase borrowers can contact customer support via mail or telephone, and the lender offers separate phone lines for loans and leases. That said, the Chase website doesn’t provide hours during which customer support can be reached by phone. Customers also can contact a service representative via secure email form by logging into their Chase account online.

Chase also offers several self-service options that enable borrowers to make payments and complete other actions online. The Chase website offers a library of frequently asked questions and video tutorials, though these appear to be primarily focused on Chase’s other financial products and services.

As of July 26, 2022, Chase Auto Finance has an A- Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating and is not BBB accredited. Reviews on the site have awarded the lender 1.1 out of 5 stars based on 468 customer reviews.

Most reviews are for JP Morgan Chase & Co., the lender’s parent company, but some speak directly to the company’s auto lending services. Dissatisfied customers report that customer service representatives are unhelpful and lack adequate knowledge of state-specific rules. Others report slow response times and missing title documents.

We reviewed Chase based on 16 data points in the categories of loan details, loan costs, eligibility and accessibility, customer experience and the application process. We rated Chase based on the weighting assigned to each category:

• Loan cost: 30%
• Eligibility and accessibility: 25%
• Loan details: 20%
• Customer experience: 15%
• Application process: 10%

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 Chase’s customer support tools, borrower perks and features that simplify the borrowing process—like online application options, mobile apps and turnaround time.