Premier Auto Credit Auto Loan Van Nuys California

Premier Auto Credit is by far the worst company I’ve ever dealt with. I am a consumer that has taken the time to investigate their loan process and I have come to the conclusion that it is better to purchase a car directly from a dealership than it is to be financed through Premier Auto Credit. I only wish I would have looked into this company before I financed my car with them. Lesson learned!  Premier Auto Credit is a third-party lender, privately owned auto finance company but registered as a corporation. 

 

 It is clear that Premier Auto Credit has targeted a specific client base (Hispanic/Latino) for very particular reasons which cause a disparate impact to the (Hispanic/Latino) community.

 

Need proof? Just look at the ratings and comments in Yelp and research the dealerships they deal with which are mostly ran by (Hispanic/Latino) owners. Hence, I would venture to guess that most of their customers are Hispanic/Latino. I attempted to finance another car and dealerships mentioned Premier Auto Credit and explained why they have stopped doing business with them.

·          Apply for auto loans with credit bureau scores ranging from 460-600 without disclosing to the customer that the rates being offered are considerably higher than what would normally be offered to borrowers with the same credit scores.

 

·         Add false information to the loan applications to help an unsuspecting customer secure an auto loan.

 

·         Enter into a conditional sale agreement rather than a final sale so that the dealer will send the customer home with the car, then call the customer back a few days later to say that the loan wasn’t approved. The dealer renegotiates the loan to ensure the customer does not back out of the deal and will advise the customer that the down payment is non-refundable.

 

·         Purchase overpriced add-on packages (credit life insurance, disability insurance, “GAP” insurance, theft deterrent packages, rust proofing, etc.),  to inflate the vehicle cost and loan size.

 

The fact is service contracts are of minimal value because the service contract actually contains numerous exclusions, limitations and conditions, and providers deny claims for the cost of repairs without reasonable investigation. Gap and Credit Life Insurance products both often duplicate benefits consumers would already have through their car insurance carrier. GAP insurance that cover negative equity become less useful with older used car purchases, financing with shorter loan terms, or deals with significant down payments, since these factors tend to minimize negative equity in the loan. The average mileage on a unit that is financed by Premier Auto Credit is 140,000 miles.

 

Premier Auto Credit’s Discount Program fuels the dealerships to inflate the vehicle cost and loan size on top of the four latter points. For example, under Premier Auto Credit’s discount program a deal that is being financed for $8,000.00 will not be purchased by Premier Auto Credit unless the dealer is willing to pay Premier Auto Credit a certain amount of dollars to board the loan. Here is how Premier Auto Credit’s Discount Program works:

 

Discount (The Discount is set by Premier Auto Credit based on the credit risk of the loan): Discount is defined as a certain percentage the dealer must pay to Premier Auto Credit from the amount financed. Therefore, if the amount financed is $8,000.00 and Premier Auto Credit is asking for a 12% discount the dealership must pay Premier Auto Credit $960.00.

 

Acquisition Fee: Acquisition fee is a fee charged to the dealer just for attaining the loan and entering it into Premier Auto Credit’s data base system. Premier Auto Credit’s acquisition fee is $195.00.

 

Driver License Fee: Premier Auto Credit will finance customers who do not have a driver license only if the dealer will pay a fee of $195. Great, more unlicensed drivers on the road.

 

GPS Fee: Premier Auto Credit finances customers that range from subprime to below subprime and they understand increased interest rate markups and multiple add-ons increase a greater chance of delinquency and therefore create a greater risk of repossession leaving the customer no option but to hide the collateral. Premier Auto Credit understands that these predatory auto loan practices guarantee the customer’s failure to adhere to the contractual agreement and they ensure minimal loss by charging the dealer to pay $180 to have a GPS installed in the unit so that the unit is guaranteed to be recovered. Once the unit is recovered Premier Auto Credit will store the unit in one of their storage facilities utilizing their higher default and repossession rates to operate much like payday lenders; churning the same used vehicle several times as the basis for their abusive business model by selling the recovered vehicle back to the dealer instead of auctioning off the vehicle at a regular auction.

 

Gap Fee: Premier Auto Credit requires the dealer to pay $495 for GAP insurance (Gap insurance pays the difference in the event of a total loss between what the customer owes on the car and what its worth in an insurance company’s eye.)

 

The end result because of the fees the dealer will be shorted $2,025.00. Instead of the dealers check being $8,000.00 the dealers check will be $5,975.00.  Premier Auto Credit masks its program to make it seem that the fees are being paid by the dealer when the reality is the dealer gets the additional fees from the customer so that the $2,025.00 does not come out of the dealer’s pocket. A deal that began at a finance amount of $8,000.00 quickly turns into $10,025.00 deal. This is how Premier Auto Credit through the dealer’s efforts inflates the vehicle cost and loan size.

 

There is a specific process that must take place so that the reporting to the credit bureau is accurate. To add insult to injury Premier Auto Credit does not acquire the required three bids when auctioning a repossessed unit after the Notice of Intent expires. As mentioned in the latter paragraph Premier Auto Credit sells the recovered vehicle back to the original dealer. There is no effort to acquire the best possible bid from the required three different entities so that the customer’s principle balance is reduced as much as possible before efforts commence on the deficiency balance. Bottom line, selling the vehicle back to the dealer without the three bids damages the customer because the unit was not sold at the best possible price. When the account is charged off and the deficiency effort commence the customers deficiency balance is being reported at a much higher dollar amount and the customer has to pay a much higher deficiency amount. Therefore, by Premier Auto Credit not adhering to the auction process it causes for inaccurate reporting to the bureaus and inaccurate deficiency amounts.

 

By attaining a payment history from Premier Auto Credit, I discovered that when my loan was charged off monthly payments were deducted and reapplied towards fees which include:

 

·         Repossession fees

 

·         Late Charges

 

·         Storage fees

 

·         Credit Card transaction fees

 

·         Pay by phone fees

 

·         Vehicle repair fees

 

·         Interest

 

As a result, the charged off principal balance increased my guess is to increase the principal loan balance. Causing me to pay more to get it off my credit.

 

Premier Auto Credit also inflated the vehicle cost and loan size by offering my vehicle to be repaired and the cost of the repairs were added to the contractual agreement. Come to find out Premier Auto Credit does not possess a license to make loan re-modifications or addendums to contracts.

 

When Premier Auto Credit repossessed my vehicle they immediately had my car storaged to be sold without giving me an opportunity to get current. I was advised that I was supposed to be given 15 days to get my vehicle back but I guess they automatically assumed I didn’t want the car and I found out that it’s actually the law for finance companies in California to give 15 days to the customer before selling the car. They had the nerve to offer to put me in another car but I demanded I wanted the car I financed. Luckily, they were able to get back the car I financed but it just goes to show how shady these people at Premier Auto Credit are.

 

The staff at Premier Auto Credit are rude and very unprofessional. Their management staff sound like they barely have a high school education. They repeatedly call and they harass references by calling them every day. Come to find out that finance companies are only allowed to call references once during the lifetime of the loan and these people call every day. They have even text my references and disclosed that it is in reference to a debt which I learned is 3^rd party disclosure which is against the law.  

 

 Based on my experience and discoveries I would not recommend that you purchase a used vehicle through a finance company. You’re better off saving your money and buying a used car off the street or at least deal with a reputable bank or credit union but not a privately owned finance company. It seems like privately owned finance companies are not regulated and can do whatever they want. I was recommended to report my experience to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and I encourage anyone who has gone through a similar experience to do the same. The CFPB’s number is (((redacted)))

 

Tiburcio Cuahutle