E-LOAN Ripoff Beware of E-Loan Auto Financing Internet

Be very wary of accepting financing from this company for an auto. I was accepted recently, and they sent me a so-called "Power Check", good for up to $10,000, to be made payable to the dealer of my choice. Well, after going to a Toyota dealer and agreeing on a price for the car, they saw my check from eloan and told me that they would not accept it. When I asked why, they told me that eloan has a history of stalling on payments to car dealers for up to 90 days, using various excuses (we lost your faxed documentation, etc). I called eloan from the dealer, and of course they denied it - insisting that the dealer was only trying to pressure me into accepting their financing. This was untrue - the dealer told me that they would accept financing from ANY OTHER LENDER, and they actually let me leave without buying a car rather than take eloan's check.

The next day I went to another car dealership - still giving eloan the benefit of the doubt, and the same thing happened. This dealer also gave me the same reason - that eloan will delay honoring their own check for as long as 90 days, all the while collecting monthly payments from the borrower. And this dealer offered no alternative financing at all - they just flat out refused to take the check. I might as well have been carrying around monopoly money for all that "Power Check" was worth.

When I looked at the dealer requirements for a used car, I also noticed an interesting catch - that the loan to value could not exceed 130% of the NADA value of the car, and that includes tax, title and registration. That would definitely give eloan room to stall as they argue over what the car should have been valued at. Also, they advertise very prominently that your loan proceeds can be used to cover tax, title, etc., but in reality that clause makes it almost impossible.

I was horrified and humiliated by this experience - I ended up borrowing the money from my family and going back to the dealer with cash. Eloan cannot tell you which dealers will accept their financing, because their representatives are trained to tell you that the dealer is just trying to trick you. Trust me - when a car dealer lets you walk out without buying a car, that's no trick - something is very wrong. Eloan also made a big display of asking me what type of car I was looking for, and telling me that dealers in my area would be calling me. I never got one phone call.

So - beware of eloan. Something is very fishy there.

Dane
New Orleans, Louisiana
U.S.A.