Rates and Loan Options (2024)

Customers on the BBB’s site give Auto Credit Express an average rating of 1.0 out of 5.0 stars, but this is based on only 14 reviews. Customers on Trustpilot have the opposite impression. With more than 3,500 reviews, the company has an average rating of 4.5 out of 5.0 stars on the site. Among those thousands of reviews, 90% rate Auto Credit Express as “great” or “excellent,” while only 7% give the company a “bad” or “poor” rating.

It’s also worth mentioning that Auto Credit Express responds to the majority of its reviews. While that includes its positive reviews, the company has responded to 96% of its negative reviews on Trustpilot. To us, this indicates a company that takes its customers and its reputation seriously.

In positive reviews, people mostly mention professional service and a smooth process. Most of the customers who report negative experiences had issues with their lenders or dealerships rather than Auto Credit Express.

Our Auto Credit Express Rating: 9.1 Stars

Auto Credit Express positions itself as a broker specializing in loans for people with bad credit. While it certainly is that, there’s a lot more to like about the company. 

We liked the abundance of loan options available, including the option for cash-out auto refinancing that could help someone in a bind. The loan application process was also easy. The tools on the Auto Credit Express website are great for understanding more about your situation and loan availability before providing personal information and having your credit report checked.

*All categories are scored out of 10.0 points each.

Auto Credit Express Pros and Cons

Is Auto Credit Express Legitimate?

Yes, Auto Credit Express is a legitimate organization that helps match you with reputable auto loan lenders and dealers that best fit your needs. The company also has been accredited with the BBB since 2004 and has an A+ rating from the organization.

Year founded: 1999
Headquarters: Auburn Hills, Mich.

Auto Credit Express (now a subsidiary of Internet Brands) has been helping people find auto loans since 1999. The Michigan-based company isn’t a direct provider of loans and instead is a loan broker that matches borrowers with lenders that fit their needs. 

Auto Credit Express boasts that it has the largest bad-credit car loan network in the U.S. with 800+ dealers across the country. Since its inception, the company estimates that it has helped more than 1.8 million customers purchase new and used vehicles.

Through its network of lenders, Auto Credit Express offers loans for purchasing or leasing new or used vehicles. You can also refinance an auto loan through the company. In the sections below, we’ll detail the vehicle financing options and other resources that the company offers.

Auto Credit Express Loan Types

Auto Credit Express offers a variety of loan products through its lending partners. These include:

• Vehicle purchase loans: Find lending options for buying a used or new car, including bad credit auto loans.
• Leases: Get leasing options through a wide network of car dealerships, even with bad credit.
• Special finance: People with especially difficult financial situations — including Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy — may be able to find special financing options.
• Refinancing: You can look for a loan with a better rate and terms to reduce your monthly payment or the amount of interest you’ll pay.
• Cash-out refinancing: When you refinance, you can also take out some of the equity you’ve built as cash to use for personal expenses.

Auto Credit Express Loan Tools

On AutoCreditExpress.com, the company provides a few tools to help you get a better understanding of the loan landscape and your financial situation. These include:

• Car loan calculator: Provide the price of the car, the annual percentage rate (APR), the loan term and the down payment amount to see the amount of your loan and the monthly payment estimate.
• Car loan estimator: Provide your monthly income, your credit score and the total of your monthly recurring debts to see how much of a loan you might qualify for.

Factors That Affect Auto Loan Rates

To match you with lenders and their loan offers, Auto Credit Express looks at several pieces of information. These include your:

• Income
• Credit history
• FICO credit score
• Desired loan amount
• Desired loan term
• Vehicle’s age

Because Auto Credit Express works as a broker with hundreds of lending partners, the company is open to a wide range of borrowers — even those who may have trouble finding financing elsewhere. But that doesn’t mean everyone will be able to get a loan through the company and it ultimately depends on the lenders.

To be eligible for a loan through Auto Credit Express, you must meet the following requirements:

• Be a resident of the United States or Canada
• Have full-time employment or a guaranteed fixed income
• Show proof of a regular monthly income of at least $1,500
• Show proof of residency
• Have a working phone number
• Be able to produce a recent utility bill

In some cases an Auto Credit Express lender will have a credit score requirement. If that’s the case, the minimum required credit score for car loans is 400 on the FICO score model.

Before you get started with the application process, you’ll need to have some information handy. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Personal information (name, address, email address, phone number and date of birth)
• Income information
• Residence status (own/rent)
• Monthly housing payment (mortgage/rent)
• Employment information (employer and employer contact information)
• Social Security number

Once you have your information ready, the process is relatively fast and simple. Here are the steps:

1. Fill out the application: You’ll use the information you gathered to complete the initial application. It only took our researcher a few minutes to complete the application.
2. Wait for offers: After you submit your application, you’ll start receiving offers from lenders that line up with your needs and borrower profile. These may come as calls, text messages or emails.
3. Compare offers: Once you have a few offers, compare them to see which is the best deal for you. In addition to learning the APR, find out whether loans have prepayment penalties or late payment fees.
4. Choose a lender: After comparing your options, choose the best lender for you. Then, finalize your loan with that lender.
5. Shop for a car: With your loan agreement in hand, you’ll be a cash buyer in the eyes of a car dealer. Use this to find the right vehicle for you and your budget. You can even use the Auto Credit Express car buying service.

When you finalize your loan with your lender, you may need to provide additional documents to verify your income and other information. These may include:

• Mortgage or lease documents
• Pay stub showing year-to-date income
• Tax returns
• Recent utility bill
• Current vehicle title information (if you’re refinancing a vehicle or using it as a trade-in)

Auto Credit Express is a great option for people who don’t have great credit — featuring many loan options. Even if you have a good credit score, the loan broker might be worth a look. In any case, we recommend that you search around and compare options before committing to any car financing company.

Recommendations for Auto Loans

We recommend getting quotes from Auto Credit Express, especially if your credit score is on the lower side or you have other financial issues. But we always recommend getting offers from multiple sources so you can compare and find the best rates and terms for you. Contacting the providers below is a great place to start.

myAutoloan: Most Popular Marketplace

A popular auto financing marketplace is myAutoloan. Once you submit your information on its website, you’ll get both an instant offer and offers coming in from other lenders. People with credit scores as low as 575 can get purchase loans, lease buyout loans or refinance loans through myAutoloan. Borrowers with high credit scores can get auto loan rates as low as 5.29% through the marketplace.

Keep reading: myAutoloan review

Auto Approve: Top Choice for Refinancing

Auto Approve only offers loans for refinancing a vehicle or buying a lease out, so you can’t use its financing to buy a new or used car. But if refinancing is what you’re after, it’s definitely worth looking at the specialist. Rates begin at 2.25% for buyers with good credit, but Auto Approve has options for people with scores of 580 and above.

Keep reading: Auto Approve review

Below are some frequently asked questions related Auto Credit Express loan services:

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:

• Reputation: Our research team considered ratings from industry experts and each lender’s years in business when giving this score.
• Rates: Auto loan providers with low APRs and high loan amounts scored highest in this category.
• Availability: Companies that cover a variety of circumstances are more likely to meet consumer needs.
• Customer experience: This score is based on customer satisfaction ratings and transparency. We also considered the responsiveness, friendliness and helpfulness of each warranty company’s customer service team based on our shopper analysis.

Our credentials:

• 300+ hours researched
• 25 companies reviewed
• 2,000+ consumers surveyed

*Data accurate at time of publication.