Financing through USAA

[Dogwhistle]

Anyone here finance a Tesla through USAA? I went through the loan application process which at the end generates a “Dealer Funding Request” that your supposed to hand to the dealer so they can get their money. It’s not a certified check or anything. I’ve used this no problem when buying other cars, but how does Tesla work with USAA?
Thx

 

[IhateOPEC]

USAA aint what it used to be. Super expensive now. If you are a vet try navyfederal or penfed. Or, go with Tesla financing which was surprisingly the same.

On a side note I switched auto insurance from USAA and saved $100/mo for the same coverage.

 

[MattMatt]

Anyone here finance a Tesla through USAA? I went through the loan application process which at the end generates a “Dealer Funding Request” that your supposed to hand to the dealer so they can get their money. It’s not a certified check or anything. I’ve used this no problem when buying other cars, but how does Tesla work with USAA?
Thx

Ugg I did this. It was very frustrating, Tesla didn't have any fax machines, and USAA wouldn't accept anything but a fax. Tesla ended up driving us to an Office Max an we had to pay them to fax USAA their stupid paperwork. I personally will be avoiding USAA auto loans until they fix this process, no reason they should not accept emailed paperwork.

All that said we did get the car and the loan.

Matt

 

[Dogwhistle]

Huh. Well I’m definitely using USAA, and apparently it can be done. Guess I’ll be looking for an Office Max nearby!

 

[Garrulous]

Not sure what interest rate you got, but, if you're in the DC area Tower FCU has (or at least had) 2.49%. That blew USAA out of the water when I was looking at financing options a month ago.

I also agree with IhateOPEC ... USAA is garbage for auto insurance. There are much better options. Again, if you're in the mid-Atlantic, look into Erie Insurance.

 

[Dogwhistle]

Not sure what interest rate you got, but, if you're in the DC area Tower FCU has (or at least had) 2.49%. That blew USAA out of the water when I was looking at financing options a month ago.

I also agree with IhateOPEC ... USAA is garbage for auto insurance. There are much better options. Again, if you're in the mid-Atlantic, look into Erie Insurance.

Thanks for your input. I’ve had great experience with USAA over the decades, and am willing to pay a couple of tenths more for the convenience of keeping all under one roof. Sorry to hear you didn’t have the same.

 

[Lasttoy]

Go to Navy Federal. They were great for me.
Usaa aint what it was before.

 

[Krash]

Love USAA. Nothing but great experiences recently and forever. There are email to fax services if USAA really only takes fax for loan docs.

 

[lg_golfs]

I just got my USAA auto insurance renewal and it went up a crazy 30%. They blamed the wildfires. It's still cheaper than others, but, ouch.

Yep. I know it's a thread drift. Apologies.

 

[Big Dog]

a big USAA fan -- for thier insurance. Just don't find their banking -- and car loans -- competitive.

 

[AlMc]

I have used USAA for auto, home, disability, etc. insurance for years. I did try to go with them for Tesla financing but they were higher than PennFed and there were more hoops to jump through. PennFed was easy.

Back to insurance. No idea how other companies would have handled it but I hit a deer with my first Tesla.....USAA was on it tight away and did not blink an eye at the high end (and high priced) repair shop suggested by Tesla.

 

[SpiceWare]

Anyone here finance a Tesla through USAA? I went through the loan application process which at the end generates a “Dealer Funding Request” that your supposed to hand to the dealer so they can get their money. It’s not a certified check or anything. I’ve used this no problem when buying other cars, but how does Tesla work with USAA?
Thx

Here in "business friendly" Texas we must buy the car before it can be shipped from California. I forwarded the DFR to my ISA. They filled out what was needed and faxed it in Friday just before 5pm their time (so 7pm in Texas). USAA processed it Monday, payment went through on Tuesday or Wednesday, my delivery date's the 30th.

 

[Dogwhistle]

Here in "business friendly" Texas we must buy the car before it can be shipped from California. I forwarded the DFR to my ISA. They filled out what was needed and faxed it in Friday just before 5pm their time (so 7pm in Texas). USAA processed it Monday, payment went through on Tuesday or Wednesday, my delivery date's the 30th.

Perfect, just what I needed to know. I work it through my ISA instead of bringing it to delivery.

 

[Dave B]

I financed through USAA, and the person I worked with from Tesla swore that everything with the dealer funding stuff was done ahead of time.

March 31st rolls around, I go to pick up my 3 - a day I've dreamed of since I first heard of the Roadster - and I sign the paperwork. "THIS IS AWESOME! I OWN A TESLA NOW!" Not so fast... "Do you have a check for us?" "Um, no. Your people were supposed to get this knocked out with USAA." Three hours of anxiety later I finally was cleared to leave with my 3, but I'm fully convinced that if it hadn't been March 31st / end of Q1, I would've been sent home empty handed. During this time - a Saturday when USAA's funding department was closed - I and Tesla were on the phone with USAA almost constantly. I was told that things went very high up the management chain with Tesla about whether or not I'd get my car that day. My fiance and I just got more and more frustrated. I sat there with the key card in hand, being able to sit in my 3, but not actually put it in drive. Gave me plenty of time to go over every last thing on the checklist, but was an overall horrible experience.

When I was sent a survey about my experience getting my M3, I was very clear about how things went from being one of the most exciting experiences I've ever had to hours of torture and "Just get me out of here." I got a few different calls from Tesla apologizing for my experience.

Learn from what I endured: The funding department at USAA is not open on Saturdays. As someone else mentioned, they only take faxes, and as it's 2018 - Tesla doesn't have fax machines. Be very, VERY clear with both USAA and Tesla ahead of time about whether the funding request has been received and processed by USAA. Failure to do these things will likely result in all kinds of pain like I did.

 

[Dogwhistle]

I financed through USAA, and the person I worked with from Tesla swore that everything with the dealer funding stuff was done ahead of time.

March 31st rolls around, I go to pick up my 3 - a day I've dreamed of since I first heard of the Roadster - and I sign the paperwork. "THIS IS AWESOME! I OWN A TESLA NOW!" Not so fast... "Do you have a check for us?" "Um, no. Your people were supposed to get this knocked out with USAA." Three hours of anxiety later I finally was cleared to leave with my 3, but I'm fully convinced that if it hadn't been March 31st / end of Q1, I would've been sent home empty handed. During this time - a Saturday when USAA's funding department was closed - I and Tesla were on the phone with USAA almost constantly. I was told that things went very high up the management chain with Tesla about whether or not I'd get my car that day. My fiance and I just got more and more frustrated. I sat there with the key card in hand, being able to sit in my 3, but not actually put it in drive. Gave me plenty of time to go over every last thing on the checklist, but was an overall horrible experience.

When I was sent a survey about my experience getting my M3, I was very clear about how things went from being one of the most exciting experiences I've ever had to hours of torture and "Just get me out of here." I got a few different calls from Tesla apologizing for my experience.

Learn from what I endured: The funding department at USAA is not open on Saturdays. As someone else mentioned, they only take faxes, and as it's 2018 - Tesla doesn't have fax machines. Be very, VERY clear with both USAA and Tesla ahead of time about whether the funding request has been received and processed by USAA. Failure to do these things will likely result in all kinds of pain like I did.

I will ask again. My ISA specifically told me to bring my Dealer Funding Request with me to the Delivery, the Tesla staff would fill it out there. Perhaps they’re relaxing how they deal with USAA lately.

 

[redi]

In my experience with USAA, and doing some research, there seems to be multiple flavors of what organization inside USAA is doing the underwriting.

- If you are active duty or retired O-level you're handled by USAA-proper (the core USAA): the rates are quite good.

- If you are in the other classes (USAA-CIC [dependents], USAA-GIC, or Garrison underwriters... not very competitive.

I am not sure if the other tiers subsidize the core group or if they have other P&L models to support the differences, but this has been my experience in dealing with all of the above. Their basic banking products (excluding interest rates) seem to be good offerings.

 

[Dana1]

Glad this thread is up. USAA definitely not the bank it was 26 years ago...more of a regular bank but the insurance is very good. Had a hurricane take my house and three cars out. It was worthwhile to not have insurance company stress. Two years later I had neighbors fighting with theirs.

I’ll make sure to be dogged to have a stress free delivery day. USAA is technologically weird. Advanced in some respects like check deposits and stuck in 1980 for others.

 

[TesLou22]

Hi All,
Long time creeper, first time poster (hmmmm something doesn't sound quite right about that)

I opted to go with USAA as a one-stop shop. I just dotted some I's and crossed some T's with my ISA which included sending him my dealer funding request. This thread highlighted some of the challenges (thank you) which can hopefully be mitigated:
Based on Dave B's input I now know not to schedule my delivery on a Saturday.
Based on Krash's input I am ready to fax any documents with my iPhone via Genius Fax.
Based on Spicewire's input (as a best case scenario) my ISA asked for my DFR in order to pre-stage the financing with USAA. Although living in Florida I am not certain this is an option. I will follow up with an email to my ISA.

Anecdotally, my Model 3 insurance quote came in slightly under my 2008 Nissan Altima with USAA.

Thanks again and looking forward to being a member of the Tesla community!
~Lou

 

[Dogwhistle]

Alright, delivery next Friday. I double-triple checked with my ISA. All I have to do is bring the DFR with me to delivery, they will take care of the rest then, just like you would with any other car dealer. No certified checks or other ACH gymnastics before hand. I’ll report back how it all worked out! Hopefully no fuss, no muss.

 

[hobbz]

For what it's worth, Navy Federal's interest rate beat USAA by a mile (2.59 vs. 3.29).