Why You Can Trust Us
Investopedia was founded in 1999 and has been helping readers find the best auto refinance loans since 2020. Investopedia’s research and editorial teams conducted independent, unbiased research into the auto loan industry, collecting nearly 1,000 data points on 16 auto loan lenders. Each lender was objectively scored and ranked on criteria like APRs, terms, requirements, and availability to provide the best picks above.
Military Members and Families Can Get Extra-Low Rates
If you’re in the military or a veteran, or you have a family member who is, you may qualify for exceptionally low rates and good terms from a military-affiliate bank or credit union.
USAA, Navy Federal, and PenFed are some of the most popular, and they tend to offer lower rates than other lenders. If you’re eligible, they’re often worth pre-qualifying with to see what you can get. PenFed membership is open to anyone, but in general, you can usually only join a military-affiliate institution if you fit into any of these categories.
- Active duty, guard, reserve, or veteran military servicemember
- Officer candidate in ROTC
- Department of Defense civilian employee, contractor, or retiree
- Have family members who are either in the military or a member of the credit union
How We Find the Best Auto Loans
Investopedia’s full-time research and editorial teams conducted independent, comprehensive research into auto loan lenders from November 2024 into February 2025. Sixteen popular auto loan lenders were included, and each one was evaluated on 63 criteria. Information was collected from lender websites, customer support, and media representatives. Each lender was scored and ranked objectively. Information not used for scoring was collected for background.
Evaluation criteria were broken down into the following categories and given the accompanying weights:
- Cost of Loans: 34.0%
- Loan Terms: 28.0%
- Borrowing Requirements: 22.0%
- Customer Satisfaction: 10.0%
- Additional Features: 6.0%
Invetopedia’s full-time compliance team maintains the accuracy of information on this page to ensure our recommendations remain the best choices for their respective categories.
