LightStream Auto Loans Review

There's a lot of different auto lenders out there, but I wanted to make this video specifically on Lightstream Auto Loans because they have some of the best rates and the best terms in the entire industry for auto loans and personal loans. So in this video, I'll cover the pros and the cons of Lightstream Auto Loans because I want to give you guys an honest review because I've actually had a loan with them for over two years now, and I can say that they definitely don't suck. Now, if you just found this channel, I'm Jason with Honest Finance, and I make a lot of videos on different topics that'll give your life and your finances more value. So definitely subscribe if you guys are into that type of content, but now let's start talking about Lightstream Auto Loans. I'll start by disclosing that if you are interested in checking them out, then I've got an affiliate link in the description below, which means I may be compensated if you click through it, but just keep in mind that I am never going to recommend something that I don't think gives you guys the most value, and on top of that, you don't have to click the link if you don't want to. Lightstream is a division of SunTrust Bank, so they're definitely not small by any means, and what they mainly focus on are personal loans and auto loans for customers with good credit. I mean, there's no harm in applying with them if you want to see if you can get a loan, but you've just got to understand that they only accept applicants with good credit, and that's part of the reason that they have such competitive rates and really good terms. So as of making this video in June 2019, you can actually get an auto loan for as low as 3.99%, which is about as good as it gets in the entire auto loan industry. But just keep in mind that rates naturally fluctuate over time, so depending on when you're watching this video, rates could actually be a little bit higher or a little bit lower, and that's all just based on a lot of different natural factors that we can't do anything about. Lightstream doesn't charge any dirty origination fees or prepayment penalties, so when you get a loan with them, you don't pay any fees, and if you decide to pay it off early or make extra payments, you don't have any penalties to worry about there either. They'll also beat any competitor's rate by a tenth of a point for the same type of loan, so if you end up looking at a different company and they have a better rate, then just go back to Lightstream and they can actually try to beat it by a tenth of a point. I mean, a tenth of a point isn't the deal of a lifetime, but it is nice to know that you can shop around and you can eventually go back to Lightstream because they can beat the rate. Now, the coolest thing, in my opinion, is that they don't require down payments and they don't care about the make, the model, or even the year of the car, and that's pretty awesome. This alone makes Lightstream stand out significantly because you can buy whatever car you want and you don't have to worry about the stupid details like you do with other lenders, and that's really handy. And this is a little bit complicated, but Lightstream basically offers secured auto loans and unsecured auto loans, and those all affect how you get the title, so I'll explain how those work right here. Now, the first type of loan that you can get with them is called an unsecured auto loan, and this one's actually the hardest one to qualify for, but if you do qualify for it, what it means is that you can actually pay cash for the car and you get to keep the title for yourself, which is really handy because you don't have to mess around with anything like that. So, obviously, you'll still have the loan with Lightstream, but as far as buying the car is concerned, it's as though you're just giving them cash. And then the other type of loan that you can get is called a secured loan, and this one's actually a little bit easier to qualify for, but what this means is that you're just gonna have to submit the title paperwork to Lightstream and they're gonna hold onto the title until the loan's paid off, and this is totally normal and that's how all the other lenders do it, but it is cool that they offer both types depending on your credit situation. Now, as far as the individual rates go with Lightstream, they are gonna vary slightly based on the type of car that you're buying, so I need you to pay attention right here. Lightstream offers just about every type of auto loan out there, so if you're looking for a new car or a used car or you wanna buy it from a dealer or a private party or even if you're doing a lease buyout or a refinance, they offer every type of auto loan and they're definitely worth looking into. So what I've found is that if you're buying a new car and it's priced between $10,000 and just under $25,000 and then you keep it under three years, then that's gonna be the best rate with Lightstream as far as all their rates go. But all of the other selections and categories and stuff like that have really good rates as well. I'm just telling you the rates that I found were the best ones. And then as far as borrowing goes with Lightstream, you can borrow between $5,000 and $100,000 and then you can pay them back between 24 months and 84 months. I don't advise going over 60 months for any auto loan, but if you are gonna take that route, then just know that the rates are actually pretty good when you go for a higher term with them. I just ran the numbers on the rate simulator and if you wanted to get a loan for $100,000 for 84 months, then you could actually get a rate for 5.29% and for such a bad loan, that's actually a really good rate. Just please don't actually get a $100,000 car loan because I'm just trying to prove the point that you can actually get really good rates for loans that I don't think are very good ones to do for a car. So just keep your car loans at two to three years if you can and then at the most, I would go to 60 months, but I don't want you going any higher than that because cars generally depreciate really fast and I do not want you going upside down in your car loan. And then if I'm making sense here, can you please comment down below and just say, I get it. That way I know that I'm actually making sense of what I'm talking about, thanks. Now, if you make your way to their website, definitely use their rate simulator because it's a really good way to get an idea of what you can expect to pay with them without actually having your credit checked because there's nothing worse than applying for a loan and having your credit checked and going through all of that kind of stuff only to discover that the loan is way out of your price range in the first place. So really quick, I'll show you on my phone how the rate simulator works so you can see for yourself that it is something that you want to be using. Just start by selecting the loan type. So right here, I'll just choose new car. Then select the loan amount and the term. So in this case, I'll just go with $12,000. And then right here, I'll go for 36 months on auto pay. Now you'll have a really good estimate of what you can expect to pay with Lightstream. From here, just scroll down a little and you can mess with all their preset tiers, which are super helpful because you can see all the different loan amounts and the terms. Just open up the different tiers and you can quickly see how much you'll have to pay for the different amounts and terms for the specific new car category that you already selected. Obviously, everything will fluctuate based on what you want, but it is a great tool to use as a preview of what you can expect to get with Lightstream. Their rate simulator is 100% worth using, so definitely try it out if you're working on mobile or on desktop. Now as far as cons go with Lightstream, there are a couple that I'm not super in love with, but they never really stopped me from getting a loan with them in the first place. The first thing I don't like with them is that if you don't select auto pay as your main form of payment and you go with invoice instead then you're gonna have to pay a half point higher, which in my opinion is a little bit expensive. For me personally, I could care less about auto pay because I'm always gonna do it automatically, but I know that there are people out there that like doing their bills through invoice, so in this case, just don't do that because you're gonna have to pay a half point more and I don't want you doing that. And then the other con in my opinion is that if you already have a loan with Lightstream and you wanna get another one, you can't actually pay off your old loan with the new Lightstream loan. So hopefully I made sense there because all I'm saying is that you can't refinance a loan directly through Lightstream with another Lightstream loan and in that case, if you wanted to refinance, you're gonna have to go with a competitor and then pay off your Lightstream loan because that's the only way you can do it and oh well. But honestly, when you add up all the pros and the cons with Lightstream, at the end of the day, the pros are a lot more than the cons and that's why they are in my business. I've had a loan with them for over two years now on auto pay and I can say that everything so far has been very smooth and very easy with them. Now once again, I'm Jason with Honest Finance and I make a lot of videos on different topics that'll give your life and your finances more value. So definitely subscribe if you guys are into that type of content but I do have a ton of other car videos that you guys can watch so I'm gonna link those up up here so that you can learn some more stuff on cars. That's all for now.