Caribou Auto Refinance Loan Review 2025

Caribou Financial loan terms and requirements

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About Caribou Financial: a closer look

Caribou Financial partners with a network of about 40 lenders, mainly community banks and credit unions, to provide auto loan refinancing.

Caribou pre-qualifies applicants using a soft credit inquiry, which doesn't affect credit scores. Moving forward with an offer will result in a hard credit pull, which can temporarily cause a slight decrease in your credit scores.

When compared to similar auto loan aggregators, Caribou stands out for providing pre-qualified offers from more than one lender to applicants who qualify. Some aggregators select and present only what they consider to be the best offer. Caribou offers are available online immediately and include estimates for rate, payment and total interest for various loan terms.

Caribou also has a simple application process. The online application asks for minimal information and does not require a Social Security number to see pre-qualified offers. When you refinance through Caribou, it works with the lender to pay off your previous loan and retitle your vehicle.

To review and rate auto lenders, NerdWallet writers gather information about customer experience, transparency, loan affordability, loan requirements and flexibility.

Caribou tends to score high for its loan flexibility as well as ease of the online application process.

Do you qualify for a Caribou auto refinance loan?

Here are Caribou's borrower requirements to qualify for an auto refinancing loan. Because Caribou works with many different lenders, some requirements shown are the lowest and highest among all lending partners. Meeting these requirements doesn’t guarantee approval. Also, some lenders may be more flexible with requirements when taking into account an applicant's total financial picture.

Other Caribou details

• Pre-qualification and preapproval. The company says all eligible applicants receive pre-qualified offers based on a soft credit check. Once approved, loan offers are good for 30 days.

• Upfront fees. Caribou charges lenders a $499 processing fee, which the lender may pass along to the borrower. This fee can be financed as part of the loan amount.

• Interest rate discounts. More than half of Caribou's lending partners offer an APR discount (.25%) when a borrower sets up automatic payments.

• Refinancing time restrictions. Caribou will refinance as soon as the previous loan's paperwork is complete and the title can be transferred. Borrowers must have at least a $5,000 balance remaining on their previous loan in order to refinance.

• Deferred payments. Caribou offers deferred payments for up to 90 days at the beginning of a loan.

• Contacting Caribou. During the application process, borrowers can reach Caribou by phone, email and text, with Spanish-speaking agents available. Hours are Mon-Fri 8 a.m.-9 p.m., ET and Sat 9 a.m.-7 p.m. ET.

Back to About Caribou

Caribou may be a good fit for those who:

• Want to compare auto refinancing rates. Applicants receive pre-qualified refinancing offers, including rate, without an impact to their credit scores.

• Prefer a simple online application process. Caribou’s process is 100% digital, from application to document upload and e-signing. In most cases, Caribou also works with the lender to handle the transfer of your vehicle title.

• Could benefit from having a co-applicant. Caribou can match applicants to lenders that allow both co-signers and co-borrowers. Having a co-applicant can help borrowers who might not qualify alone.

Before you apply to Caribou

Check your credit. You can get your free credit report on NerdWallet or at AnnualCreditReport.com. If you find errors, file a credit dispute to correct them before you apply for an auto loan.

Figure what monthly payment you can afford. Use an auto refinance calculator to determine what APR and repayment term you need to get monthly car payments that fit your budget. An auto refinance calculator also shows how much you can save by refinancing.

Gather your documents and information. Caribou requires the following to submit an initial auto loan refinancing application: address, time at address, phone, email, citizenship status, birthdate, employment status, income, housing status, housing payment amount and basic vehicle information. Vehicle identification number isn’t required with the initial application, but you can provide it for automatic lookup of your vehicle information.

How to apply for a Caribou auto refinance loan

1. Pre-qualify on Caribou's website. Use the “Get Started” button to pre-qualify with a soft credit pull, which will not affect your credit scores. You’ll be asked for information like employment status, income, housing information and basic details about your current car. You can enter your car’s make and model yourself, or you can search using your car’s VIN or license plate number to automatically pull information into the application. Caribou also has the option to apply by phone at 877-445-0070.

2. See your loan offers. If you pre-qualify, you will see on-screen loan offers within minutes. You can select an offer, provide your Social Security number, set up an account and lock in the refinance rate. This will result in a hard credit inquiry and could cause a slight, temporary drop in your credit scores. If you have questions, Caribou's in-house customer service team is available by phone and email. (Note: After the loan is complete, servicing moves to the lender.)

Back to About Caribou

How do we review auto loan aggregators?

NerdWallet's review process surveys companies that offer any combination of new car purchase loans, used car purchase loans, auto refinance loans (traditional and/or cash-out) and lease buyout loans. These companies include direct lenders and aggregators; the latter group doesn't have in-house loan products but matches borrowers to third-party lenders within a network. Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of providers to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgements on which ones will best meet your needs. We adhere to strict guidelines for editorial integrity.

Because aggregators are not the actual lender and servicing of the loan passes to the lender in most cases, NerdWallet focuses most heavily on the front end of the loan process. This includes level of service/support and transparency, with less focus on the actual loan product. In all, our survey for aggregators includes more than 60 data points. NerdWallet independently confirms product details and, when necessary, follows up with company representatives. At least two writers and an editor verify the facts for every lender review to ensure data are accurate.

To receive a star rating, an aggregator must respond to NerdWallet’s annual auto loans survey. Star ratings are then assessed from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars).

For more details about the categories considered when rating aggregators and our process, read our full methodology.