Hmm...is this normal?

My "certificate" says I'm approved for x amount for x # of mos, but doesn't give a rate. Says to go to my dealer (specified during the app process) to complete the transaction.

Good news or not...anybody know?

*polishing fingernails*

*staring at the wall*

*listening to crickets*

Update: our GMAC approval was for 60 mos, 5.9%, no money down, drive out/total financed amount of $37,593.56, monthly payment of $725.04. I don't know who they pulled. DCU approved us for $35k, but they wanted 11.2%! Um, no. Recent mortgage refi pulled showed middle score of 650ish...DCU said they got 627.

This is for a loaded up 2006 Trailblazer EXT (V8, leather, DVD, XM, lots more.) Price includes running boards that the dealership will order and put on in a week or so...it was about the only thing I wanted that it didn't come with.

Once I got the exact list of extras, I priced it out on edmunds.com. Their TMV = $36,488.00. We paid (base price, before TTT) $34,850. So, even though I took the 5.9% instead of taking the $1500 rebate, it came out okay. I could have put 3K down, but I'm putting that money toward a much-higher interest rate (cc) debt.

I'm a happy camper.

Congrats on the new car!!!!

congrrrrrrrrats!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats!! Did you find this information out at the dealer or online after approval? Also, did the dealer require any income verification after you were pre-approved? Or was that pre-approval good as gold?

thanks!

That post is SO funny!

After I looked more closely at the printed-out preapproval certificate, I found a line that said something like, "Your dealer will work out the rate for this approval, and it won't be more than 24% or the highest limit in your state."

So when we went to sign all the paperwork I asked the salesman, Tony, what our score was when he pulled it again, as I'd assumed he had. I was very surprised to find out that he hadn't pulled it. He said, "Aw, I don't even know what your score was. GMAC approved you, we didn't need to pull that again."

Now, this is a very small dealership in a very small town. (It is, in fact, the oldest Chevy dealer in Florida: Jim Douglas Chevrolet in High Springs, FL.) I have no idea whether I got what GMAC dictated via secret code to the dealer, or whether this dealership really just offers the lowest rate to everybody, or what. Marv or some of the other experts would probably know better than me. They didn't ask us for anything except our IDs and proof of insurance.

I didn't get the deal of the century on the price, but I know I got a fair price, because I had done my research; they didn't try to sneak in any extras; and everything has been handled in a very straightforward, customer-friendly way. It was refreshingly different from other car-buying experiences I've had.