Captive auto lenders are financial subsidiaries set up with the sole purpose of offering auto loans to buyers of a specific car company or a particular dealership. In fact, 28% of auto loans in the country are provided by captive lenders. If you’re looking to buy a car in the US, you can avail this kind of loan from the dealership on the spot itself. Some of the well-known captive auto finance lenders are BMW Financial Services, Ford Credit, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, Honda Financial Services, GM Financial, etc. So, how does captive auto lending work? 1. Captive auto finance industry in the country Captive lenders are becoming a force to be reckoned with in the auto lending business in the finance world. According to studies, 30% of auto loans in the 2 nd quarter of 2018 were offered by captive lenders, a 5% increase from 2017. On the other hand, banks made up only 30% of auto loans, down 4% from 2017, while credit union loans also rose from 20% to 23%. What’s more, currently captive auto lenders possess the biggest share of new financing with 57%, as opposed to banks with only 25% of new lending share in the 2 nd quarter of 2018.

To get the most out of your beloved car, you need to put in something extra to jazz it up. No points for guessing it right, we are talking about car accessories! If you tend to spend half your life in and out of cars, whether it is for work or for leisure road trips, there are lots of options for upgrading your ride and enhancing your experience on the road. With the right accessories, you can ensure a smoother, safer, and much more enjoyable ride. So, whether it is connecting your phone to the vehicle, charging your devices, or keeping the interiors clean and neat, these amazing car accessories have you covered on everything. 1. Radar detector While we aren’t condoning speeding, radar detectors are a pretty popular car accessory. Check out the Valentine One radar detector, which is still the best at looking for police speed radar signals for the past 20 years, complete with updated schematics and software. It is easy to operate and the website has detailed manuals so you can understand how the product works. 2. Power inverter If you run a bevy of electronics in your car which need a household 110V plugin, then your car requires an inverter.

Compact SUVs are quickly becoming, if they’re not already, the go-to family car, displacing compact and midsize sedans. They are particularly nifty and useful for urban and smaller families who do not require a bigger (and certainly more expensive) SUV or heaven forbid, a minivan. Automakers have been catering to this fast-changing and fast-growing market by building in more features that cater to the family-car buyer. Listed below are the most original family-friendly SUV features that you should be aware of: 1. Convertible center storage console For instance, the 2017 Honda CR-V Touring’s versatile and clever center console allows drivers and passengers to create their personalized storage configuration to fit their gear and reconfigure it as they see fit. Drivers can have a big open tray for stray items and a covered bin that is just above the 12-volt power port and USB ports. The best part is that the bin lid/armrest slides back and forth to cater to and fit different drivers. If one needs more space, they can slide the self-storing tray to the bottom for opening the maximum storage which is big enough to even hold a medium-sized handbag. 2. Backseats for kicking back This is perhaps one of the most useful family-friendly features in an SUV.

Short-term liquidity needs are part and parcel of our daily lives. You may continuously find yourself in lack of funds before you retire for good. While the options for such loans are limited, there are plenty of retirement plans that give a provision of loan withdrawal. Most of us opt for conventional options like borrowing money from a lender, using a credit card for short-term needs among others. However, when you borrow money from your pension, you would essentially be borrowing money from your investments. If you are also in need of short-term liquid cash, then here are specific steps you would need to follow while applying for a 401(k) loan: 1. Hardship loans Before applying for a 401(k) loan, you will have to make sure that the plan you have invested in has the provision of hardship loans or not. You can approach the human resources department for clearing this query. 2. Paperwork While the paperwork involved with a 401(k) loan is quite minimal, you would still need to fill specific forms and submit documents required for your case. We would recommend speaking to a benefits representative who can help you in reviewing all the paperwork before you submit it.

A credit score is a number that denotes the level of trust a potential lender may place in a borrower. Lenders need a guarantee that the borrower is capable of paying off the money they have borrowed within a pre-decided time span. Depending on your creditworthiness, you will either have an excellent, good, fair, or bad credit score. Based on this score, the lender makes a decision about whether or not they should lend money to you. It also affects the interest rates charged by them. If you are still confused about what a bad credit score is, read on to get an idea about the basics: 1. What does a bad credit score mean? Having a bad credit score can mean that the borrower was unable to fulfill their credit obligations within the stipulated duration, or it could indicate that they did not pay them at all. In simple words, a bad credit score is a low score in their credit report. A bad credit score is a reflection of the borrower’s past inabilities to keep up with repayments. These repayments need to be made on time, failing which the borrower’s credit score may fall, and they may be unable to get approval for loans in the future.