Refinancing a Car Loan / Exporting a Vehicle

do you have any bank accounts stateside? no bank or credit union will refi for you?

No, I no longer have a bank account stateside. Thus, far I have contacted local branches of Chase and PNC, in the area where I will be moving to and no go, although they will allow refiancing of a vehicle locally with permission to export to St. Croix. I have also contacted Capital One, with whom I have two credit card accounts and also no go. I'm not sure why this is a problem, as I have excellent credit, good income, low debt to income ratio, and stable work history.

If need be, I'm sure I can secure a personal loan to pay off the auto loan, but I would rather utilize lower interest rates via refinancing. So, I am curious if anyone else has encountered such a situation and how they remedied it via refinancing.

Thanks.

well, i wish you luck

Mutig, where are you moving to?

Michigan

hi. if you cannot export the vehicle i may be interested in buying. i am moving to STX 3/1. tx

The problem you are running into, is no financial institution will finance your vehicle once it leaves the islands unless you have a bank or loan company that has their main office in the states. Also state side banks usually will not allow financed vehiles to leave the states without being paid off because if you fail to make payments, they are stuck and not able to repo their property.

Loan companies are more apt to work with you on issues like this. But their interest rates may be double what a bank would offer you. You would probably be better off selling the car on island and then buy another state side hoping you get more than you owe on the car. If you do find a way, we would appreciate hearing about it for those that might find themselves in the same or similar situation.

Is the bank interested in buying it back from you since they won't allow you to take it with you?

alana i think that would give him bad credit, just like a repo?

Why would it give him bad credit if they won't allow it to be moved off island and have payments continue?
Something has to be done with it if they won't allow him to move with it off island.
Maybe he can sell it himself and/or find someone to take over payments locally if he cannot find a lender stateside.
Just a thought anyway as know how screwed up banks are.

Why would it give him bad credit if they won't allow it to be moved off island and have payments continue?
Something has to be done with it if they won't allow him to move with it off island.
Maybe he can sell it himself and/or find someone to take over payments locally if he cannot find a lender stateside.
Just a thought anyway as know how screwed up banks are.

I am not an expert but, I was going to suggest that to the OP... "Sell" the account to a qualified buyer approved by the financial institution... Your advice is a good one... Though, not necessarily, the OP will likely take a loss, but will get a release...

I highly doubt the bank is going to let him take the vehicle off island.

The OP signed a legal and binding contract borrowing a certain amount of money using the vehicle as collateral. I am certain that somewhere in that contract he signed there is language that says he cannot take the vehicle to the US. There are many reasons that the banks don't allow it. The main reason is mtdoramike pointed out if the loan was defaulted on in the states the bank really has no way to collect their collateral. As far as I can tell Scotia Bank has no branches anywhere in the US. That means they have no network for collections, recovery, auction, etc. It would be more difficult than its worth to them.

Also, in many states when there is a lien involved on the vehicle the financial institution must be registered in the state in which the vehicle is registered. Given the fact that Scotia Bank isn't even in the US theres a good chance the vehicle would not be able to be registered in the state the customer is in. How long do you think he could drive around with the VI plates?

Also the OP said in an earlier post that he just bought a house and had it financed by Flagstar Bank in MI but did not say in his list of banks he checked with that he checked with them as they do offer auto loans and refinancing. That may be a route to explore since he already has accounts with them.

You can transfer the note to another person but its treated as a sale and the new buyer must qualify and its not really a transfer a new note is written.

It really comes down to 2 options...either he will satisfy the loan or not.

That means pay it off or keep making payments on it or have it repo'ed.

if he sells it it would not but if he just turns it over it would be the same as a repo

Thanks for the suggestions, but problem solved!

So, after speaking with the folks at Paradise Freight who I plan to use to transport the vehicle off-island, the recommended PenFed Credit Union (Pentagon Federal Credit Union; http://www.penfed.org).

The person I spoke with knew immediately what I was asking for (ie letter for permisson to export off of St. Croix back to the mainland) and did not hesitate to initiate the application for refinance. Luckily, I was approved the same day and with a much lower interest rate than Scotia Bank, so win win for me!

In any event, I highly recommend using them for a purchase or refinance, as they are very easy to work with, and will allow you to export your island from the Virgin Islands should you need to move like me. And, of note, you do not have to be a government employee or in the military to join their credit union. For example, I paid $15 online to join Voices for America's Troops, and by becoming a member I instantly was eligible to join their credit union.

Thanks again for everyone's suggestions.

Excellent... Best wishes..

And to Cruzan Car Sales, yes I did check with Flagstar but they only originate loans for Michigan residents, which I am not. Incidentally, I also checked with local branches of Fifth Third Bank and Co-merica, all of which denied processing the application for similar reasons (ie not permitting origination of loans outside of their "footprint"). But as I stated previously, it all worked out in the end with PenFed allowing the refinance and permission to export.

good deal