2024 Wells Fargo Auto Loan Review

Wells Fargo auto loans at a glance

	New auto loans	Used auto loans
Starting annual percentage rate (APR)	Varies by dealer	Varies by dealer
Loan terms	Varies by dealer	Varies by dealer
Loan amounts	Varies by dealer	Varies by dealer
	See Auto Loan Rates	See Auto Loan Rates

If you’re shopping around for an auto loan, your bank is probably one of the first places you consider applying. For many people, that means going to Wells Fargo Bank (WF) for a loan, since a third of U.S. households do their banking with WF.

However, you’ll have to go elsewhere if you want a Wells Fargo auto loan. Why? Car financing is no longer directly available through the bank. So instead of submitting an application to Wells Fargo, you’ll have to visit an auto dealership in the bank’s network and apply for a loan there.

• Loans aren’t directly available through the bank: Wells Fargo car loans are only available through certain dealerships.
• A wide network of dealers: Nearly 11,000 dealerships offer Wells Fargo loans, including some online dealers.
• Terms vary by dealer: Each dealer can have different loan terms, including the fees associated with the loan.
• Requirements are unclear: Each dealer sets loan qualifications, so you may not have a sense of how to qualify before you apply.
• Best for people who want to buy from an in-network dealership: If you find the right loan and the right car at a dealer in the Wells Fargo network, it’s worth considering how WF loan terms compare to all of your offers.

Wells Fargo auto loan requirements

With Wells Fargo auto loans, the dealer will determine certain details of your loan offer. Unfortunately, that makes it difficult to understand the loan requirements up front, since each dealer requires something different.

Generally speaking, the credit score needed to buy a car with approved financing is about 660 or higher, but your income and other personal details will also come into play. Wells Fargo primarily offers loans through franchise dealerships that sell new vehicles from certain manufacturers or brands, which means you may need to be a strong applicant in order to qualify.

Here are a few other things that can be helpful to know before applying for Wells Fargo auto financing through a dealership:

• Dealers typically present you with multiple auto loan offers to choose from.
• Dealer financing is often more expensive than borrowing directly from a bank or credit union, since dealers add fees and interest to the loans.
• You can negotiate your APR and other payment terms with the dealer.

Wells Fargo pros and cons

Shopping around for an auto loan can be difficult if your goal is to get a loan from Wells Fargo. You’ll need to start by finding a dealer that offers Wells Fargo loans. But the dealer will likely present you with multiple financing offers, and some may have better terms than WF.

With Wells Fargo auto lending, the dealership arranges your financing, and Wells Fargo services the loan. That means you’ll need to visit a dealer in Wells Fargo’s network in order to get the loan. While the dealership will determine the details of your final offer, including your interest rate, WF lends you the money and manages your loan repayment.

As a borrower, you’ll have some very specific restrictions on how you can use a Wells Fargo car loan. You can only use it to buy a new or used vehicle from the dealership where your loan is approved. In other words, you can’t use the loan to shop around for better deals at another car lot or to buy a car from a private seller.

Wells Fargo company overview

Wells Fargo was founded in 1852 and is currently the fourth-largest bank in the U.S. It offers just about every banking service you might want, from personal and small business checking accounts and credit cards to investment accounts and advising.

When it comes to auto loans, however, the bank has cut back on its offerings in recent years. While WF was formerly one of the biggest auto lenders in the U.S., it announced in 2020 that it would provide financing almost exclusively through franchise dealerships.

As a result, WF auto loans have become less accessible. This could be one reason why customer ratings of the bank are poor, although Wells Fargo has had a checkered history when it comes to serving customers, including auto loan borrowers.

In the most recent incident (December 2022) the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found that WF mismanaged over 11 million auto loan accounts, with issues ranging from illegal fees to wrongfully repossessed vehicles. In a statement made that same month, the CFPB said, “Wells Fargo has consistently been one of the most problematic repeat offenders of the banks and credit unions we supervise.”

Wells Fargo auto loan types offered

Dealerships in the Wells Fargo network play a big role in determining your loan type. Some dealerships offer used vehicles and used vehicle financing, but you’ll primarily find that they arrange financing for new vehicles.

Regardless of which dealership you visit, auto loan refinancing is not currently available through Wells Fargo.

How to get an auto loan with Wells Fargo

You’ll have to visit a dealership in Wells Fargo’s network in order to get a WF auto loan. The bank doesn’t share a list of these dealerships, so you’ll need to put in some effort to find the right dealership if you’re really motivated to get a Wells Fargo loan.

Some large dealers, however, disclose up front whether they offer Wells Fargo loans. AutoNation and Hertz currently offer WF financing, for example, while Carvana does not.

Each dealership has a different process, but these are the steps you can generally expect to take:

1. Ask the dealer if it offers Wells Fargo auto loans.
2. Complete the dealer’s loan application.
3. The dealer submits your application to various lenders to see what you qualify for.
4. Review your loan offers to determine if there’s an offer you want to accept or negotiate.
5. Review and sign your final contract.

If you decide to go with a Wells Fargo loan, you can make your loan payments a few different ways: pay online, over the phone, by mail or in-person. You’ll also have the option to change your payment due date on your Wells Fargo auto loan, but you can only do it one time during your loan repayment term.

Is a Wells Fargo auto loan right for you?

It’s hard to know if a Wells Fargo auto loan will be a good fit for any particular borrower.

In order to qualify for one of their loans, you’ll need to find an in-network dealership in your area or online. But even if you have access to an in-network dealership and you find a good deal on a car at that dealership, you may not qualify for a Wells Fargo loan.

Alternatively, you might get better offers from other lenders, especially if you go directly through a bank or credit union. Plus, you might want to work with a lender that has a better track record when it comes to serving customers.

How Wells Fargo auto loans compare

If you want traditional bank financing to buy a new car, without the hassle of having to find an in-network car dealership, Bank of America (BofA) could be an alternative to WF. Unlike Wells Fargo, BofA offers loan prequalification and refinancing. Chase also offers loan prequalification; however, you can only use their auto loans at dealerships in Chase’s network.

Check out our full reviews to learn how Chase auto loans and Bank of America auto loans compare to car financing from Wells Fargo.