2025 iLending Auto Refinance Review
iLending auto loans at a glance
| Starting annual percentage rate (APR) | Loan terms | Loan amounts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refinance auto loans | 5.49% | 12-96 months | $5,000-$150,000 |
iLending is a loan aggregator, or a loan shopping website. Instead of providing auto refinance loans itself, it partners with a network of more than 50 lenders. Those lenders are the ones that fund the loans.
First, you fill out an online form. Then, iLending sees which of its lenders are willing to work with you, and at what rate. Depending on your credit, you may get multiple offers to compare and choose from.
- Only offers refinancing: If you need a loan to buy a new or used car, iLending can’t help. It only specializes in refinancing and other related products, like GAP insurance.
- Good credit not required: If you’re having trouble refinancing your car because of bad credit, iLending may be able to help. Its minimum credit score requirement is just 560.
- Handles most paperwork for you: iLending will pay off your old auto loan on your behalf. It handles the DMV paperwork most of the time, too.
- Refinances upside-down car loans: It can be hard to refinance when you owe more on your car loan than the car is worth. Some iLending partners refinance upside-down car loans, depending on the circumstances.
- Long loan terms: Many people refinance to longer loan terms in order to get a lower monthly payment. With iLending, you could stretch out your payments across 96 months. That also means more overall interest.
- Best for borrowers who want to work one-on-one with a loan consultant: Part of iLending’s appeal is what it calls its You First Approach™. Once you prequalify, you’ll work with a dedicated loan consultant to review your options. iLending also handles most of the administrative tasks and paperwork that come with auto refinancing.
iLending auto loan refinancing requirements
To refinance your vehicle with iLending, you must meet the below requirements:
- Credit score: 560+
- Vehicle age: Fewer than 10 years old
- Odometer reading: Less than 150,000 miles
- Minimum credit history: Six months and one credit account (credit card, mortgage, loan)
- Minimum income: $1,500 per month (varies)
iLending pros and cons
Refinancing your car loan is a big decision, and so is the lender you choose. Here are some pros and cons for iLending to help get you started.
Pros
- Accepts bad credit
- A loan consultant will walk you through the process
- Might be able to refinance an upside-down car loan
Cons
- Charges doc fees
- Down payment may be required if you have bad credit or are upside down
- Customer service isn’t available by chat
iLending helps make auto refinancing easier in a few ways. First, it shops its network of lenders for you. It also assigns you a loan consultant to help you make sense of your offers. Once your refinancing is finalized, iLending will pay off your old car loan and handle all of the DMV paperwork, in most cases.
However, iLending is a loan aggregator. You can’t be sure which lender you’ll be matched with until you prequalify, so you might not learn about potential doc fees until later in the process. iLending’s partners charge these to cover the cost of processing your paperwork.
iLending company overview
iLending got its start in 2006. At that time, it was called Fleet Financing, and it only offered loans for company fleet vehicles. Over the years, the company evolved to iLending — a loan shopping platform that can help refinance nearly any type of personal vehicle.
The company has three main headquarters: one in Austin, Texas, one in Columbia, S.C., and another in Denver.
iLending auto loan types offered
You can’t get a loan through iLending to buy a car — this platform specializes in refinancing only. That said, if it has wheels, you can probably refinance it with iLending. Along with cars, trucks and SUVs, iLending’s partners offer:
- Motorcycle refinancing
- Boat refinancing
- ATV refinancing
- RV refinancing
Other than refinancing, you can also buy extras like GAP insurance, car warranties, appearance protection packages, roadside assistance and more.
For an additional fee, debt protection is also available through iLending’s Vehicle Repurchase Program.
With this program, iLending may forgive up to 90 days of payments if you lose your job. If you still haven’t found work after 90 days, you can turn your car over to iLending, and it won’t report it as a repossession to the credit bureaus. Other stipulations apply. For more info, ask iLending directly.
How to get an auto loan with iLending
Since it’s a loan shopping site, getting refinanced through iLending works differently than if you were to apply directly with a lender. Here are the steps that you should expect.
Provide basic information and prequalify
To get started with iLending, you’ll fill out a prequalification form online. Here, iLending will ask questions about yourself, your finances and your current auto loan. Prequalification doesn’t hurt your credit score, and it will give iLending an idea of what partners you might be eligible for.
Compare options with a loan consultant
After you prequalify, a loan consultant will call you to discuss your refinancing options. iLending doesn’t specify exactly how long it’ll take for the consultant to call, but it says the application takes a few minutes.
Pick a loan and finalize
Your loan consultant will help you choose and finalize your refinance loan. Finalizing could take a few hours, but the process should be easy. iLending can confirm your vehicle information online, and it has an online portal you can use if you need to upload documents.
After the loan is finalized, iLending will take care of paying off your old lender. It also usually handles the DMV paperwork unless you’re adding or removing a co-borrower in Alabama, Louisiana or Mississippi.
Is an iLending auto loan right for you?
If you think you’d benefit from having a loan consultant walk you through the refinancing process, iLending might be for you. Most times, iLending also takes care of the loan payoff and DMV paperwork for you. However, the cost of this convenience is a potentially expensive doc fee.
How iLending auto loans compare
Reading iLending reviews like this one is a good starting point, but to truly know whether this company is a good fit, you should compare it to other refinance loans and lenders.
Below, you’ll see how iLending stacks up against Bank of America and PenFed Credit Union. Please note that these stats apply to auto refinance loans only.
| iLending | Bank of America | PenFed Credit Union | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting APR | 5.49% | 5.84% | 4.69% |
| Loan terms | 12-96 months | 48-72 months | 36-84 months |
| Loan amounts | $5,000-$150,000 | Starting at $7,500 ($8,000 in Minnesota) | Up to $150,000 |
| Minimum credit score | 560 | Not specified | Not specified |
Between iLending, Bank of America and PenFed Credit Union, iLending is the only loan aggregator. Bank of America and PenFed are both direct lenders, so your auto refinancing funds will come directly from them rather than a partner.
You might have a harder time qualifying for Bank of America and PenFed. With iLending, you have more chances to qualify, since it works with multiple partners, each of which has its own eligibility criteria.
That said, PenFed has a lower starting interest rate than iLending and Bank of America. Since it’s a credit union, you’ll have to join before you can refinance. Bank of America could be a solid choice for current Bank of America clients — it offers rate discounts for eligible account holders.
Frequently asked questions
iLending requires a credit score of at least 560 for auto refinancing and a minimum income of $1,500 per month.
iLending could be a solid choice if you’ve decided that now’s the time to refinance your car. It claims that its clients save $148 a month on average after refinancing. Since it’s a loan aggregator, you won’t get your loan directly from iLending. Instead, it will shop its network of lenders on your behalf.
Some may not prefer this model because you can’t know what lender you might get matched with until you fill out a form. The only way to know if a company is right for you is by researching and shopping around.
Refinancing a car can hurt your credit, but usually only temporarily. Applying for the loan will require a hard credit pull. This will usually drop your score by five points or less.
By refinancing, you’ll also be closing an older account (your current auto loan). This impacts the length of your credit history, which makes up 15% of your FICO Score. When you replace that older account with a newer one (your refinance loan), this will affect your new credit factor, which accounts for 10% of your score.
But out of all the factors that make up your credit score, payment history is the most important (35%). As long as you make your refinance payments on time, you should see your credit score tick up.
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