Caribou is a financial service that could help you save $110 per month on your car loan.
Curious about Caribou? You can check your rate online for free with no impact to your credit score, no hidden fees, and no SSN required.
Keep reading to discover everything you need to know about Caribou and how the service works today in our review.
What is Caribou?
Caribou is an auto loan refinancing service and insurance platform available online at Caribou.com.
If you’re currently making car payments, then you could save money with Caribou. According to Caribou.com, you could save $110 per month on your car loan by refinancing with Caribou.
Caribou also makes it easy to get insurance. The company shops and compares insurance quotes from trusted carriers in minutes, saving you time and money.
Caribou is based in Washington, DC. The company was founded with the goal of putting drivers in control of their auto finances.
Caribou Benefits
Formerly known as AutoRefi, Caribou can offer benefits like:
- Save $110 per month on car payments
- Refinance a car loan quickly and easily
- Work with dedicated loan agents and other experts
- Compare insurance quotes online to save money
- Available to drivers in all 50 states
- Strong reviews and ratings online
How Does Caribou Work?
Just like you can refinance a house, you can refinance a car loan with Caribou. Caribou walks you through the entire car loan refinancing process, potentially helping you save over $100 per month on car payments.
Like other refinancing services, Caribou takes over your existing loan, then gives you a new one at a lower rate. In this case, Caribou works as a third party between you and a new lender. The new lender takes over your loan, and Caribou organizes the transaction from start to finish.
You can instantly check how much you would pay with Caribou online – without entering your SSN or impacting your credit score. If you’re currently paying $500 per month for your auto loan, for example, then Caribou could reduce that amount to $400 per month or less, depending on several factors.
Because Caribou uses a soft pull to verify your information, checking rates won’t impact your credit score. You can view rates from lenders in your area without impacting your credit score.
In addition to refinancing auto loans, Caribou offers insurance comparison services. Like other insurance comparison platforms, Caribou makes it easy to compare multiple providers at once, then pick the provider that works best for your unique needs.
Refinance Your Car Loan Like You Would Refinance Your Mortgage
Caribou was founded with the goal of disrupting the car loan industry. The fintech company makes it easy to refinance your car loan like you would refinance your mortgage.
Here’s what you need to know about refinancing a car loan through Caribou:
You can refinance a car loan just like you would refinance an auto loan. Like refinancing a mortgage, refinancing an auto loan can help you save thousands of dollars in interest across the life of your loan. According to Caribou, you can reduce monthly payments by $110 per month, helping you save over $1,000 per year.
Many drivers choose to refinance with Caribou to get better loan terms than when they first purchased their vehicle.
Even if you have an auto loan with a low interest rate, you could refinance with Caribou to get a lower monthly payment.
Some people refinance to lower their interest rate, while others refinance to extend their term and lower their monthly payment.
To qualify for refinancing, Caribou needs a few basic pieces of information about you and your vehicle. However, you can get started without entering your SSN – and without impacting your credit score.
Caribou currently offers refinancing for all passenger vehicles, including cars, trucks, and SUVs. The company works with customers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Currently, Caribou does not offer refinancing for motorcycles or commercial vehicles, nor does Caribou offer auto lease buyouts.
How to Refinance with Caribou
Caribou makes it easy to refinance an auto loan through the platform. The website walks you through the entire process. You can also choose to contact Caribou to speak with an expert directly, and that expert can walk you through the process.
Here’s how to get started with Caribou:
Start by checking your rates. Fill out a short application at Caribou.com where you provide general information about yourself, your auto loan, and your vehicle.
View lending offers. Caribou’s technology starts to explore competitive loan refinancing options in minutes. If you qualify, you’ll immediately see offers from lenders, including their rates, monthly payments, and terms. You can view these rates with no impact to your credit score and without submitting an SSN. Instead, Caribou conducts a soft credit pull to check initial rates.
Select a lending offer to learn more. If you do choose a specific lending partner, that lending partner may request your full credit report, which is considered a hard credit pull and may affect your credit.
Lock in your rate, create an account, and upload documents. After selecting a loan option you like, you can lock in that rate by creating an account. Then, upload any requested documents. You’ll need to submit your vehicle identification number (VIN), Social Security Number (SSN), and information about your annual income (and potentially documents to verify your annual income).
Add optional coverages to your car loan. Caribou lets you choose bonus options like Total Loss Protection, Extended Vehicle Protection, Key Replacement, and other products.
E-sign the loan agreement with your new lender via the Caribou platform. Caribou works with your new lender to ensure your old loan is paid off. Once the loan is paid off, your refinance is complete. You will continue to make monthly car payments until the lender verifies they have paid off the old loan. Once the lender has paid off the old loan, you start making car payments to the new lender.
Once you’ve completed these steps, you’ve successfully refinanced your auto loan. You’ll begin making auto loan payments to a new company at a lower interest rate or with lower monthly payments. If you overpaid on your previous loan (say, when making monthly payments during the transition), then your new lender will refund any overpayments.
Caribou Features
Here are some of the features that distinguish Caribou from other car insurance comparison websites and refinancing services available today:
Competitive Rates: You can save thousands of dollars over the life of your car loan by accessing affordable refinancing rates through Caribou. The main advantage of Caribou is that you’re signing up for an auto loan at a lower rate than your current loan, which could save you over $100 per month or over $1,000 per year.
Dedicated Support: Caribou has a team of loan officers and insurance experts standing by to walk you through the loan refinancing process or insurance comparison process. Whether you want to complete the process entirely online or have someone help, you can get the dedicated support you need with Caribou.
Shop Insurance Across Multiple Providers: Instead of pushing you to choose a single insurance provider, Caribou lets you instantly compare rates across multiple insurance providers. You can enter your ZIP code, then instantly view top insurance offers from providers in your area.
All in One Place for your Car Financing & Insurance Needs: You can take control of your car finances and insurance from one convenient place when working with Caribou.
Take Control of Your Car Payments: Car loans can make you feel powerless. You might feel stuck paying a high monthly payment, for example, or be upset about paying a high interest rate. Caribou lets you take control of your car payments. Like a mortgage, a car loan can be refinanced, and Caribou makes the process easy.
No Hidden Fees: Caribou is transparent with fees throughout the insurance comparison and car refinancing process. The company discloses all fees and pricing upfront transparently, making it easy to see exactly how much it will cost – and how much you’ll save.
No Impact to Credit Score & No SSN Required to Check Rates: Caribou can check car loan refinancing rates without impacting your credit score. In fact, there’s no need to enter your Social Security Number at all to check rates. You can view cost savings just by entering basic information about yourself, your vehicle, and your auto loan, for example. Caribou verifies your information with a soft credit pull. If you decide to work with a specific lender, then that lender may perform a hard credit pull, which may impact your credit score.
Pay Lower Interest Rates: Maybe you signed up for an auto loan at a high interest rate. Maybe you’ve heard of a friend paying a lower interest rate on their auto loan. With Caribou, you’re not stuck with your high interest auto loan; instead, you can refinance at a lower rate to save money.
Extend your Lending Term to Make Smaller Monthly Payments: You can also refinance with Caribou to extend your lending term, allowing you to make smaller monthly payments. Even if your interest rate remains unchanged, you could pay over $100 less per month simply by extending your lending term.
85,000+ Happy Drivers: Caribou has 85,000+ reviews on review aggregator websites like Trustpilot, and most customers are happy with the service they received through Caribou.
Strong Reviews Online: Caribou has strong reviews online from verified customers on the Better Business Bureau website, Credit Karma, Trustpilot, and other review aggregator websites. Generally, these websites tend to skew negative, as people don’t leave reviews unless they’ve had a bad experience. However, Caribou has a surprisingly strong online presence.
How Much Can You Save with Caribou?
According to Caribou.com, drivers can save $110 per month by refinancing their auto loan with Caribou.
You can save money with Caribou in two ways:
Lower your interest rate to reduce the amount of interest you pay over the lifetime of your loan. Even lowering your interest rate by a small amount can help you save hundreds – or thousands – across the lifetime of your loan.
Increase your lending term to reduce monthly payments. Some drivers choose to extend their lending term. Instead of taking a 72 month car loan, for example, you might take an 84 month car loan, which can reduce your monthly payments even further.
The specific amount of money you save depends on a variety of factors – including your credit score and available rates, your current car loan, and the value of your vehicle, among other factors.
Caribou lets you look up your vehicle by make and model to determine how much you could save. You can view potential savings without entering any personal information – just basic vehicle info.
Caribou Insurance Comparison Services
Caribou is best-known for its auto loan refinancing services. However, the company also offers insurance comparison services. You can compare multiple insurance providers with Caribou instantly, which could help you save hundreds on car insurance while buying better coverage.
Here’s how Caribou’s car insurance comparison services work:
Step 1) Tell Caribou a little about yourself, including basic information about your vehicle and driving history.
Step 2) Tell Caribou about your current coverage, including your current insurance company and location.
Step 3) View insurance offers from providers in your area. You could save money or get better coverage with insurers in your local area.
Caribou’s insurance experts will help guide you through the car insurance purchase process. They’ll review options, select coverage, and complete necessary paperwork. You can complete the process online. Or, you can work with a Caribou expert to customize your car insurance and save money.
Overall, Caribou’s car insurance comparison services work similar to other car insurance comparison platforms online. You can view offers from insurers in your area, then choose coverage that works for you.
Caribou Reviews: What Do Drivers Say?
Caribou has strong reviews from customers who have successfully refinanced their auto loan or saved money on car insurance with the platform. Overall, the company has a 4.6 star average rating on Trustpilot and strong reviews on other review aggregator websites. We’ll summarize those reviews below.
First, Caribou has a 4.6 star rating out of 5 on Trustpilot with 560+ reviews. The vast majority (84%) of users have given the company a perfect 5-star rating.
Trustpilot reviews have praised the company for its excellent customer service, thorough and transparent explanations, and overall smooth refinancing or insurance shopping experience.
One customer described her car refinancing as “quick and painless,” and many customers are surprised by how quickly and easily they can refinance their auto loan with Caribou.
Caribou claims customers can save $110 per month by refinancing. However, some customers report saving much more. One customer claims to have been paying $730 per month for their 2021 SUV, for example. Caribou refinanced the loan to $560 per month while decreasing the overall interest rate and total payment – all within just five business days.
Some of the best Caribou reviews come from people who were specifically impressed with their Caribou loan officer. Most customers find Caribou’s loan officers to be communicative, transparent, and easy to work with.
Better Business Bureau has an A+ score for Caribou and a 4.87 star out of 5 rating with 920+ customer reviews.
Credit Karma has a 4.2 star rating for Caribou based on 525+ reviews from Credit Karma members. Credit Karma’s members praise Caribou for its easy application process, convenient information upload portal, and overall seamless refinancing process.
Caribou was formerly known as MotoRefi, so many reviews refer to MotoRefi instead of Caribou. However, they’re the same company – just rebranded.
Although some customers complain about minor customer service issues and jumping through “hoops” to refinance their loan, most customers are impressed with the speed and effectiveness of Caribou and how the service works overall.
About Caribou
Originally known as MotoRefi, Caribou was founded in 2017 by Kevin Bennett in Arlington, Virginia.
The company has received investments from some of the biggest names in the venture capital space, including Goldman Sachs, QED Investors, Moderne Ventures, and Accomplice. According to TechCrunch, Caribou has received a total of $189.1 million in funding since launch. In May 2022, Caribou reached unicorn status.
Today, Caribou continues to be based in Washington, DC and serves customers in all 50 states. Caribou also maintains an office in Denver.
You can contact Caribou and the company’s customer service team via the following:
- Phone: 1-877-445-0070
- Email: [email protected]
- NMLS #: #1746612
- Registered Address: 1717 Rhode Island Ave, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20036
Final Word
Caribou is a fintech company launched with the goal of disrupting the auto loan and insurance space.
Just like you can refinance a mortgage, you can refinance a car loan to save money. Caribou walks you through the refinancing process step by step, potentially helping you save over $100 per month on your car loan.
In addition to car loans, Caribou offers insurance comparison services, making it easy to compare insurance across multiple providers.
To learn more about Caribou and how it works or to check your rate for free today without entering your SSN or impacting your credit score, visit the official website.
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