Santander may not be the wisest choice for an auto loan.

A Santander auto loan may be tempting to drivers with an open bankruptcy or low credit score. However, before signing a contract with Santander, it’s worth looking at what Santander auto loan reviews have to say about the lender.

In this article, we’ll take a close look at Santander auto loan details and customer ratings to give you a better picture of the lender.

To find the best loan offer for your budget, you’ll want to compare options from multiple lenders. Check out our review of the best auto loans for our top recommendations, or start comparing free offers from multiple lenders at AutoCreditExpress.com.

In this article:

About Santander

Founded: 1902

Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts

Santander Bank is the wholly owned subsidiary of the Spanish Santander Group. Among its many banking services, Santander customers can apply for new and used auto loans as well as auto loan refinancing.

New auto loans are secured directly through Santander or through Chrysler financing, with which Santander partners. Used auto loans are handled through Vroom, an online used car retailer based in New York City.

Santander Auto Loan Pros	Santander Auto Loan Cons
Offers loans to customers with bankruptcies and low credit scores	Poor customer reputation
Easy application process	History of deceptive loan practices
Can apply for financing and shop for a used car through the same platform (Vroom)	High interest rates and poor loan-to-value ratio

Santander Auto Loan Pros

Santander Auto Loan Cons

Offers loans to customers with bankruptcies

and low credit scores

Poor customer reputation

Easy application process

History of deceptive loan practices

Can apply for financing and shop

for a used car through the same platform (Vroom)

High interest rates and poor loan-to-value ratio

Santander Auto Loan Loan Details

Santander uses what it calls “simple interest loan contracts.” Interest on these contracts accrues daily and follows a monthly payment schedule. There is no penalty for making your payments early. In fact, if you make early payments on your Santander auto loan, you will accrue less interest and be able to pay off your contract sooner. If you miss payments, however, your interest can snowball into an unmanageable sum.

Santander Auto Loan Details
Loan Amount Range	$5,000 to $75,000
APR	As low as 1.99%
Loan Term Length	Up to 72 months

While Santander advertises rates as low as 1.99 percent, many customers have reported annual percentage rates (APRs) up to 20 percent and higher with their Santander loans.

Santander Auto Loan Application Process

The Santander auto loan application process is different for new and used car purchases.

New car purchases are handled through Santander bank or Chrysler Capital. With Chrysler Capital, prospective borrowers complete an online application for pre-approval and can receive a response in as little as 60 seconds. Pre-approval does not require a hard credit check and will not impact your credit score. You can also apply for financing in person at participating Chrysler dealerships.

Used car purchases are handled through Vroom, an online used car retailer. Vroom allows customers to browse available vehicles and even have their new cars delivered directly to their homes.

Minimum Requirements

Santander recommends that potential applicants have a minimum credit score of 650. Preference is also given to those with at least one year at their current residence and one year with their current employer.

Many lenders do not service borrowers with open bankruptcies, but if you’re in this situation, you may still be eligible for a Santander auto loan, depending on the conditions.

Santander Auto Loan Reviews And Reputation

Santander has a poor reputation when it comes to auto loans. It is presently the subject of a class-action lawsuit, and 34 state attorneys general have filed claims that Santander issued unfair auto loans with excessive interest rates.

Santander has a C+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and a customer review score of 1.08 out of 5 stars based on more than 170 reviews. On Trustpilot, the company has a 1.5-star rating based on nearly 3,000 reviews.

Positive Santander Auto Loan Reviews

Not everyone is displeased with Santander, and some customers report a satisfactory experience. Here’s one positive Santander auto loan review we found:

“This bank is awesome. I have a car loan with them. Recently I started a business and it set me back a little. They were very understanding and super excited for me ... on top of that, they even deferred a payment for me to help with business costs.”

- Ryan B. via BBB

Negative Santander Auto Loan Reviews

Unfortunately, most customers are displeased with Santander because of high fees and misleading practices. Common complaints regard poor customer service, a bad pricing structure, and excessive interest rates.

“I would not recommend doing business with [Santander]. I've been paying on my lease for close to seven years, and every time it looks like the payoff is going down, they find a way to add more fees.”

- Reynaldo B. via BBB

“[I] have sent messages to have someone review my account due to the extremely high interest rate. [I] bought the car in 2016. It is a 2013 Avenger, and [I] have already paid over $20,000. [I] still owe $11,000 more with the sticker price $9,999.”

- Debra B. via BBB

Our Take On Santander Auto Loans: 2.5 Stars

The fact that Santander was recently the subject of a class-action lawsuit regarding auto loans with very poor loan-to-value ratios indicates this lender is not on the up-and-up. Overall, we do not recommend getting a Santander auto loan. Even if you have a poor credit score or open bankruptcy, you’ll likely be able to find bad credit auto loan offers from more reputable lenders.