Best advertised APRs for buying a new vehicle, ranked low to high. New-car loans typically beat used-car APRs by 0.5–1.5 points - but only on franchised-dealer purchases.
As of October 22, 2026, the lowest advertised new car loan APR among the 12 lenders below is 3.75% from State Employees' Credit Union on a 36-month term. Advertised rates in this table run from 3.75% to 5.19% APR.
| Lender | Type | Min credit | Term | APR (from) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SE
State Employees' Credit Union
|
Credit Union Regional: NC, SC, GA, TN, VA |
- | 36 mo | 3.75% | Visit |
|
NF
Navy Federal
|
Credit Union | 640+ | 36 mo | 4.19% | Visit |
|
US
USAA
|
Bank (Military) | 640+ | 36 mo | 4.49% | Visit |
|
RB
Randolph-Brooks FCU
|
Credit Union Regional: TX |
- | 60 mo | 4.49% | Visit |
|
AN
Andrews Federal Credit Union
|
Credit Union | - | 36 mo | 4.49% | Visit |
|
SF
SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union
|
Credit Union Regional: CA |
- | 60 mo | 4.59% | Visit |
|
DC
Digital Federal Credit Union
|
Credit Union | - | 65 mo | 4.99% | Visit |
|
FT
First Tech Federal Credit Union
|
Credit Union | - | 65 mo | 4.99% | Visit |
|
CC
Consumers Credit Union
|
Credit Union | - | 60 mo | 4.99% | Visit |
|
PA
Patelco Credit Union
|
Credit Union | - | 66 mo | 5.19% | Visit |
|
AF
Affinity Federal Credit Union
|
Credit Union | - | 36 mo | 5.19% | Visit |
|
CX
Connexus Credit Union
|
Credit Union | - | 24 mo | 5.19% | Visit |
Best advertised APRs as of October 22, 2026. Your actual rate depends on credit, term, and loan amount.
The single biggest mistake new car buyers make is walking onto a dealer's lot without a pre-approval. The dealer's finance manager makes a chunk of their commission from marking up the bank's "buy rate," so without a competing offer, you have no leverage to push back.
The order of operations that produces the best APR:
Manufacturer 0% APR promotions are real, but they're typically limited to:
Run the math: a $5,000 cash rebate plus a 6.5% APR for 60 months often beats 0% APR with no rebate over the same term. The "free money" headline doesn't always survive contact with the calculator.
Technically you can get a new car loan with a 500 FICO - but the APR will be brutal. Here's what each tier roughly means in 2026:
| FICO range | Tier | Typical new-car APR |
|---|---|---|
| 781+ | Super-prime | 5.5%–6.5% |
| 661–780 | Prime | 6.5%–8.0% |
| 601–660 | Near-prime | 8.5%–11.5% |
| 501–600 | Sub-prime | 12%–17% |
| 500 and below | Deep sub-prime | 17%–22% |
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