Conference 7.286::dcu

RE: Note 924.0 by GIAMEM::HOVEY
    
>    It's that time again...it's it worth the effort ? Has anyone had
>    positive experiences using this process? 

I am VERY wary of these deals.  I looked at the dealers listed.  Of the
ones I knew in NH, you would not catch me buying a car from them.

Service is very important when buying a car.  Car dealers will match
prices, no matter what 'special' there is out there today.

I would be surprised if I could not get an equal or better deal at a
dealer I choose.  It is a matter of doing your homework...

	- mark

    Based on receiving the 'preapproval' mailings, we went out and bought
    a car...without DCU funding.
    
    we knew what kind of car we wanted, priced it out at two dealerships.
    got the best deal.  i bought out the mailing, this was on a saturday,
    and the deal got a slightly better rate for us.  please note, only 
    marginally better, and that price could not have been put in the car 
    as I was working two dealerships.
    
    I don't live near the dealership listed, so I did not go there.
    What made me use the dealer's bank was the ability to approve me in
    one hour for the loan so we could drive it away.
    What was nagging in the back of my head was the preapproval said it
    was subject to approval, so I faced getting the car Tuesday.
    
    So bootom line I was faced with going with the uncertainty and slighter
    higher DCU rate and wait and possible hasels, or drive away.
    It was a car for the wife.  She drove it away.
    
    I did send a small note to the bod with the problem.  The wording was
    really ambigous as to if I was really approved, and the problem with
    competing with 'instant' approval and moeny exchange at dealership.
    
    I ran into the exact same thing last august when my son bought a new
    truck.   The bank he went with took two hours to approve him, with the
    dealer doing all the work, Dcu might have taken 24.
    
    we need work in this area.
    ed
    

Last month my other credit union (Millbury Credit Union, Millbury MA) had an
auto loan sale. I applied for a 4 year used vehicle loan. I was approved in
one hour, and if I had the paperwork in order, I could have picked up the
check in one hour, too. MCU had the same stipulation on automatic withdrawal
as DCU. The only other requirement was that the loan officer wanted to take a
look at the truck. Rates? Not even close. MCU 7.75%, DCU 9.9%. These rates
were available for all MCU members, not just a select few. I wasn't sent the
DCU auto loan sale flyer. I guess DCU didn't want my business.

Chris

    Not to worry Chris you can have the one they sent me.
    
    Joe

    
    Is it worth the effort for the DCU to continue this campaign ?

The thing I find fascinating about this recurring program is that my wife
and I, each DCU members, get different mailings.  Sometimes she'll get
a mailing that offers her a preapproved line of credit, where I'll get one
that has an application for a loan.  This time she got the "Auto Sale"
mailing and I didn't.

I'm a Digital employee, she's self-employed.  Each of us has a DCU Visa
card which we use frequently and pay off each month, each of us has 
significant sums in various DCU savings accounts.  I had a DCU car loan in
the past, she didn't.  My car is 9 years old, hers is 4.

I'd really like to know why we're treated differently.

				Steve

My wife and I both got the auto loan mailing, but I got a mailing with a
discount coupon for checks and she didn't.  Maybe that's because I've been
getting my checks cheaper elsewhere lately, while my wife continued to order
them from DCU out of convenience?

    At each month's Board meeting, management reviews the current
    promotions and gives the results for the ones that have completed since
    the last Board meeting.  Many of them are targeted in one way or
    another.  Usually they describe the criteria that they used.
    Some promotions are targeted based on demographics.  Others are
    targeted based on savings levels or on changes in savings levels.
    There are a lot of different ways to target promotions.  The purpose
    of targetted promotions, of course, is to reduce the cost of offering
    the promotion by restricting it to a group that is more likely to be
    interested.  That can never be done perfectly.
    
    I don't feel qualified to release specific information, but I encourage
    you to contact your friendly, neighborhood Board member (e.g., Phil)
    to ask about the targeting criteria for specific promotions.  If they 
    cannot find the answer in the most recent Board packet, they should be 
    able to ask it at the next Board meeting.
    
    	Regards,
    	Larry

    Someone asked if this type of promotion should be offered in the
    future.
    
    I went out to many of the dealers listed in the greater Maynard area to
    price their offerings.  Most of them indicated they could not match the
    interest rates being offered by DCU.  I would encourage the Credit
    Union to periodically offer "sales" of loans in the future.
    
    On the other hand, when I compared the "sale" price of a used vehicle
    at one of the dealers to a similar vehicle (same year, model, options;
    slightly lower milage at the non-DCU dealer), I was able to save over
    $2,000 on a car by NOT going to the DCU recommended dealer.  ($12,900
    vs. $10,700).  That part of the promotion did not appear to be as good
    a deal as the loan rates.
    
    David

I will be buying a new car within the next 30 days or so.

DCU will not be getting my business (though I would
prefer to do business with DCU).  Worker's Credit
Union is offering 36-month financing at 7.59% (with
20% down).  Even if I can't put 20% down, I'll get their
8.59% rate which is still better than DCU's 8.99%.

On the brighter side, DCU is my 2nd choice -- beats
all the bank rates I've seen.

From last Monday's Board meeting:

DCU gave out more money in car loans to members during June than in any other
month in DCU history, nearly $11 million.  I think if you look, you'll see that
the rates are lower in the past, although some other credit union specials can
still beat DCU.  We are back in the business of investing in our members!

And...for the first time in a very long time, DCU gained more members than we
lost for the month.

There was no bad news, by the way.  A very nice meeting to break in a new
director.  By the way, Gim Hom tried to attend by conference call, first from an
airport, then from an airplane.  Unfortunately the connection from the airplane
was not clear enough to work with the conference call.  Gim definitely got an A
for effort for doing his best to attend!  We are looking forward to having him
at next month's Board meeting.

Elaine