Caribou: 2024 auto loan review

Caribou vs. Upstart

Caribou requires you to owe at least $10,000 to qualify — but Upstart has a low loan amount of $3,000. This can be useful if you’ve already paid down a majority or your loan or didn’t borrow much to begin with. While it doesn't allow co-borrowers, it has a low minimum credit score requirement of just 510. When matching you with a lender, it also considers your education and work history, not just your credit score. 

What we like and what we don’t like

Caribou allows you to apply with a co-borrower, but a potentially high processing fee may make it more expensive to use than other services.

What we like

• Quick rate comparison: Caribou works with a network of different lenders, allowing you to compare refinancing rates directly through Caribou’s site.
• Co-borrowers allowed: You can add a co-borrower when applying for refinancing with Caribou. If your co-borrower has a higher income or better credit than you, you may qualify for lower rates.
• Insurance bundles available: Caribou offers auto loan add-ons like gap insurance and key replacement. While these products aren’t always necessary, bundling may help you save money if you do want to use them.

What we don't like

• Limited state availability: Caribou is not available to drivers in Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada or West Virginia.
• Potential high processing fee: While Caribou doesn’t charge you directly, the lender you’re matched with might pass the $499 processing fee to you.
• High minimum loan amount: Many lenders set their minimum amount below $10,000. If you are close to paying your loan off, Caribou may not help you.

How to contact Caribou 

According to its reviews, Caribou offers excellent customer service. You can enjoy a fully online experience with the comfort of person-to-person communication. If you have specific questions, you can reach out for help by emailing its customer support team at contact@gocaribou.com. If you prefer, you can also call Caribou at 877-445-0070. Support is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET and on weekends from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET.

Auto loan types offered

Caribou only offers auto refinance loans — which is a limited selection compared to most other services.

Auto loan refinancing

• Amounts: $10,000-$125,000
• Terms: 24-84 months
• APR: 5.48%-28.55%

Through Caribou's lender partnerships, you can refinance while also shopping for other add-on products like extended protection, cosmetic care and key replacement services. It is one of the few refinancing options that lets you add a co-borrower to your application, but you will be stuck with a much higher minimum loan amount. Expect to borrow at least $10,000, although terms and loan amounts vary by lender.

Caribou FAQs

How Bankrate rates Caribou

Methodology

The Bankrate team assessed more than 35 auto lenders to find the best. Bankrate considered 18 criteria, such as acceptance criteria, loan amounts and APR range. These scores are broken into four categories.

• Availability: Loan amounts, repayment options, dealership requirements and state availability all contribute to this category. Lenders that serve customers nationwide with flexible loan amounts rank higher.
• Affordability: This section houses APR ranges, acceptance criteria, fees and discounts. Lenders with the lowest rates, fewer fees and most generous acceptance criteria receive higher scores.
• Customer experience: Our team looked at how easy it is for customers to apply for and manage their loans. Criteria include how long you have to shop, customer service hours, whether there’s an app and autopay availability.
• Transparency: This includes prequalification and disclosure of rates and fees. We favored lenders that make it easy for customers to preview possible costs.