Disclosures
Caribou

Caribou Reviews

About Caribou

Caribou is an online lending marketplace that specializes in auto refinance. Fill out a quick form online to be matched with the best loan options for you. The company also helps with auto insurance, extended warranty plans, key replacement, total loss protection and cosmetic care packages. Checking your rate with Caribou will not impact your credit score.

Pros
  • Pre-qualify without affecting credit
  • Rates as low as 5.48%
  • No DMV paperwork
Cons
  • Not available for motorcycles
  • No auto lease buyouts

What is Caribou?

Caribou is a loan marketplace that specializes in vehicle refinancing to help customers lower their monthly payments. After you fill out a form on the website, the company uses an algorithm to match you with the best loan offers for your situation. Checking your pre-qualified offers through Caribou won’t affect your credit score, and the company offers auto insurance, total loss protection, extended warranty plans, key replacement and cosmetic care packages as add-ons when you refinance with the company.

When you refinance, Caribou takes care of paying off the old loan and retitling the vehicle, saving you a trip to the DMV.

How does Caribou work?

To get started with Caribou, fill out a form on the website with your general information, current auto loan and VIN. Your Social Security number isn’t required to check your offers. It takes just a few seconds to get the matches from its lending partners — once you receive your offers, the next step is to apply for the loan of your choice. At this point you’ll need to provide documents to confirm your income and provide your Social Security number. You can submit these documents online, by email or by text message. Loans are finalized by electronic signature. Caribou will pay off the old loan and take care of the paperwork to retitle your vehicle.

During the refinancing process with Caribou, you can add a second person, or a co-borrower, to the new auto loan.

Caribou fees and rates

Caribou does not charge a customer processing fee. It does charge the lender a $499 processing fee to cover the services to help close a loan, process documents and retitle a vehicle. The lender may the processing fee, as well as other fees, in your refinanced loan amount. The interest rate depends on your lender, the amount financed, the payment terms and your credit score and income. Fill out an application to check your rate.

Frequently asked questions

How do I qualify for a Caribou loan?

To check rates with Caribou, fill out a form on the website and provide your vehicle information. To qualify for a loan you’ll need to provide your Social Security number and proof of income, along with additional personal information.

Does Caribou do a hard credit pull?

Caribou does not do a hard credit pull when matching you with loan offers. When you apply for a loan, however, Caribou will need to perform a hard credit pull.

What type of vehicle can I refinance with Caribou?

Caribou provides refinancing services for personal automobiles, SUVs and trucks. MotoRefi does not work with commercial vehicles or motorcycles.

Can I pick my Caribou loan term?

When you get matched with multiple loan offers from Caribou’s lending partners, you can choose to apply for the one(s) with the terms that best fit your needs.

Can I add gap coverage to my Caribou loan?

If your refi is eligible, you can add on gap coverage or total loss protection when you accept an offer through one of Caribou’s partners.

Is Caribou legit?

Caribou is a great place to start if you want to refinance your car loans. It’s free to get matched with offers, and it won’t affect your credit score. It’s a nice bonus that Caribou also takes care of the paperwork on the automobile’s title if you accept a loan offer from one of its lending partners. If you want to compare rates from other lenders that aren’t partnered with Caribou, however, you’ll have to do your own research.

Caribou Reviews

Filter by Rating

  • (181)
  • (35)
  • (12)
  • (3)
  • (8)

Popular Mentions

    How do I know I can trust these reviews about Caribou?
    • 4,627,446 reviews on ConsumerAffairs are verified.
    • We require contact information to ensure our reviewers are real.
    • We use intelligent software that helps us maintain the integrity of reviews.
    • Our moderators read all reviews to verify quality and helpfulness.
    Recent
    • Recent
    • Oldest
    • Most helpful

    A link has directed you to this review. Its location on this page may change next time you visit.

    How do I know I can trust these reviews about Caribou?
    • 4,627,446 reviews on ConsumerAffairs are verified.
    • We require contact information to ensure our reviewers are real.
    • We use intelligent software that helps us maintain the integrity of reviews.
    • Our moderators read all reviews to verify quality and helpfulness.
    Page 1 Reviews 0 - 10
    Customer Service

    Reviewed March 4, 2025

    I was hounded by text from Caribou to refinance- I did, uploaded documents then heard nothing- Had to call and see what was going on and was told they had no offer for me / rude- Waste of time and credit pull - Do not use them - Horrible service!!!!

    Thanks for your vote! Report

    Not sure how to choose?

    Get buying tips about Car Loan Refinancing delivered to your inbox.

      By entering your email, you agree to sign up for consumer news, tips and giveaways from ConsumerAffairs. Unsubscribe at any time.

      Thanks for subscribing.

      You have successfully subscribed to our newsletter! Enjoy reading our tips and recommendations.

      Customer Service

      Reviewed Feb. 17, 2025

      Caribou took my information and I never heard back, the number they gave was a voice recorded message and no one ever available. Would not contact me with any information. I think it a horrible business. I had to pay for additional protections because Caribou left me vulnerable with no response. My advice is not to use this business.

      Thanks for your vote! Report

      Reviewed Jan. 22, 2025

      They added 10% to my principal. Do not use them, very deceptive. I had a $500.00 loan I wanted to refinance. Now I owe $10,600.00. How do they keep doing business. I really hope people read this review so they go away.

      Thanks for your vote! Report
      Customer ServiceStaff

      Reviewed Dec. 28, 2024

      Absolutely horrific! On 2 different occasions I attempted to complete a refinance that was approved. Either the agents are rude and dismissive or just plain absent (unreturned phone calls, ignored texts/emails, no updates). The car refinance broker model seems great, but someone leading the agents is not doing their job and demanding excellence from them. I would highly recommended you check elsewhere.

      Thanks for your vote! Report
      Customer ServiceStaff

      Reviewed June 28, 2023

      The loan officer that helped us was Garrett **. Such a great guy to work with. Made sure we got all the best help possible. Answered all my questions and replied quickly. Thank you for your help! We are happy with what we got.

      Thanks for your vote! Report
      Profile pic of the author.
      Loan Process

      Reviewed March 20, 2023

      The first time I contacted this service was through Credit Karma. I was offered to refinance with an interest rate 15% to a 7%. I thought it was an excellent offer and at that moment I uploaded all my documentation to continue with the process. Two days later I entered the Caribou website to review pending documentation and I see that from an initial balance that I have with Capital One of an amount of 9500 dollars. Caribou offered me to finance 11000 dollars. Plus another charge for 30 dollars for a service I don't need. Punching numbers, there is no savings anywhere and I decided to cancel my application.

      Thanks for your vote! Report
      Loan Process

      Reviewed Feb. 16, 2023

      They basically try to force people to accept higher fees in the loan so you are stuck in the new loan forever and end up paying more. They added over 3k A my moms loan when she was just trying to save money. Just a despicable company!

      Thanks for your vote! Report
      Verified purchase
      Customer ServiceStaffLoan ProcessRates

      Reviewed Aug. 22, 2022

      I reached out to RateGenius and Caribou, and both were responsive but Caribou got us the lowest rate. The guy who helped us did a great job telling us what to expect. He spent a lot of time on the phone with both me and my dad asking if we had questions or concerns or anything he could help us with. He was very accommodating in that aspect. He had reached out to me through phone call and text message. I texted him back because it was late when I finally could get back to him and we arranged a time to talk. He was very flexible in his timing because I ended up getting called into a meeting. He was able to negotiate a full bumper-to-bumper warranty. He walked us through every single step of everything I had to do. He was always available when I needed him. Although my payment went down, it didn't go down drastically because I was able to add on some things that I didn't have with my original loan. It was such a smooth and easy process. I would do it 100 times if I needed to.

      Thanks for your vote! Report
      Verified purchase
      Loan ProcessRates

      Reviewed Aug. 21, 2022

      The process with Caribou went very smoothly and quickly. It was the best I’ve ever had. I was surprised because I never heard of this company, but everything was excellent. I give them a 10-plus. The rate and terms were very good. I had no issues at all and I appreciate it. I love it. I just shared the experience with my son and my other co-worker. They may want to refinance their car because it was very good for me. So, it might go very smooth for them as well.

      Thanks for your vote! Report
      Verified purchase
      StaffLoan ProcessRates

      Reviewed Aug. 10, 2022

      Caribou was at the top on Credit Karma as far as the lowest rate. I saved a good amount. Dominic was helpful and told me I was good about getting all my stuff back. It was all through text messages. I closed on it a few weeks back. They said he didn't get certain paperwork, but I sent it back to him. I haven't heard back from him to make sure he got it. Other than that, the process was quick and painless.

      Thanks for your vote! Report
      Loading more reviews...

      Caribou Company Information

      Company Name:
      Caribou
      Website:
      www.caribou.com