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Caribou auto loans: 2025 review

Updated on June 4, 2025

At a glance

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with Bankrate
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4.5
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
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Availability
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
4.5
Affordability
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
4.0
Customer Experience
Rating: 4.2 stars out of 5
4.2
Transparency
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5.0

About Bankrate Score

Bankrate’s take

Founded in 2016, Caribou offers a platform for easily comparing auto loan refinance offers. You can even add a co-borrower, which most similar services don't allow. But watch out for a hefty processing fee that your new lender may pass on to you.

Lender Details

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Loan amount

$5,000-$125,000

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APR from

4.39%-28.55%

Credit Good Icon

Min Credit Score

600

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Funds available in

Varies by lender

Caribou is best for comparing rates

The goal of refinancing your auto loan is to walk away with a more affordable monthly payment. One way to ensure that you effectively do this is through comparing lenders. It’s much easier said than done, though, if you’re crunched for time. 

That’s where Caribou comes in. It’s not a direct lender, but an online lending marketplace that helps expedite this process. You can use the platform to be matched with lenders with different loan rate options when you apply for prequalification.

Caribou auto loan refinancing

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

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.

Where Caribou stands out

  • 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.
  • Protection bundles available: Caribou offers auto loan add-ons like GAP and key replacement. While these products aren’t always necessary, bundling may help you save money if you do want to use them.

Where Caribou falls short

  • Limited state availability: Caribou is not available to drivers in Maryland, 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.

Caribou customer resources

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.

Digital experience

Caribou features a user-friendly website that’s easy to navigate. You can check rates, view loan options, formally apply for a refinance and complete the process directly from the lending dashboard. Caribou also has a resource center and learning library readily accessible for prospective borrowers.

How this lender compares

Caribou is just one of many lending platforms borrowers can leverage to find the best deal on refinancing. A few other reputable alternatives are listed below to help facilitate your search. As with any loan product, be sure to shop around and compare multiple options to find the best deal.

Caribou vs. RateGenius

Like Caribou, RateGenius serves as a loan aggregator, so you can compare different loan options simultaneously. It handles the research phase of the shopping process and matches you based on your credit and finances. However, RateGenius requires a slightly higher minimum loan balance of $10,250 to finance your vehicle.

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. 

Do you qualify for a Caribou auto loan?

Caribou has a minimum credit score requirement of 640 and a minimum monthly income of $2,000. Both are fairly standard auto loan refinancing requirements. You can also apply with a co-borrower, which can improve your chance of approval and help you snag a lower interest rate. 

Expect a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score when you prequalify. If you do choose a loan and follow through with an application, the process will include a hard credit pull.

You will need to provide some basic information to start the refinancing process:

  • Your full name and contact details.
  • Your Social Security number.
  • Vehicle information.
  • Current loan and lender details.
  • Proof of income or employment. 

Your car should have positive equity and no more than 120,000 miles. Cars, trucks, SUVs and other passenger vehicles are eligible for refinancing, but they must not be used for commercial purposes.

How to get a Caribou auto loan 

To apply for a loan with Caribou, head to its website and submit basic information about yourself and the details of your vehicle and current loan.

  1. Check your rate

    Enter some personal information on yourself and your vehicle — no Social Security number required at this stage — to receive your quotes. This step can take as little as a minute, and you’re not obligated to accept any offers that you prequalify for.

  2. Select your loan offer

    You can choose which offer works best for you. This step will also present you with other products such as insurance, key replacement, cosmetic care, total loss protection or extended protection, but again, you aren't required to accept any in order to complete your application.

  3. Finalize your refinancing offer

    Finally, you will be prompted to share more personal information. You may need to upload proof of insurance, residence or your finances in order to finish the process. If you are approved, you will sign your new contract. From here, either you or your lender will need to pay off your previous auto loan.

Keep in mind that you may be charged a $499 processing fee when you refinance. However, it is an optional fee passed on to you from your lender — not directly by Caribou. Any fee for a loan connection service is uncommon, though, so you may want to consider another option if you want to avoid this cost.

How Bankrate rates this lender

Overall score 4.4
Availability 4.5 Caribou is available in most states and offers a wide range of loan amounts, though its minimum could be lower.
Affordability 4.0 Caribou uses standard qualification requirements and charges a steep processing fee.
Customer experience 4.2 Caribou has online access and customer service hours seven days a week.
Transparency 5.0 Caribou offers prequalification so you can check your rates without damaging your credit score.

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.

Editorial disclosure: All reviews are prepared by Bankrate.com staff. Opinions expressed therein are solely those of the reviewer and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including rates and fees, presented in the review is accurate as of the date of the review. Check the data at the top of this page and the lender’s website for the most current information.

What customers think

What people across the web are saying about Caribou

Caribou has nearly 1,000 ratings on Trustpilot — and the majority are positive. It earns a high score of 4.3 out of 5 stars, and many of the most recent reviews talk about a good application experience. 

“I was skeptical to use Caribou based upon some of the reviews I read so I proceeded with caution. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy and streamlined the process was to refinance an auto loan. It was easy to upload documents, got clear concise plans presented in an easy to understand manner. I was a little disappointed about the interest rate based upon my 710+ credit score but not sure that was anything to do with Caribou. If you’re in the market for a refinance, go for it, they’re easy to work with.”

Trustpilot User 

One recent customer expressed frustration about the add-ons and sales pitches, stating that they went with another lender because of this.

“The application process was easy and the loan officer was polite and efficient. Where they lost me is the 3 tier options with included service package and/or extended warranty. I do not want or need additional third party services and asked for a loan without the extras, they did not offer an option. The entire process was a sales pitch for add-on I did not ask for. I found different direct lender that offers the loan only at competitive rates and terms. I would not recommend Caribou.”

Trustpilot User 

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