October 8, 2024 • 11 mins
In this episode, we welcome Ruben Gonzalez, the Manager of Consumer Loan Processing at Patelco. Ruben shares his insights on the car loan process, emphasizing the importance of financial wellness and member-focused service. Ruben discusses how Patelco’s team supports members through every step of financing, ensuring they get the best rates and a smooth experience. Join us for an engaging conversation about car loans, financial well-being, and the unique benefits of credit unions.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Small Talk's for Big Change,where we help
simplify financial topicsto help with your financial wellness.
Thanks for tuning in to the show,everyone.
My name is Michele Enriquez.
You're host of the showand we've got a special guest today.
His name is Ruben Gonzalez.
He's our manager of consumerloan Processing.
(00:20):
Hi, Ruben.
Hello. Okay, guess what?
I have a story for you.I would love to know.
I got my new car, and I know you know thisbecause I bugged your team about it.
That is super exciting. I know we've.
You've reached out to our team,and we were
trying to get everything in lineand try to get this.
Get this funded for you.
(00:41):
Okay, but here's what happened.I finally got the car.
We went through the whole process rightabout you guys with 1,000,001 questions.
I got the car and my first week,and this is my luck.
Not your fault.
I go to visit my brother in Long Beach,take my new car for a road trip.
He has me park in his parking garageand the door to the garage
stops working just as I'm entering.
(01:02):
Like it probably works the the whole year.
But of course, when I come in the doorcomes down on the hood of the car.
It's completely scratched up a week old.
Again, not your problem, but
it was great for the road tripand the trip back.
I was able to drive it back,but my new car is already ruined.
That happens.
(01:23):
I feel like quite a bit.
You know, when you get that new caryou want to be, you want to be cautious.
And then that that one thingthat just kicks it off and makes sense.
It makes a memorable for sure.
Thank you.
I wanted to make surewe got you in the studio
because the the process I went throughwas pretty amazing.
Your team was super helpful.
And for everybody listening,Rubin is our manager
(01:45):
of consumer Loan Processingand he oversees a team of the most
awesome peoplethat helped me out throughout my process.
So, Ruben, when it comes to financinga car, your team rocks
and we had to get you in here so we canshare that with the rest of the world.
Well, thank you for having me.
My team does the direct side of autoloan processing.
(02:06):
They do a fantastic job.
They're dedicated to creatinga great experience
for our memberswhen financing their auto loan.
I joined Pacheco back in 2018as a consumer loan processor,
so I have kind of been in the nitty grittyof of the processing parts,
and I've been in the consumer loanprocessing
(02:29):
and operations space for about ten years,and I've worked at large banks.
And when I came over to Patelco,I really understood
the credit union, the credit union vibe.
Yeah, it really did
make me proudto do work for a credit union.
You know, purchasingyour first car is is huge.
(02:50):
Yeah.
I think for me, making sure
that the process is explained very well
and the one thing I definitely
enjoy is just purchasing that large.
One of the large purchases,
you know, making sure that everyeverything is step by step told to you.
(03:13):
You're guided through the whole processbecause it's intimidating.
And I think that's the important pieceis having someone kind of walk
you through all those pieces. Yeah.
And there's a lot of moving parts, right?
I mean, you got to figure out your budget
and then how much you can affordwhere to find it, and then
all the little
steps after thatin order to get it to your door.
(03:34):
So I started first contactingyou guys early
on when trying to figure out my budgetand trying to figure out
when the best timewas in terms of interest rates.
And I got some great advicefrom your team.
And what they had told mewas the best time for an individual
is when it matches their financial goals.
And I really appreciated thatbecause I was really kind of fixated on
(03:56):
getting the best rateat the very exact right time.
And really they had to remind methat it was all about me.
And when the best time was rightfor my budget and my personal goals.
When you talk to members about rates,what do you tell them about those rates?
Yeah, absolutely.
I with Patel, those rates,you know, we're very competitive.
(04:19):
As you know, we've been in a high rateenvironment for quite some time
and Patel offers very competitive rates
and that's whatmakes us stand out from the larger banks.
The larger banks,
you know, when they are pricingtheir loans in there,
they're pricing it for profit.
And where credit unions and Patel caredoes specifically is price,
(04:40):
they're loans for membersfinancial well-being.
And I think that's super important.
And that's what really stands out fromthe larger banks
is making surethat we are keeping our members in mind.
And as they are looking for,
you know, for their rates
and wanting to make sure that they are
(05:03):
financially comfortablewith making that large purchase.
Yeah.
And that's so importantthat it fits in your budget, right?
I got a great rate on my card.
Thanks to you guys.
But let's talk about financial wellnessfor a second, because this show really
aims to connect our topic to helpingimprove people's financial lives.
And to your point,
getting a great car loan rateand affordability is really important.
(05:25):
But you reminded me in prep for the showthat members can also take advantage
of an auto refinance.
So it's not just a first time purchaseor a first time use purchase.
And then there's also auto equity loans.
So this is a big dealbecause you could potentially shave off
hundreds of dollars per monthby considering a refinance, right?
(05:46):
Absolutely.
Refinancing can be a great optionto lower your rate and a month
and your monthly payment.
A good time to refinance iswhen rates are obviously start dropping.
And, you know, we definitely empowerour members to look at our
at our website to see when
when those rates are changing.
Our refinance process is super seamless.
(06:08):
And once members apply and get approved,my team walk them
through the whole process step by stepand get in ink to get it completed.
One of the
great benefits of our membersrefinancing their auto loan
is they can take advantage of our firstfirst payment due date up to 90 days out.
Also,anyone that takes the loan from us becomes
(06:29):
a member and has access toall of our awesome products and services.
Yeah, really cool.
I found out I don't have to makemy first payment and talk to.
I was pretty pumped about that.
But also in termswe run into in the community,
a lot of folks that don't even knowwhat their interest rate is.
We talk about refinanceand a lot of people have to stop
and think about what their rate is.
So we encourage them to checkand then keep an eye on the rates
(06:52):
to see if it makes sensefor them to refinance.
And then when the time is right,the process is really easy. Right?
We're talking about24 hours, 48 hours maxed.
So that's a huge benefit.
But also on our website, we have a checkyour rate feature, right, where you
could just plug in the remaining balancethat you owe some basic information.
(07:13):
And then we won't even do a hard pullon credit and we'll give you an estimated
monthly paymentalong with the rate, right?
Absolutely.
It gives you it gives you that breakdownso you can, again, feel confident like,
is this the right move for me rightnow? Yeah.
And I think those toolsare super important along with
the targetdoes a great job informing our members
via email newsletters,you know, keeping the eye on
(07:38):
when rates are changingand just to keep them informed.
Yeah, really good stuff.
And again, if you could take off $100 offyour car payment every month, that's
a big deal, especially with food costsand all the other calls.
Today's.
All right.
Talk to us about auto equity or a cash outrefi.
What is up?
Yeah, our cash out refinance is an awesomeproduct we offer to our members.
(07:59):
Most people look at their carand don't think it's something
that they could,you know, pull out equity from.
What our cash outrefinance allows you to do
is pull out equity from your vehicleup to 100% of the cash value.
For example,if your vehicle is valued at 30,000
and you owe 15,000, that means you canpull out the remaining 15,000 of equity
(08:21):
and you can
do you know what you would wishwish with that?
You can pay off debt.
We know that auto loans are always
lower rates than a personal loan.
You can get that remodel donethat you've been wanting to do.
It's just a great option for our members.
Yeah,that's really solid advice. And yeah.
Auto rates typically are about halfof what personal loan rates are.
(08:43):
So that's a super great tip.
All right. So a couple easy options.
If you're looking to save on
monthly payments or get access to cashinstead of having to borrow.
That's really good stuff, Ruben.
Can we talk about my one of my all timefavorite programs
that we have here at Petco?
It's called Skip a pay. Right is the best.
I get so much flackfor loving this product,
(09:06):
number one, but I also feel likethis is really unique to credit unions.
Tell us about the details.
Skip a page.
Yeah, absolutely.
Skip a pay is an account feature
that allows you to postpone your loanpayment one month into the future
to provide you a little breathing roomin case you are running into a
if you're running and short on cashor as other bills come due.
(09:26):
You can use it twice a year and upand there is a $25 fee for each request
as well as interest on your loanthat continues to occur
during the month and paymentthat was skipped.
And I get so much flackbecause my friends are like,
okay, you have to pay this fee,plus you have that little bit of interest.
But you know what?
For folks that have like a $900 carpayment or a $600 car payment shoot
(09:51):
even a $300 car payment,if I can skip that twice a year.
Right.
The benefit it may have to me in my ownwhatever financial stress
or financial health may be worth it.
But the fact that it's availableI think is a really cool thing
and something that we're doingfor our members.
Just to give a little relief is needed.
It could beit could be life changing, really.
I mean, especially if there's someone,you know,
(10:11):
put in a predicamentthat you need that extra funds.
It's definitely an awesome featurethat we offer our members.
Really cool.
Okay, Ruben, well, thank you so muchfor giving me all that great advice
and helping me get my car and letting memake my first payment in October.
That was a big relief for me.
If you have any questionsfrom today's show or just want to say hi.
(10:33):
Drop us a line at webinarsat Patel Code.org.
You can find more informationabout our great rates, apply for a loan
or refinance on our website at PatelCode.org slash auto.
Visit one of our 36 branch locationsor at our virtual branch.
All can be found at Patel Code.org.
(10:53):
RubenIt was so great to have you in the studio.
It was a pleasure. Thank you so much.
All right, everyone.
Happy car shopping out there.
We will see you next time.
Patelco Credit union is insured by NCUA.
Welcome to Small Talk's for Big Change,where we help
simplify financial topicsto help with your financial wellness.
Thanks for tuning in to the show,everyone.
My name is Michele Enriquez.
You're host of the showand we've got a special guest today.
His name is Ruben Gonzalez.
He's our manager of consumerloan Processing.
(00:20):
Hi, Ruben.
Hello. Okay, guess what?
I have a story for you.I would love to know.
I got my new car, and I know you know thisbecause I bugged your team about it.
That is super exciting. I know we've.
You've reached out to our team,and we were
trying to get everything in lineand try to get this.
Get this funded for you.
(00:41):
Okay, but here's what happened.I finally got the car.
We went through the whole process rightabout you guys with 1,000,001 questions.
I got the car and my first week,and this is my luck.
Not your fault.
I go to visit my brother in Long Beach,take my new car for a road trip.
He has me park in his parking garageand the door to the garage
stops working just as I'm entering.
(01:02):
Like it probably works the the whole year.
But of course, when I come in the doorcomes down on the hood of the car.
It's completely scratched up a week old.
Again, not your problem, but
it was great for the road tripand the trip back.
I was able to drive it back,but my new car is already ruined.
That happens.
(01:23):
I feel like quite a bit.
You know, when you get that new caryou want to be, you want to be cautious.
And then that that one thingthat just kicks it off and makes sense.
It makes a memorable for sure.
Thank you.
I wanted to make surewe got you in the studio
because the the process I went throughwas pretty amazing.
Your team was super helpful.
And for everybody listening,Rubin is our manager
(01:45):
of consumer Loan Processingand he oversees a team of the most
awesome peoplethat helped me out throughout my process.
So, Ruben, when it comes to financinga car, your team rocks
and we had to get you in here so we canshare that with the rest of the world.
Well, thank you for having me.
My team does the direct side of autoloan processing.
(02:06):
They do a fantastic job.
They're dedicated to creatinga great experience
for our memberswhen financing their auto loan.
I joined Pacheco back in 2018as a consumer loan processor,
so I have kind of been in the nitty grittyof of the processing parts,
and I've been in the consumer loanprocessing
(02:29):
and operations space for about ten years,and I've worked at large banks.
And when I came over to Patelco,I really understood
the credit union, the credit union vibe.
Yeah, it really did
make me proudto do work for a credit union.
You know, purchasingyour first car is is huge.
(02:50):
Yeah.
I think for me, making sure
that the process is explained very well
and the one thing I definitely
enjoy is just purchasing that large.
One of the large purchases,
you know, making sure that everyeverything is step by step told to you.
(03:13):
You're guided through the whole processbecause it's intimidating.
And I think that's the important pieceis having someone kind of walk
you through all those pieces. Yeah.
And there's a lot of moving parts, right?
I mean, you got to figure out your budget
and then how much you can affordwhere to find it, and then
all the little
steps after thatin order to get it to your door.
(03:34):
So I started first contactingyou guys early
on when trying to figure out my budgetand trying to figure out
when the best timewas in terms of interest rates.
And I got some great advicefrom your team.
And what they had told mewas the best time for an individual
is when it matches their financial goals.
And I really appreciated thatbecause I was really kind of fixated on
(03:56):
getting the best rateat the very exact right time.
And really they had to remind methat it was all about me.
And when the best time was rightfor my budget and my personal goals.
When you talk to members about rates,what do you tell them about those rates?
Yeah, absolutely.
I with Patel, those rates,you know, we're very competitive.
(04:19):
As you know, we've been in a high rateenvironment for quite some time
and Patel offers very competitive rates
and that's whatmakes us stand out from the larger banks.
The larger banks,
you know, when they are pricingtheir loans in there,
they're pricing it for profit.
And where credit unions and Patel caredoes specifically is price,
(04:40):
they're loans for membersfinancial well-being.
And I think that's super important.
And that's what really stands out fromthe larger banks
is making surethat we are keeping our members in mind.
And as they are looking for,
you know, for their rates
and wanting to make sure that they are
(05:03):
financially comfortablewith making that large purchase.
Yeah.
And that's so importantthat it fits in your budget, right?
I got a great rate on my card.
Thanks to you guys.
But let's talk about financial wellnessfor a second, because this show really
aims to connect our topic to helpingimprove people's financial lives.
And to your point,
getting a great car loan rateand affordability is really important.
(05:25):
But you reminded me in prep for the showthat members can also take advantage
of an auto refinance.
So it's not just a first time purchaseor a first time use purchase.
And then there's also auto equity loans.
So this is a big dealbecause you could potentially shave off
hundreds of dollars per monthby considering a refinance, right?
(05:46):
Absolutely.
Refinancing can be a great optionto lower your rate and a month
and your monthly payment.
A good time to refinance iswhen rates are obviously start dropping.
And, you know, we definitely empowerour members to look at our
at our website to see when
when those rates are changing.
Our refinance process is super seamless.
(06:08):
And once members apply and get approved,my team walk them
through the whole process step by stepand get in ink to get it completed.
One of the
great benefits of our membersrefinancing their auto loan
is they can take advantage of our firstfirst payment due date up to 90 days out.
Also,anyone that takes the loan from us becomes
(06:29):
a member and has access toall of our awesome products and services.
Yeah, really cool.
I found out I don't have to makemy first payment and talk to.
I was pretty pumped about that.
But also in termswe run into in the community,
a lot of folks that don't even knowwhat their interest rate is.
We talk about refinanceand a lot of people have to stop
and think about what their rate is.
So we encourage them to checkand then keep an eye on the rates
(06:52):
to see if it makes sensefor them to refinance.
And then when the time is right,the process is really easy. Right?
We're talking about24 hours, 48 hours maxed.
So that's a huge benefit.
But also on our website, we have a checkyour rate feature, right, where you
could just plug in the remaining balancethat you owe some basic information.
(07:13):
And then we won't even do a hard pullon credit and we'll give you an estimated
monthly paymentalong with the rate, right?
Absolutely.
It gives you it gives you that breakdownso you can, again, feel confident like,
is this the right move for me rightnow? Yeah.
And I think those toolsare super important along with
the targetdoes a great job informing our members
via email newsletters,you know, keeping the eye on
(07:38):
when rates are changingand just to keep them informed.
Yeah, really good stuff.
And again, if you could take off $100 offyour car payment every month, that's
a big deal, especially with food costsand all the other calls.
Today's.
All right.
Talk to us about auto equity or a cash outrefi.
What is up?
Yeah, our cash out refinance is an awesomeproduct we offer to our members.
(07:59):
Most people look at their carand don't think it's something
that they could,you know, pull out equity from.
What our cash outrefinance allows you to do
is pull out equity from your vehicleup to 100% of the cash value.
For example,if your vehicle is valued at 30,000
and you owe 15,000, that means you canpull out the remaining 15,000 of equity
(08:21):
and you can
do you know what you would wishwish with that?
You can pay off debt.
We know that auto loans are always
lower rates than a personal loan.
You can get that remodel donethat you've been wanting to do.
It's just a great option for our members.
Yeah,that's really solid advice. And yeah.
Auto rates typically are about halfof what personal loan rates are.
(08:43):
So that's a super great tip.
All right. So a couple easy options.
If you're looking to save on
monthly payments or get access to cashinstead of having to borrow.
That's really good stuff, Ruben.
Can we talk about my one of my all timefavorite programs
that we have here at Petco?
It's called Skip a pay. Right is the best.
I get so much flackfor loving this product,
(09:06):
number one, but I also feel likethis is really unique to credit unions.
Tell us about the details.
Skip a page.
Yeah, absolutely.
Skip a pay is an account feature
that allows you to postpone your loanpayment one month into the future
to provide you a little breathing roomin case you are running into a
if you're running and short on cashor as other bills come due.
(09:26):
You can use it twice a year and upand there is a $25 fee for each request
as well as interest on your loanthat continues to occur
during the month and paymentthat was skipped.
And I get so much flackbecause my friends are like,
okay, you have to pay this fee,plus you have that little bit of interest.
But you know what?
For folks that have like a $900 carpayment or a $600 car payment shoot
(09:51):
even a $300 car payment,if I can skip that twice a year.
Right.
The benefit it may have to me in my ownwhatever financial stress
or financial health may be worth it.
But the fact that it's availableI think is a really cool thing
and something that we're doingfor our members.
Just to give a little relief is needed.
It could beit could be life changing, really.
I mean, especially if there's someone,you know,
(10:11):
put in a predicamentthat you need that extra funds.
It's definitely an awesome featurethat we offer our members.
Really cool.
Okay, Ruben, well, thank you so muchfor giving me all that great advice
and helping me get my car and letting memake my first payment in October.
That was a big relief for me.
If you have any questionsfrom today's show or just want to say hi.
(10:33):
Drop us a line at webinarsat Patel Code.org.
You can find more informationabout our great rates, apply for a loan
or refinance on our website at PatelCode.org slash auto.
Visit one of our 36 branch locationsor at our virtual branch.
All can be found at Patel Code.org.
(10:53):
RubenIt was so great to have you in the studio.
It was a pleasure. Thank you so much.
All right, everyone.
Happy car shopping out there.
We will see you next time.
Patelco Credit union is insured by NCUA.
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