Auto Loan Glossary at Automotive.com
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Glossary of Auto Loan Terms

Shopping is always easier when you know what you’re buying. Automotive.com’s auto loan glossary can help you cut through the cornucopia of terms out there. Reading through this will endow you with such comprehensive coverage of terminology that you’ll ...     read more

Common Auto Loan Terms

Liability on an Account Legal responsibility to repay debt.
Monroney Sticker The price sticker required by federal law for all new vehicles. The Monroney Sticker lists all the vehicle's options along with the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP).
Upside-down Describes a situation where the balance owed on a loan is greater than the current value of a vehicle.
Point-of-Sale (POS) A method by which consumers can pay for purchases by having their deposit accounts debited electronically without the use of checks.
Security Interest The creditor's right to take property or a portion of property offered as security.
Hazard Insurance A form of insurance in which the insurance company protects the insured from specified losses, such as fire, windstorm and the like.
Wraparound Results when an existing assumable loan is combined with a new loan, resulting in an interest rate somewhere between the old rate and the current market rate. The payments are made to a second lender or the previous homeowner, who then forwards the payments to the first lender after taking the additional amount off the top.
Special Lien A lien that binds a specified piece of property, unlike a general lien, which is levied against all one's assets. It creates a right to retain something of value belonging to another person as compensation for labor, material, or money expended in that person's behalf. In some localities it is called "particular" lien or "specific" lien. Also see lien.
Servicing All the steps and operations a lender perform to keep a loan in good standing, such as collection of payments, payment of taxes, insurance, property inspections and the like.
Guarantee A promise by one party to pay a debt or perform an obligation contracted by another if the original party fails to pay or perform according to a contract.

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