How We Calculate Finance TMV^®

Edmunds.com's staff of product developers has obtained, from a nationally recognized provider of market intelligence for the financial industry, the average lending rates for new and used vehicles currently being charged by banks, credit unions, and other consumer auto lenders. This data is presented in the Edmunds.com Finance Rate Estimator both on a national basis as well as for one of 151 local markets that you access by providing your zip code.

We then developed, in conjunction with the world's premier credit scoring company, our Personal Credit Analyzer, the part of the Finance Rate Estimator that allows you to assess your individual credit status and establish your expectations as to what "Credit Tier" you should expect to fall within based on your personal circumstances.

The combination of these two features — localized lending rates and an estimate of your personal Credit Tier — provide you highly personal information concerning the interest rates you should expect to find when shopping for an automobile loan.

Definition of Credit Tiers

Credit Tiers are determined based on your personal credit history and are a prediction of how financial institutions will likely view you as a financial risk (i.e., the likelihood that you will make your payments on time and ultimately repay the loan). Our Personal Credit Analyzer will classify you as falling within one of the following five Credit Tiers:

• Platinum Consumers who qualify for the Platinum Tier constitute the lowest credit risk to a lending institution. Approximately one in twenty individuals will qualify for the Platinum Tier classification. These individuals normally receive among the lowest available finance rates that a lending institution is offering to its borrowers.
• Gold Consumers who qualify for the Gold Tier also constitute a very low credit risk; the probability that a consumer with a Gold Tier rating will not repay the loan or make timely payments is one percent or less over the term of the loan. Approximately one in ten individuals fall within this tier.
• Silver Consumers who qualify for the Silver Tier constitute an average credit risk. The probability that a consumer with a Silver Tier rating will not repay the loan or make timely payments is low. Approximately six in ten individuals fall within this tier.
• Bronze The consumer is a greater than average credit risk - accordingly, the probability that a consumer with a Bronze Tier rating will not repay the loan or make timely payments is materially greater than the other two categories. Approximately one in five individuals fall within this category.
• Unclassified Consumers whose credit risk falls below the Bronze Tier constitute the highest credit risk. These individuals will not be quoted interest rates by the Finance Rate Estimator but may still be able to obtain financing - especially through specialized direct lending sources. However, the rates offered by such lenders will differ significantly depending on an individual's specific credit circumstances and the lender selected. Approximately one in twenty individuals fall within this tier.

Note: Edmunds.com determines which Credit Tier an individual is estimated to fall within, and which interest rates are available for individuals in each Credit Tier, based on interest rate data and credit scoring methodologies provided to Edmunds.com by third parties. No assurance can be given that any lender would categorize an individual using the same credit methodology, or based on the same questions, on those used in the Finance Rate Estimator. Accordingly, your credit rating as determined by a lender may not be the same as the Credit Tier you are placed in by the Finance Rate Estimator, and the interest rates offered by a lender to individuals in a Credit Tier may vary from the rates set forth in the Finance Rate Estimator.