Auto industry supports victims of natural disasters with nontraditional credit and payment options

In support of those impacted by the recent tornadoes and floods that have hit the United States, Nissan is complementing its $115,000 donation to American Red Cross relief efforts with nontraditional credit, employee pricing and delayed payments for victims seeking to purchase new vehicles. "Because of Nissan's strong presence in the southeastern U.S., we've seen up close the impact of recent devastating weather, which has left many area residents without personal transportation," said Brian Carolin, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Nissan Americas, Auto Evolution reported."We want to do our part to assist our neighbors, and are offering employee pricing to disaster victims as one way to help them return to normal." This support is being extended to victims living in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas or Kentucky who reside in a Federal Emergency Management Agency-assisted county. The program offers consumers up to $1,500 per dealer invoice as well as other incentives. They will also be eligible for a delay on auto payments for up to three months. In another extension of nontraditional credit, Chicago's North Side Community Federal Credit Union is making car ownership a reality for its low-income members with a grant from the National Credit Union Federation. The grant is being used in support of its Used Auto Loan Initiative, CU Times reported. After discovering more than half of its members have less than $100 in their savings accounts and more than 75 percent have less than $250, the credit union has now underwritten 24 percent of its members' auto loans through its Access Auto Lending program. The program has allowed the union to open its borrowing options to more members - even those with poor scores or unscorable credit files. Most members have an average credit score of 616, although the lowest has reached 463. National Credit Union Foundation also offers its members seminars on how to purchase a good used car, obtain job loss insurance, qualify for enhanced credit to borrowers and apply for subprime used auto loans. According to CU Times, 100 percent of auto loan participants felt more comfortable about their big ticket purchases once they had attended one of the seminars on purchasing a vehicle.