When the Mars family of Oklahoma City heard they won TFCU’s first ever Great Auto Loan Payoff, feelings of disbelief were quickly followed by total joy. After purchasing a car in January of this year, the family had $29,216.83 remaining on the loan in September—that is, until their loan was selected at random for TFCU to pay off.
“Nothing like this has ever really happened to me, so it took awhile for me to really understand,” said Casey Mars. “And then it was just overwhelming excitement after that point.”
According to Casey’s wife, Savannah Mars, “We had seen the signs for The Great Auto Loan Payoff, but you know, we don’t really think anybody ever wins those. So yeah, we were really surprised.”
The Mars family have been Tinker Federal Credit Union members for seven years and have had several auto loans. This latest vehicle purchase was to replace a high-mileage car Savannah had been driving. “We never knew the days that it would or wouldn’t start,” said Casey.
Savannah found the car that she wanted online at the dealership, and they went in to buy it. “From the beginning, I wanted to use Tinker (for financing), but the dealer had convinced me to use this other financial institution,” said Casey. “We were about to sign the papers and I said, ‘You know what, let’s just see what it looks like with Tinker.’ And so we ran all the numbers and it actually ended up being a lot better, and we made the loan through Tinker. We’re so happy that we did, now.”
Savannah stays busy shuttling their 10-year-old twins, Tallan and Mackenzie, to school, baseball and volleyball as well as using her car for work which keeps her on the go. “I mean, I’ve already put 25,000 miles on that bad boy since January. I’m in it all the time,” said Savannah.
Without having to pay off this auto loan, the Mars family has plans. “We’re going to really look forward to using some of our savings to make sure that we have a good education fund setup for the kids. We’re super excited about that,” said Casey.
As a not-for-profit credit union, TFCU consistently offers low loan rates and high savings rates. Every year, the volunteer board of directors and credit union leadership also look for ways to give back to members. The Great Auto Payoff promotion was one example. Another ongoing chance to earn money is through the Member Give Back program.