Navy Federal, PenFed, BCU and SECU give members TrueCar dealer pricing. The Model Black is not a broker: participating dealerships set and publish their prices.
The Model Black is not a licensed motor vehicle dealer or broker and does not act as a broker in any way. Participating dealerships sell and lease every vehicle and complete each purchase directly with you.
Six credit unions' car buying services are compared here: Navy Federal, PenFed, BCU, SECU (State Employees' Credit Union in North Carolina), SchoolsFirst FCU, and Municipal Credit Union (MCU) in New York City. Each pairs a car search powered by TrueCar with the credit union's own auto loan, and in each a dealer sells the car. The Model Black is launching in Arizona. Where a participating dealership serves your area, it shows that dealership's new cars as a loan, a lease (monthly, one-pay, or with deposits), and a cash purchase, with the taxes and fees for your city, before you talk to anyone. The Model Black is not a broker, and it does not negotiate: the dealership sells or leases the car and completes the purchase directly with you.
| Credit union | Who can use it | Who runs it | Where you see the price | What it costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navy Federal | Navy Federal members; its field of membership is open to the armed forces, the DoD, veterans and their families (navyfederal.org, as of October 2026) | TrueCar operates the service, and Navy Federal states it is not responsible for any offer, purchase, lease, or service provided by or through it (navyfederal.org, as of October 2026) | Prices for actual cars nearby on the TrueCar-powered site, then a personalized offer from a TrueCar Certified Dealer online (navyfederal.org, as of October 2026) | Navy Federal states the service costs members nothing, and it receives compensation from TrueCar when members purchase vehicles through it (navyfederal.org, as of October 2026) |
| PenFed | PenFed members: PenFed says everyone is eligible to apply, and a person must become a member of PenFed Credit Union to receive any advertised product (penfed.org, as of October 2026) | Powered by TrueCar: shoppers get up-front pricing from a TrueCar dealer and can finance through PenFed (penfed.org, as of October 2026) | An up-front price offer from a local dealer on in-stock inventory, searched by make and ZIP code (penfed.org, as of October 2026) | Its service page lists no fee for shoppers, and PenFed gives a lower auto loan rate on 36, 48, 60 and 72 month terms when the purchase is verified as coming through the service (penfed.org, as of October 2026) |
| BCU | BCU members; the service connects members with dealerships (bcu.org, as of October 2026) | Powered by TrueCar (bcu.org, as of October 2026) | Member pricing from a Certified Dealer, once you have found the car and connect with that dealer (bcu.org, as of October 2026) | Members who buy through the service can get a lower rate on a BCU auto loan, and BCU's loan answers say purchase loans can carry fees that vary by state (bcu.org, as of October 2026) |
| SECU (State Employees' Credit Union) | Members 18 or older, or otherwise eligible for lending; SECU lending is limited to North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia residents and titled vehicles (ncsecu.org, as of October 2026) | TrueCar operates the service, and SECU states it is not responsible for any offer, purchase, lease, or service provided by or through it (ncsecu.org, as of October 2026) | Upfront, personalized pricing on the TrueCar-powered search before you connect with a certified dealer; the price may exclude tax, title, tags, governmental fees, emissions testing charges, and finance charges (ncsecu.org, as of October 2026) | The service page lists no fee for members to use it (ncsecu.org, as of October 2026) |
| SchoolsFirst FCU | SchoolsFirst FCU members, on a member site with member-only pricing it says is not on truecar.com (schoolsfirstfcu.org, as of October 2026) | TrueCar; SchoolsFirst FCU states it is not affiliated with TrueCar (schoolsfirstfcu.org, as of October 2026) | Pricing and availability from dealers, compared online before you visit the dealership to complete the purchase; multiple dealerships may contact you once you begin your search (schoolsfirstfcu.org, as of October 2026) | The service page lists no fee for members to use it (schoolsfirstfcu.org, as of October 2026) |
| Municipal Credit Union (MCU) | MCU members; MCU invites people who live, work, worship or attend school in New York City to join (nymcu.org, as of October 2026) | TrueCar provides the service and operates its program and website independently of MCU (nymcu.org, as of October 2026) | TrueCar's search shows what others paid for the car, and each certified dealer sets its own pricing and confirms availability from in-stock inventory (nymcu.org, as of October 2026) | The service page lists no fee for members to use it (nymcu.org, as of October 2026) |
| The Model Black | Launching in Arizona. Whether a car can be delivered to you depends on its dealership. | The Broker Black LLC, doing business as The Model Black; the participating dealership sells or leases the car and completes the purchase directly with you | Before you talk to anyone: finance, lease (monthly, one-pay, deposits), and cash with taxes and fees for your city | Creating an account is complimentary and opens a dealership's full pricing on 3 cars every 30 days. White and Gold memberships open every car's full pricing: White is $99 (introductory price through December 31, 2026, then $389) for 30 days and Gold is $649 (introductory price through December 31, 2026, then $949) for 3 years, each a one-time payment that never renews. Black is coming soon. Anyone 18 or older with an account can ask a dealership about a car or send it a deal at no charge. |
Two of these services have their own page beside The Model Black: The Model Black vs Navy Federal Car Buying Service and The Model Black vs PenFed Car Buying Service.
For the services compared here, membership comes first. PenFed says a person must become a member of PenFed Credit Union to receive any advertised product (penfed.org, as of October 2026), SchoolsFirst FCU's TrueCar pricing is member-only (schoolsfirstfcu.org, as of October 2026), and Navy Federal offers its service to Navy Federal members (navyfederal.org, as of October 2026). The Model Black asks for no credit union membership: creating an account is complimentary.
Each service compared here runs on TrueCar. Navy Federal states that TrueCar operates its service (navyfederal.org, as of October 2026), SECU states the same of its own (ncsecu.org, as of October 2026), and MCU states that TrueCar operates its program and website independently of MCU (nymcu.org, as of October 2026). PenFed says it teams up with TrueCar (penfed.org, as of October 2026), BCU calls its service powered by TrueCar (bcu.org, as of October 2026), and SchoolsFirst FCU's member pricing is on schoolsfirstfcu.truecar.com, while it states it is not affiliated with TrueCar (schoolsfirstfcu.org, as of October 2026). In each, a dealer sells the car.
The search and the dealer's price come through TrueCar, and the loan is a separate step with the credit union. Navy Federal suggests getting preapproved for its auto loan before you shop (navyfederal.org, as of October 2026), PenFed applies its lower rate once it verifies the sale came through its service (penfed.org, as of October 2026), and SECU lists applying for an SECU auto loan as a step before you connect with a certified dealer (ncsecu.org, as of October 2026).
Yes. You are always welcome to bring your own approval from a bank or credit union to the dealership that sells the car. The Model Black never pulls credit. When you send your deal, you can complete a credit application that goes to the selling dealership encrypted, and the dealership submits it to lenders, so you can compare its rate with your credit union's.
Yes. Nothing stops a shopper from using a credit union's car buying service and also checking a participating dealership's published price for a new car on The Model Black.