Everyone has heard about refinancing their mortgage, as it is very common amongst people these days. What you may not heard, but you may not have thought about refinancing your car loan when interest rates drop. Refinancing an auto loan can be a good idea for several reasons, and it is easier than refinancing a mortgage.
Refinancing could save thousands of dollars over the life of the loan, even if you received a decent rate. Anyone who didn't get a car loan below 3% APR should consider refinancing. More than likely, however, your APR was much higher than that. If you had a few dings on your credit report when you bought a car, the lender may have quoted you 20% to 25% Annual Percentage Rate (APR). Despite what you might think, you aren't stuck at this interest rate. Once you have
held the loan for about 6 months and made all payments on time, you will find lenders are now more willing to take a chance on you. You can also change a few of your habits to raise your credit score in that period.
An example would be if you were to be approved for an amount of $16,500 auto finance for a term of 60 months at 21% APR. If you considered to refinance your auto loan at 7% APR, your monthly payments will drop from the original amount of $446 to a new discount of $330. Those savings over the life of the loan total about $6,945. As you see, looking to renegotiate your auto finance is a key to saving money.
Refinancing does not just save you money, but it can also be seen as the only way to assist you with your debt troubles. If you are paying 27% or more APR, there is no way you will ever be able to get out of debt while making these monthly payments. Since you will be paying most of the interest charges early in the life of the auto loan, the earlier you consider refinance, the better as it will be saving you money.
One of the big differences between auto finance and home loan mortgages is that the financial lenders will not refinance your auto finance that they originally lend you. You will need to locate a different lender to refinance your auto loan. You may find these lenders at banks, credit unions, and online that will refinance your auto loan. Remember to shop around for the best refinancing rates to get your best deal. When applying online, it usually only takes 1 or 2 minutes to fill out an online application. There is generally no risk involved in applying for a refinance.
