Overlooked Benefits Of Refinancing Car Loans

Overlooked Benefits Of Refinancing Car Loans

by Max Pain

Hearing about refinancing mortgages is common, 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% APR. Despite what you might think, you aren't stuck at this rate. Once you have held the loan for about 6 months and paid on time, lenders are more willing to take a chance on you. You can also change a few things to raise your credit score in that period.

Let's say you received a loan for $16,500 for 60 months at 21% APR. If you refinance at 7% APR, your monthly payments will drop from about $446 to $330. Those savings over the life of the loan totals about $6,945. As you can see, refinancing is key.

Refinancing will not only save you money, but it can also be the only way to help get you out of debt. If you are paying 25% APR, there is no way you will ever be able to get out of debt while making these payments. Since you pay most of the interest early in the life of the loan, the earlier you refinance the better, and the more money you will save

One of the differences between car loans and mortgages is that lenders will not refinance car loans that they originally loaned. You will have to find a different lender to refinance your loan. You can find lenders at banks, credit unions, or even online that will refinance an auto loan. Remember to shop around for rates for refinancing to get the best deal. It usually only takes 5 to 10 minutes to fill out an application, and there is generally not any risk involved in applying for a refinance.