Refinance car loan

The process of refinancing a car is usually simple. It typically takes less than an hour to submit the refinance loan application, and many lenders decide whether to grant the loan in just a few short minutes. However, it’s a good idea to spend some time preparing before you apply to ensure your car refinance is the right choice for you.

Refinancing your car loan can make sense in several scenarios. For example, if your credit score has improved recently, you may be able to lower your interest rate and monthly payments. You may also be able to shorten the term of the loan or extend the term, which would reduce your monthly payment.

If you’re wondering how to refinance a car loan, this guide will walk you through each step.

Check your current car loan

Find payment information for your existing car loan and make sure you know the following:

• Your current monthly payment and repayment amount.
• The remaining time to repay the loan is in months.
• The interest rate you pay.
•  The lender’s customer service number is in case you have any questions.

Although prepayment penalties aren’t common, dig up your original Auto loan agreement to ensure no fees for prepayment. If You can not find your contract, your lender’s customer service can provide the information needed.
Additionally, this would be a good time to find out how much your car is worth. You can use resources like Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds to estimate the value of your car. car dealers online such as CarMax, Vroom and Carvana have cash offers that you can use as a reference.
If your loan balance is more than the value of your car, you are turned upside down on your loan and may have more difficulty refinancing. However, some finishers will refinance for more than a car’s worth.

Assess your creditworthiness

You can shoot your credit report — it is a history of your borrowing — or Check your credit score free to see where you stand. Since you are checking your own credit history, this type of research will not lower your score. When you make all payments on your car loan on time from 6 am to 12 pm Months ago, your credit score may have improved and your chances of qualifying for automatic refinancing increased. Of course, this only applies if you have also kept all your other credit accounts up to date.
We must not forget that each of us has more than one type of creditworthiness, and the lenders base the loan approval on additional criteria the creditworthiness. So the score you see doesn’t determine if you qualify for a self-refinance loan or at what interest rate.
In general, you can use this information to judge whether this is the case means to pursue automatic refinancing. If you don’t have late payments, arrears, or collections—and your credit score is headed in the right direction— it’s a progress indicator that lenders will be on the lookout for.

Gather information for your application

However, the information that lenders require for auto refinance differs You can prepare by collecting items in advance. Documents you may need include the following:

• your driver’s license.
• Vehicle registration.
• proof of insurance.
• vehicle identification.
• Number or VIN of your car.
• Payslips from your checking account
• employer or proof of employment.
• your social security number.
• A loan repayment statement from your current lender.

Check out lenders and get interest rate estimates

Some lenders, therefore, offer pre-qualification with a gentle credit check You can see interest rate estimates without hurting your credit score.
Pre-qualification can give you an idea of ​​whether you might qualify for a lower interest rate and it doesn’t cost you anything.
Pre-qualify with multiple lenders, then use an Auto loan refinance calculator to Compare loan offers. First, enter information about your current loan. Enter the original loan amount, the interest rate, and the loan term in months. Then enter the amount you want to refinance (usually your remaining loan balance), the repayment term, and interest rates from your prequalified offers.

This shows you how much you could potentially save on your monthly car payment and help you decide where to apply.

Decide if refinancing is right for you

With the information, you have collected and the comparisons you have made You should have a better idea of ​​whether you would qualify and benefit from refinancing.

• Is it likely that you could qualify for a lower interest rate, lower car payment, or shorten the life of your loan if that’s your refinancing goal?
• Do your savings outweigh the cost of prepayment penalties or fees charged by the refinance provider?
• If your main goal is to lower your payment and you can only achieve that with a longer-term loan, does the benefit outweigh the additional interest you have to pay?
• Do you meet other lender requirements? For example, some refinance providers have requirements How long can you refinance your original car loan? Others require a specific balance or number of remaining months of your loan.

Apply for refinancing

If you decide to refinance, apply for one or more auto loan refinance companies. Prequalification provides interest rate estimates, not credit approval. So your final step is to get final approval and compare fixed loan offers.
If you make multiple loan applications, do so within 14 days Period. Similar requests during this period are usually grouped together and treated as one, reducing the impact on your credit score and triggering only a small drop of around five points.
When comparing loans, pay attention to the term of the loan. You can leave your loan term unchanged, but some lenders may also suggest these options:

Pay back the loan faster. If you’re used to making loan repayments of a certain amount, you might be able to keep the payment about the same but shorten the loan life. This saves you money because you pay less interest over the term of the loan.
Reduce payments with a longer loan. If your budget is tight and you want some financial relief, you can extend the loan term to lower your payments. This is not ideal as you will pay more interest in the long run. Still, it’s better than missing payments and damaging your credit score.