Best answer:

Answer by tjfalk2002
It depends on how many months are left on the loan. If you just took the loan out, then yes it would be a good idea to refinance the loan at 4.8% rate if that is the best you can do. It is possible that you can pay off your loan by over paying your monthly payment (assuming there are not penalities for doing so) but, check you loan agreement first.

Based on what you told me you are paying about $ 416/month for your car loan over a six year loan at 8.9% for a original loan amount of $ 26,000.

Your savings per month would be $ 51 dollars and over a six year period at 4.8% discount rate that would have a present value of $ 3,188, so paying $ 2000 to buy down the loan rate is an ok idea but, why did you sign up for a 9.9% interest rate? That is a sky high rate. What is your credit score? I think you can get a better deal at a credit union.

Best answer:

Answer by candi
Contact you local credit union, I just refinance mine with Valley Credit Union out of San Jose and reduced my rate by 2.95%

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Question by Mullig59: How does one refinance a car loan? After how long can you try to refinance?

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Answer by Mike M.
You need to contact the bank and find out how much they will loan on the car. Chances are you will not be able to refinance everything you currently owe. If you bought it new you got a “new car” loan (low down payment) and now you are getting a “used car” loan(high down payment). The car becomes used day you drive it home. To add insult to injury most auto loans are “upside down” (you owe more than the car is currently worth) because dealers allow a unrealistically low down payment.

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This is what was spent last month:

Mortgage: 1600
automobile: 520
car insurance: 110
health insurance: 200
cell phones: 100
internet: 50
electricity:100
utilities: 40
Gas: 370
tolls: 50
groceries, toiletries, pet products, etc: 600

No cable, no home phone, no going out to eat, no clothes shopping, no credit card debt, and one vehicle is paid off.

Total spent last month: 3740

Total income: 3891

We are hanging on by a thread. Any suggestions are appreciated! We do not have children, just three pets.
Thanks for the feedback so far. Here are the answers to some of your questions:

The gas expense in for gasoline for the vehicles only. My husband has a long commute to work. I am wondering if it would be worth it for him to find a job closer to home. He loves his job though.

Yes there are hours where I could get a job, and my husband can probably work weekends.

I don’t know if my husband and I can get by on one car. I guess I have to figure out how we could make it work. He has his job and I have my school, tutoring, & babysitting. I guess the tutoring and babysitting doesn’t bring in that much money and maybe I can carpool to school. I have to figure it out.

Yes, I am paying for school with student loans. My degree going to be in speech and language pathology, a field that pays well and is in somewhat high demand. I have to complete six years of school and I am on my fourth year. It might be a good idea to take a semester off to work and save up some money.

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Answer by thevonbankfamily
We have been there, but with 3 kids. We somehow survive, and you likely will too. Assuming you are not going to get rid of the dogs (which would likely net you more take-home, but probably leave you quite sad, I wonder if you can save any money on them somewhere? Cheaper food, mixed with some leftovers? Small, I know, but it might be something.

From here, your gas bill looks huge. Is that for hot water and gas dryer? You can get a line and hang dry clothes for a while? Also, turn down the heat on your water heater. That could buy you over $ 100 per month in gas.

Skimp on the AC this summer, and keep the electricity bill down. Conserve energy sounds cliche, but it makes a lot of difference.

The good thing is that at this point you are not really deficit spending, at least not yet.

Are there hours where one of you could get a side job? Every 10 hours a week at a low wage would bring in another $ 50 per week.

Have a garage sale? You could make some quick cash. Or look into selling some stuff on eBay.

Hang in there with your mortgage, even if you have to lose the car. It is still an asset. Rent would cost much more, and you’d take a bath in today’s market. In a few years, when the economy strengthens, your home will appraise higher and you can probably refi then.

Call your lender and ask for mortgage counseling. Most companies have programs to help you through. Maybe a lower payment for 6 months would help. Won’t hurt at all to ask.

Everybody is feeling the pinch right now. You gotta stay positive and proactive. It’s too late to get a second job after you lose your house.

Good luck, I feel for you.

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Best answer:

Answer by Zsasha
Yes it’s possible but only if the lender you’re financing with offers a competitive, the same or lower rate than the one you’re financing thru right now.

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I have bad to fair credit and I need this money as soon as possible. I really need to get things back on track so I am not so stressed out!!

I already have a car loan school loans and 1 personal loan.

I am willing to pay around 200.00 a month..

Please give me some advice on where to go or what to do…

I heard maybe refinancing my car will get me some money upfront but I am unsure of what that is…

anyways thanks so much in advance for your time

Best answer:

Answer by tropical27
try prosper.com !

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Best answer:

Answer by ashlee s
Personally I feel that 8.9 is a great rate especially if your credit is less than perfect. But there is always something better out there, and no harm in trying to find a better way. I recently re-financed my car loan through Wachovia(used to be WFS). They were able to lower my current rate by 4%. They are a pretty honest company and there is generally no penalty for early pay-off. And you can apply on-line. Best of luck.

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Question by droadrunner04: If i want to refinance my car loan, what should i look for?
How do i know which is the best interest rate.

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Answer by rajini
don’t worry get easy loans here

http://www.freewebs.com/getyourloan

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Answer by Miss Toe
Then you don’t really have just 3 payments left! Don’t try to weasle out of something you owe. You signed for the car and have enjoyed it til now, don’t look for an excuse not to pay what you promised.

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Best answer:

Answer by alfredb1979
You didn’t give any relevant info, even with what you gave.

Call your favorite lender and ask them in the morning.

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Do I go to any bank and refinance like a house or how does it work?

Best answer:

Answer by Uncle Bo
Sure, refi is no problem. Anyone who does car loans can refi yours.

Question is, how much do you think you can save? 6.5% is pretty good for a $ 3000 loan. If you paid $ 250 per month now, you would have paid $ 3000 off in one year.

Why not just double up on payments? Or add in another $ 100-200 and get it knocked out in a few months?

Here’s an example:

$ 3000 loan – 4% interest rate – 36 mo term – $ 88.50 per month
$ 3000 loan – 6.5% interest rate – 36 mo term – $ 92.00 per month

Are you telling me $ 3.50 per month makes a big diff to you?

Find another $ 250 per month in your budget and pay off the car loan. Get a part time job making $ 10 an hour and work 20 hours a week at it. That’s $ 200 per week or $ 800 per month. You’ll have the car paid off in 5 months tops.

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Best answer:

Answer by My Take on It
If you have only made 7 months worth of payments, believe me, you are upside down in the loan. Even at a year of making payments, you are upside down. Which means unless you put a hefty down payment on the car, and have some sort of equity, you are not going to refinance it.

Go ahead and call some lenders and see for yourself. I highly doubt any of them will be able to do anything at this point. How long was the original loan anyways? 36 mos? 48? 60? The longer the term you took, the less that would be paid to the principal, and would keep you underwater (owe more than it is worth) longer.

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Answer by Scomo
The first answerer was right, the sooner you do this the better because lower interest means less money out of your pocket in the long run.

However, if you financed your car through a dealership there’s a pretty slim chance you’ll do better than what they gave you. On the whole, auto loan companies offer interest rates much lower than traditional bank auto loans.

It’s most DEFINITELY worth looking into though. Pretty much for any debt (expect mortgage) you should always be watching the horizon for greener grass!

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Best answer:

Answer by fire4511
There are several factors to consider. One is the reduction in APR, others include the balance you owe, the term of the loan and your comfort level with the payments.

Do not look just at the monthly payment, especially if you are going to extend the term of the loan. Usually it is a good idea to try to keep the same (or shorter) term, rather than extending it.

Take the total of payments that you will have to pay if you do not refinance, and compare that number to the total of payments that you will have to make on the refinanced loan.

The difference in the two numbers is the savings (or additional cost) if you refinance. Use that figure to decide if the savings are worth the trouble!

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