Pros & Cons You Must Look Into Before Refinancing Your Car Loan

Getting a new car is always exciting, but there is a part wherein the words “car loan” are involved. People will most likely have to have a car loan if they want to get a new vehicle, unless of course, if they have the money to pay for it in cash.

Most of the time when things get a little rough, people would think of refinancing. When you consider refinancing a car loan, it means that you will have to get a new loan to pay off an existing one, with your vehicle serving as the collateral. This newly refinanced loan will contain the agreement regarding the interest rate, monthly payment, as well as the duration of the loan.

There are more than 280 million registered vehicles in the United States as of the moment based on the most recent statistics from the registration database

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Having to refinance your current car loan may end up either benefiting you or making things worse for your situation. There are instances wherein you may see the light at the end of the tunnel slowly approaching, just like when refinanced car loan you just got may lead to a lower monthly car payment since the interest rate is lower or because of the longer duration of the loan.

The lower interest rate may also lead to you paying less when the final amount of the loan has been paid off, this often happens when the duration of the loan did not change at all or has not been extended. If the loan gets shorter it would mean that you must pay more but then it would also lead to a reduction on the overall interest.

What you need to prepare yourself for are the fees you have to pay for all the refinancing transaction. Some lenders include these fees upfront, but there are also some who just add them in the total amount with an interest as a part of the APR or the annual percentage rate.

With this comes the disadvantages you my face with your decision to refinance. One of the most common reasons why people choose to refinance is to get cash really fast, but you might end up having to pay more with the higher interest rates, especially on older vehicles. Refinancing an aging car usually leads to a surprising interest rate that could lead to you losing your vehicle if you don’t manage to keep up.

The typical auto loan on the annual percentage rate is between 3-10 percent and the average auto loan interest within the country this year is 4.21 percent for five years.

To qualify for refinancing, one great tip would be having a decent credit score. Usually, you don’t need to be worried if you have a great credit score, but if you don’t know where you stand it is most likely best for you to check your FICO score since this is known to be the most used checker that lenders use.

Another great tip would also be knowing how much your car currently worth and what kind of condition is it in at the moment. Getting it appraised by a dealership may be a good idea especially if your car is too far from being new. Most lenders have requirements and standards that need to be met for refinancing, so finding out if your vehicle is worthy may be one of the first things to do.

Know When To Refinance Your Car Loan

Bear in mind that refinancing your car can definitely save you a couple of bucks especially on monthly payments and interest, but not every qualifies for it. This is why it is very important to figure out if it is the perfect time for you to refinance your vehicle. The first thing you must consider is if your financial situation has improved, then check if the interest rates are high or low compared to the last time you took the car loan.

Refinancing your car loan can be either the best or the worst idea you’ll ever make. Financial advisers believe that having enough knowledge about refinancing must be considered before getting into it.

Even if the interest rates are high, one of the big signs that you must consider refinancing is when you are having a hard time keeping with the bills every month. Don’t wait for your credit score to go bad because of your struggle, start considering refinancing before you end up not qualifying for it.