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I recently joined USAA and they are offering me a lower rate on my auto loan. My original loan is through capital one at 15.83%. USAA is offering 11.99%. I should have waiting a few months before having them do a hard pull. I just got 2 CC with them, a Chase Freedom, and a Walmart store card. I should have allowed them to hit and show a few months payment, that may have a afforded an even lower rate.
So, should I take the 11.99% refinance now, or should I wait a few months and try again for a lower rate?
Anyone, anyone?
Your score is going to go down when those new tradelines hit, and it may take 3-6 months (or longer) to recover depending what the rest of your profile looks like.
I think personally I'd consider refinancing now, and then possibly refinance again in about a year if it made sense to do so. I think you need to do the math on the additional interest accrued over call it six months and whether it makes sense to hold on for that period for what might be a lower rate (but that's not guarunteed unfortunately).
One caveat: how long have you had the auto loan for anyway? If you're about to tick over a 1 year or perhaps 3 year boundary within the next six months, I'd probably keep it but that's me... somewhere lost in the middle would drive up the liklihood that I'd refinance.
Thanks for the reply, Revelate. I've only had the 3 months. The refinance saves me $50 per month. May not seem like much for some, but for me.... that's a tank of gas!
That's $600 a year. Yes, it's a lot. At least I think so.
Follow my financial journey: http://www.frugalrican.com
@journey258 wrote:Thanks for the reply, Revelate. I've only had the 3 months. The refinance saves me $50 per month. May not seem like much for some, but for me.... that's a tank of gas!
AFAIK, six months is the minimum you want for any tradeline if possible; however, I agree $50/mo is worth refinancing over. Six months is another one of those mystical potential boundaries, and one I'd absolutely wait for personally but if it doesn't make financial sense for you to do so, don't wait and just refinance. Long-term the possible difference in FICO is irrelevant, so personal finances take priority regardless.
The real issue is not how much you will save monthly, unless you are having problems paying your bills. The issue is how much interest will you save if you refinance? If you finish out the present Cap1 loan, what is the total remaining interest you will pay? If you refinance, what will be your total interest you will have to pay. Then is the any potential savings worth the effort?
Thankfully, no problem paying my monthly bills, but with my 3rd child going off to college in the fall EVERY bit counts. The refinance is really quite effortless, handled by USAA. I guess my question is in regard to long term benefit on credit and scoring. I have only been with Cap1 3 months. Then again, I have only been with Cap1 three months. Maybe I'm thinking too hard about all of this. My new obsession with credit has me paranoid.
Run your life like a business, just look at the bottom line... oh and stay away from credit default swaps