Principal amount and Refinancing

[currentlywinning]

Hello all.

I want to refinance very soon. Ive had my car loan for 6 months now and Ive made all my payments. The thing is the rate is very high (never had credit before) and the amount that goes towards the pricipal of my loan is very low. I havent even nudged off a grand of the car itself!!  Anyway Im wondering if that will be a factor in trying to refinane? Do they look at the amount still left on the car, could that be a deterrent for some companies to give me a lower rate?

[birjest]

I had applied for a car loan through the dealer this past Sunday with a 5.99% rate.  So, I called my CU USAA and they was able to get me at 4.25%.  While I was on the phone with them, they wanted to see if they could get my rate on my 2011 Honda Pilot (financed though them as well) down from 8.24%.  Well, long and behold, they approved my re-finance on the Pilot to 4.09%.  

My score with EQ is 650.

[currentlywinning]

Coolness! Congrats! So how much I owe isnt a factor so much as my score?

[Revelate]

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@currentlywinning wrote:

Coolness! Congrats! So how much I owe isnt a factor so much as my score?

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It does play a factor if you're underwater on the loan; in which case you may need to come up with a check for the difference for some lenders.

Beyond the value of the car issue though, you're correct that the amount of the loan isn't a primary factor on refinancing and debatably some lenders are more interested in larger loans regardless.  There are some minimums that lenders won't go below when it comes to auto loans in some cases.