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Should I refinance?

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maiden_girl
Valued Contributor

Should I refinance?

I owe about 9,200 on my 2011 Hyundai Accent. The loan originated at 12k about a year ago. I have about 40k miles on the car so far. My interest rate is relatively low (4.99%) and I pay around 227 a month. I was looking to lower my payments and term (currently 60 months). Would it be ideal to refinance this loan this late in the game? Or should I just continue making my regular payments? I'm looking to refinance with Chase. They are offering 2.54%

As of 2017, rebuilding...
Message 1 of 16
15 REPLIES 15
Revelate
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Should I refinance?


@maiden_girl wrote:

I owe about 9,200 on my 2011 Hyundai Accent. The loan originated at 12k about a year ago. I have about 40k miles on the car so far. My interest rate is relatively low (4.99%) and I pay around 227 a month. I was looking to lower my payments and term (currently 60 months). Would it be ideal to refinance this loan this late in the game? Or should I just continue making my regular payments? I'm looking to refinance with Chase. They are offering 2.54%


Lowering payments and term are at odds generally; if you opted for a 4 year loan at that APR you're looking at 202ish/month.

 

I wouldn't refinance for 25/month but that's me and your economic and credit situation may be different.  If I had to do it over again and I didn't have a theoretical mortgage coming up, I'd refinance my vehicle for a *longer* term rather than a shorter one, and play silly FICO games. 

 

Alternatively, if I wanted to just be done with it as it sounds like you do, I'd refinance for the lowest APR on the longest term possible (which typically will result in the lowest payment with virtually any lender), and just kick extra to the loan each month thereby reducing my principal by the largest amount each month... that presumes I have a fixed budget payment my car loan.  If at the same APR it doesn't matter (other than I have flexibility to submit a smaller payment if I need to put that extra somewhere else in a given month) but a lot of lenders will discount a 72 month loan for whatever reason, and if they do this, making the 48 month payment on a 72 month loan will save money as an example.

 

 

 




        
Message 2 of 16
maiden_girl
Valued Contributor

Re: Should I refinance?


@Revelate wrote:

@maiden_girl wrote:

I owe about 9,200 on my 2011 Hyundai Accent. The loan originated at 12k about a year ago. I have about 40k miles on the car so far. My interest rate is relatively low (4.99%) and I pay around 227 a month. I was looking to lower my payments and term (currently 60 months). Would it be ideal to refinance this loan this late in the game? Or should I just continue making my regular payments? I'm looking to refinance with Chase. They are offering 2.54%


Lowering payments and term are at odds generally; if you opted for a 4 year loan at that APR you're looking at 202ish/month.

 

I wouldn't refinance for 25/month but that's me and your economic and credit situation may be different.  If I had to do it over again and I didn't have a theoretical mortgage coming up, I'd refinance my vehicle for a *longer* term rather than a shorter one, and play silly FICO games. 

 

Alternatively, if I wanted to just be done with it as it sounds like you do, I'd refinance for the lowest APR on the longest term possible (which typically will result in the lowest payment with virtually any lender), and just kick extra to the loan each month thereby reducing my principal by the largest amount each month... that presumes I have a fixed budget payment my car loan.  If at the same APR it doesn't matter (other than I have flexibility to submit a smaller payment if I need to put that extra somewhere else in a given month) but a lot of lenders will discount a 72 month loan for whatever reason, and if they do this, making the 48 month payment on a 72 month loan will save money as an example.

 

 

 


Thanks for the reply! Basically given my remaining amount and monthly payment...it would be stupid to refinance. I do want to be done with it as soon as possible. I'll try to make extra payments on my existing loan to get rid of it and pay less interest. I have 50 payments remaining. Just wanted to know if it was worth looking into a refi.

As of 2017, rebuilding...
Message 3 of 16
MrPickleton
Established Member

Re: Should I refinance?

Even though it is only 25 a month in savings, the savings you would pay in interest are pretty nice.  Over the 48 month refi you would save about 400 to 500 dollars in interest.  You would take a hit on your fico, but its up to you to decide if it is worth it. 

Amex BCE: 3000, Discover It 2500, Capital One QS1: 1750

Message 4 of 16
SamsungHDTV
Established Contributor

Re: Should I refinance?


@MrPickleton wrote:

Even though it is only 25 a month in savings, the savings you would pay in interest are pretty nice.  Over the 48 month refi you would save about 400 to 500 dollars in interest.  You would take a hit on your fico, but its up to you to decide if it is worth it. 


I agree. I actually would refinance without hesitation. The savings does come out to be about $500 and to me that's worth it. And on top of that, I would continue to pay the $227 (your original payments) and that would help you save even more money on interest and pay the loan in a shorter number of months.

 

Message 5 of 16
SamsungHDTV
Established Contributor

Re: Should I refinance?

I have an auto loan that is 3.35% APR which is not a bad rate. But I'm going to try to refinance for better this february. I have $20K+ balance left. I'm aiming for a 2% interest rate.

Message 6 of 16
maiden_girl
Valued Contributor

Re: Should I refinance?

I applied for refinancing with Chase. I selected the 48 month term. Now I just have to wait for them to process my application. Don't know if I should apply elsewhere?

As of 2017, rebuilding...
Message 7 of 16
SamsungHDTV
Established Contributor

Re: Should I refinance?


@maiden_girl wrote:

I applied for refinancing with Chase. I selected the 48 month term. Now I just have to wait for them to process my application. Don't know if I should apply elsewhere?


You can if you want to. Chase is fast about getting processing an application. I wouldn't hesitate about calling in to check the status of the application after about 3-4 hours.

Message 8 of 16
maiden_girl
Valued Contributor

Re: Should I refinance?


@SamsungHDTV wrote:

@maiden_girl wrote:

I applied for refinancing with Chase. I selected the 48 month term. Now I just have to wait for them to process my application. Don't know if I should apply elsewhere?


You can if you want to. Chase is fast about getting processing an application. I wouldn't hesitate about calling in to check the status of the application after about 3-4 hours.


I just called in now and they said my application is still in review (I applied this morning). I applied to Lending Tree as well but I'm worried that request will result in multi inquires...I don't think I want to go with any of those lenders...lol.

As of 2017, rebuilding...
Message 9 of 16
maiden_girl
Valued Contributor

Re: Should I refinance?

UPDATE

 

Received a call back from Chase. Approved for the following: I'll just stick with my current loan.

 
Approved loan amount$9,400
Annual Percentage Rate (APR)5.01 %
Approved monthly payment$216.51
Approved term48 months
As of 2017, rebuilding...
Message 10 of 16
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