Refinancing Questions

[macuserftw]

Hi Everyone,

These forums are so helpful, but I have some questions about refinancing my car. I currently have an absolutely horrid loan through a subprime lender - Westlake Financial. It's a 39 month term @ 25.99% for a total payment of $443.58 monthly. I always pay online 1-2 weeks early, but this lender charges a $5.00 "Convenience Fee" to pay online, raising my monthly payments to $448.58 on a 2008 Toyota Prius. When I obtained the loan I put a total of $2,700.00 down. I was a first time buyer with an EQ FICO of 580, but since then my score has increased to 616 (EQ FICO). I signed for this loan on February 19, 2014 and I've made 6 payments at this time.

I'm planning on refinancing at the 1 year mark with 12 payments made on time with 27 months remaining in my original term. At this point I will be at my current job for a little over a year and I have received a substantial raise since originally signing for this crappy loan. My annual income increased from $22,000.00 to 35,000.00. I'm hoping my FICO will be over the 620 threshold by then. I would love to refinance into a 24 month loan for the remaining balance owed on my car at a lower interest rate with a better lender.

Will this be possible? What are my chances at refinancing - and who is my best bet to refinance with?

[Ragelog]

If you get above 620 the higher the better obviously the only concern I would have is what do you owe on the vehicle versus what it is worth? When you get above 620 on EQ DCU is a viable option. The catch is they use the EQ Fico 04 score not the EQ Fico 08 score provided here. I learned this to my benefit as I applied with a 645 score from myfico.com and found out I had a 683 so was approved for their best rate about 3 weeks ago. Do you have revolving credit if so let it age, don't apply until you know your score is improved and in prep try to be carrying 1-9% on one credit line in a statement that reports and all others 0 to have the best possible score prior to applying.

DCU uses nada.com clean retail value and will go as high as 120% so research that to see if they will cover what you owe or if you'll need the difference.

Good luck!

[macuserftw]

Thanks for the response! My balance on my loan is currently $10,309.48 and NADA Clean Retail Value is currently $10,925.00 so, I'm pretty much even at this point. I don't drive that much (commuting 10 miles each day to work and back), so I don't believe that NADA value will fluctuate too much in the coming 6 months. I'll have the loan paid down to $9,500 or a little lower by then. Luckily I'm not really upside down or anything.