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I currently have a 12%apr on my auto loan with nfcu. if my score improves drastically over the next year, would NFCU re-finance me if i asked them to, or would I have to go to a completely new lender if i wanted to re-finance w/ a better rate?
You could shop around and see who offers you a better rate. Even if you refi with NFCU, you will still get a new account and INQ and the associated credit score affects.
I recently refi'd from 5.6 to 3.7 so if you can, it would make sense to do so.