super high APR?

[Anonymous]

A month ago, I financed a car and got the loan through Santander. They approved me 16k with an APR of 20%. Me not knowing much about obtaining a car and the consequences of it, I went ahead and bought an used car. The guy from the dealership told me that I could go back in 5-6 months to him to re-finance. Now, I'm currently paying $200, and $203 of interests only. 

Is there any way I could re-finance much earlier? I'm not having issues making the payments, but I do have to say it is quite a lot. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

A month ago, I financed a car and got the loan through Santander. They approved me 16k with an APR of 20%. Me not knowing much about obtaining a car and the consequences of it, I went ahead and bought an used car. The guy from the dealership told me that I could go back in 5-6 months to him to re-finance. Now, I'm currently paying $200, and $203 of interests only. 

Is there any way I could re-finance much earlier? I'm not having issues making the payments, but I do have to say it is quite a lot. 

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To answer your question we need information.   What is your credit score?  Look up on KBB.com the private party sale value of your car and let us know that and how much you owe on the car and we can help.  The dealer didn't likely do you any favors and you don't want them being your middle man on refinancing.  The reality is they probably got a kickback by marking up your interest but we need your information to help you.  You want to dump that loan ASAP because that interest will eat you alive.  Also are you a member of a credit union??

[JGGM]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

A month ago, I financed a car and got the loan through Santander. They approved me 16k with an APR of 20%. Me not knowing much about obtaining a car and the consequences of it, I went ahead and bought an used car. The guy from the dealership told me that I could go back in 5-6 months to him to re-finance. Now, I'm currently paying $200, and $203 of interests only. 

Is there any way I could re-finance much earlier? I'm not having issues making the payments, but I do have to say it is quite a lot. 

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To answer your question we need information.   What is your credit score?  Look up on KBB.com the private party sale value of your car and let us know that and how much you owe on the car and we can help.  The dealer didn't likely do you any favors and you don't want them being your middle man on refinancing.  The reality is they probably got a kickback by marking up your interest but we need your information to help you.  You want to dump that loan ASAP because that interest will eat you alive.  Also are you a member of a credit union??

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Santander typically doesn't allow rate markup once you're at the 20% range. Also, at that interest rate they likely charged the dealer a fee to do the deal (likely between $400-$800). If the OP has all the cards in his/her siggy, it would seem odd to me that they're at a 20% rate loan. But again more info would be needed. Even if the car is not completely upside down, I would be curious as to why refinancing after a month or two would have a hugely beneficial rate change (meaning did utilization change drastically, etc). A 20% rate with Santander does not typically become a 9% rate over night with a different bank....again typically. 

[Anonymous]

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@JGGM wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

A month ago, I financed a car and got the loan through Santander. They approved me 16k with an APR of 20%. Me not knowing much about obtaining a car and the consequences of it, I went ahead and bought an used car. The guy from the dealership told me that I could go back in 5-6 months to him to re-finance. Now, I'm currently paying $200, and $203 of interests only. 

Is there any way I could re-finance much earlier? I'm not having issues making the payments, but I do have to say it is quite a lot. 

---

To answer your question we need information.   What is your credit score?  Look up on KBB.com the private party sale value of your car and let us know that and how much you owe on the car and we can help.  The dealer didn't likely do you any favors and you don't want them being your middle man on refinancing.  The reality is they probably got a kickback by marking up your interest but we need your information to help you.  You want to dump that loan ASAP because that interest will eat you alive.  Also are you a member of a credit union??

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Santander typically doesn't allow rate markup once you're at the 20% range. Also, at that interest rate they likely charged the dealer a fee to do the deal (likely between $400-$800). If the OP has all the cards in his/her siggy, it would seem odd to me that they're at a 20% rate loan. But again more info would be needed. Even if the car is not completely upside down, I would be curious as to why refinancing after a month or two would have a hugely beneficial rate change (meaning did utilization change drastically, etc). A 20% rate with Santander does not typically become a 9% rate over night with a different bank....again typically. 

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I am familiar with the fees the dealer pays Santander for subprime loans but because of the cards shown I was thinking perhaps this is a case where there was a markup of the interest.  The "you can xome back in a few months and we will refinance you screams to me as a dealer pulling a fast one to push a high interest on a inexperienced customer. I don't see any scores in the siggy just the cards.  This one doesn't add up yet, once we get the information it might make more sense.

[Anonymous]

My FICO score is currently 663. The dealer told me that a lot of banks were turning me down because I froze my EX credit score. 

According to KKB.com, the trade-in value of my car is $9,789 and I currently owe $16,468

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My FICO score is currently 663. The dealer told me that a lot of banks were turning me down because I froze my EX credit score. 

According to KKB.com, the trade-in value of my car is $9,789 and I currently owe $16,468

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Wow, that dealer worked you my friend.  Did you buy a extended warranty or protection plan of any kind?  If so you need to cancel them to get the loan to value down. The dealer lied to you when he talked about refinancing in a few months because you will be even further upside down in a few months.  The fair market value is going to be higher than a trade in value so it might not be as terrible as it looks but you need to finance this car through a credit union asap.  Even with no auto loan history your scores and credit cards make it clear your not a subprime customer.  If your a member of a credit union apply for an auto loan with them, if not join DCU, Penfed or NFCU and apply.  Local credit unions can be great options also.  Even if you had to cash advance a credit card to get some cash to make a refinance work because the loan to value is to high because the Santander APR is so high you would be better off doing that.  My guess is the cars fair market is going to work out to be about 11-12k so you might be able to get this done fairly easy.  

Never walk into a car dealership again without a preapproval from a credit union, makes life so much easier and less expensive.  My wild guess is you should be able to get an APR under 8% maybe as low as 4-5.

[Anonymous]

Just read my reponse, sorry if it comes off as bossy but I see a real injustice here and want to help.

[Anonymous]

It definitely did, but this is what I get for being hardheaded and very inexperienced with auto loans. I have limited insurance on the car, but I only had a 10 day warranty on the loan. I was looking into getting a car loan through a credit union, but I don't really know how that works. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

It definitely did, but this is what I get for being hardheaded and very inexperienced with auto loans. I have limited insurance on the car, but I only had a 10 day warranty on the loan. I was looking into getting a car loan through a credit union, but I don't really know how that works. 

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Just apply, they will ask for an amount you want (payoff amount you can get from Santander) the VIN for the vehicle, mileage etc and they will tell you if your approved.  If you have a local credit union bring the paperwork in, join and apply right there in person.  Most credit unions are great at customer service so they will help you out.  You can also apply through Penfed or DCU online easily, I believe both will do the application by phone if you prefer.  Make sure you unfreeze your reports first.  You can overcome this and get a decent APR with a little work,, it will save you thousands so it is well worth your time and effort to do this.

[JGGM]

Curious, what kind of vehicle is it? And miles?