Refinancing your car loan can seem like a complicated and confusing process. But it is actually super simple and easy!
Refinancing is when you take out one loan to pay off another loan. But how do you know what the payoff amount will be?
When determining your payoff amount, you need to check to see if your current loan has any prepayment penalties. Some do not have any fees associated with an early payoff, while others will have fees that are high enough to discourage refinance.
Look carefully through your paperwork to determine what the penalties are. If it is unclear to you, call your lender and ask.
The easiest way to calculate your total loan payoff amount is to go online or call your lender directly. Many lenders have calculators available so that you can pick a date in the future and calculate your payoff from then.
You will most likely need to have your account number and your VIN available to log on to get this information. So be sure to have your information handy (your account number should be listed on your latest car loan statement).
If you prefer, you can do the math yourself to get an estimate. Get out your loan contract and determine the total principal amount on your loan. Then you will need to calculate your interest payments. You do this by calculating your annual percentage yield (APY). You can use the formula below:
APY= (1- rate per period)(number of periods per year - 1)
This gives you the total cost of interest. You will need to add this to the principal amount of the loan. Then, subtract any payments you’ve already made. Add in any prepayment penalties, et voila, you have your total loan payoff amount.
Payoff Amount = Principal + APY + Prepayment Fees - Previous Payments
One you have an amount, you can determine whether or not it is worth it for you to refinance your car loan.
So how do you decide whether or not it’s worth it to refinance your car loan? You already know how much it will cost you to pay off your existing loan, so now you need to determine how much your new loan will cost you.
This will depend on the deals you are able to get for your refinance. Refinance offers are based on a number of factors, including market interest rates and your personal credit score. The higher your score is, the better chance you have to get a lower interest rate (and therefore save more money).
Set yourself up for the best refinance offers by doing the following:
Request a copy of your credit report and look for any inaccuracies. Cross check your report with your credit card and bank statements and be sure everything lines up. If there are any problems, report them to the credit bureau immediately.
If your score is a little low, consider waiting a few months to refinance your car loan. Use this time to make consistent, on time payments and pay down any accounts that have a high credit utilization ratio (the amount of debt compared to your credit limit). Set up autopay on any accounts that have that option so that you don’t miss a beat.
Some refinance companies will not refinance your loan if your car is ten years or older or has over 100,000 miles on it. Be sure your car qualifies before you get too deep into the refinancing process.
Research different lenders to get an idea of what terms and rates are being offered. Until you apply you will not have any solid number to use to calculate how much money you will save. But you can get a sense of what some offers look like, and you can see what their current customers are saying about them. Which lenders are transparent with their fees and payments? Who has good customer service? All of these things are important when decking who your next lender will be.
Since you will not have offers until you actually apply, play out a few different scenarios with a pad and paper. See what your payments would look like at 6% over 4 years, or at 5.5% over 3 years. This will give you a ballpark of how much money your new loan will cost you. It will also show you where your tipping point is: that is, at what point refinancing will not make sense for you.
When you are ready to refinance your car loan, you will need to have certain documents. Here are some of the documents you may be required to provide:
A Photo ID, such as a passport or driver’s license.
Your vehicle’s information, which may include the bill of sale, VIN number, make, model, and year of your car.
Proof of income and financial history, which may include pay stubs, banking information, and your credit report.
Proof of residence, such as a mortgage statement, lease agreement, or utility bill. Note that PO boxes are not acceptable as proof of residence.
Proof of insurance.
Having all of these documents together and ready to go will help make the process of applying for refinance quick and easy.
Ultimately, your best bet is to use a company that specializes in auto refinance, like Auto Approve. When you use a company that deals in auto refinance day in and day out, you know you are in good hands. We can help you easily apply and compare rates, and help you decide if refinancing your car will be worth it for you.
But won’t it be more expensive to go through Auto Approve? Absolutely not! In fact, we NEVER add on to the rates from our lenders, we pass all of the savings on to you.
Refinancing a car loan is easy when you are in the right hands.
Don’t wait, get started with Auto Approve today. Get your free quote to see how much money we can save you on your monthly cay payment!