Anyone refinanced a car?
 

Hi, like most expats I had to rebuild my credit when I moved to the US. Maybe finance companies wouldn't take me on when I was purchasing my first car here. I ended up going with CPS and I'm paying almost $400 a month car payment, which I'm sure is due to my 'high risk' and 'lack of credit history'.

Since then, my credit has improved and I have a good score. I wanted to know if I can refinance my car and get a lower payment? Does anyone have any advice? Any scams to be aware of? Will I see a decent drop or is it barely worth the hassle?

Thanks for any help anyone has.

Re: Anyone refinanced a car?
 

I had the same problem with my first car - 18% interest due to no credit (the wife had crappy credit, now fixed up :thumbup:).

Speak to your bank - I ended up with a loan that was less than half the rate think it was 8% or so.

Re: Anyone refinanced a car?
 

"$400 a month car payment" does not fully explain your situation. A far more pertinent point is what APR are you paying.

$400 a month at 1.8% APR and $400 at %30 APR are very different positions

Also, the length left on the loan, and penalties for early repayment etc are all very important factors

Re: Anyone refinanced a car?
 

I had to refinance a car a few years ago, cuz I needed to get my payments lowered. I actually wound up with a higher interest rate (and I have pretty good credit). Payments were lowered because I extended the loan period.

Moral: refinancing does not necessarily get you a better interest rate (if that's one of your goals)

Re: Anyone refinanced a car?
 

look at AAA, as they are pretty good with deals and no penalties...

Re: Anyone refinanced a car?
 

makes sure thats three A's, the alternative is a sobering experience . . .