Do I have a good shot at refinancing my car loan?

I bought a car in autumn 2005 with a car loan for $26,800(this amount was AFTER tacking on tons of taxes %26amp; fees, and AFTER deducting the $6000 down payment I put on the car). Despite credit problems and an Equifax score of 580, I got financing through Bank of America for 9.7% APR. So I%26#039;m paying $492/mo. for my car, but hey I understand that the interest coulda been a lot worse.

In the past year-and-a-half, I%26#039;ve paid down the car loan to about $14,900.

I%26#039;ve also beefed up my credit score a LOT. Part of my past credit problems were due to inaccuracies on my credit report. Since then, a collections account has also fallen off my report. The car loan%26#039;s good payment history has added to it. The only problem with my credit now, is that I have a good chunk of credit card debt(due to a short stint of underemployment), but I always pay on time and more than min payments.

Do I have a good shot at refinancing for lower interest? Or, is my credit card debt hindering me?

Do I have a good shot at refinancing my car loan?

Since your credit history has improved, you should be able to get a better rate. The only problem is that you may be getting a rate for a used car now, instead of a new car rate and used car rates are generally higher than new car rates. However, some lenders give new car rates for cars that are up to 2 years old, so if you do this pretty quickly, you may still be able to get a new car rate.

First, you should call BoA to see if they will refi you without a hard inquiry. Be explicit that you are not giving them permission to do a credit inquiry right now, you are just seeing if you can get a better rate without them having to pull your credit.

If they say no, then you need to start shopping around at credit unions and banks to see what their definition of %26#039;new car%26#039; is and what their rates are for both new and used. Be sure to look at the rates for different length of loans - shorter loans often have lower rates.

Once you find the combo you like, apply there.