Money Monday: Refinance Car

WSVN -- Reyna Jimenez was having trouble making her monthly car payments. Then she heard about refinancing her loan.

Reyna Jiminez: "It was almost like $400. It went down to $305, and besides that I was paying in less years than before."

Debbie Bryner was paying almost $100 to fill her truck with gas. So she refinanced and also saved big bucks.

Debbie Bryner: "My original payment was a little over $600 and it went to about 300, so over time that's a big savings."

When interest rates drop, many people think about refinancing their homes to save money, but cars not so much.

Helen McGiffin: "I think that refinancing the auto loan is probably the best kept secret in the industry today as a way of saving money."

These days, it's possible to get a car loan.

For under 3-percent interest so if you bought your car at a high interest rate, getting a low rate could save thousands over the life of a loan. You can also use your car's equity to pay off debts.

Helen McGiffin: "If your auto is worth more than the balance on your loan at this time, you can use that equity to pay off high-interest rate credit cards, pay down high interest rate credit cards and ultimately have a monthly saving as well as a long term savings."

And extending the term of your loan contract say five years instead of four will also lower the monthly payment.

Debbie Bryner: "It's just little more peace of mind."

Reyna says she's more comfortable with her payments now. Refinancing has her back on track financially.

Reyna Jiminez: "It makes me feel more confident in my credit. My credit is going up now already. It's going up and it's wonderful."

Lynn Martinez: "Compared to refinancing a home, refinancing a car takes much less time and there's usually no cost to transfer your loan."

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Refinancing Your Car Loan
http://www.edmunds.com/car-loan/refinancing-your-car-loan.html