The Best Auto Loans for Refinancing

A subsidiary of Horizon Digital Finance, myAutoLoan is a privately held, direct-to-consumer online marketplace that connects consumers to auto and motorcycle loans. The online company aggregates terms from multiple lenders so that you can compare offers in up to 4 minutes. One of the main benefits of myAutoLoan is its user-friendly website, which provides convenient access to loan information from several vetted lenders.

Requirements for Refinancing

To refinance your car with myAutoLoan, you must have already had a loan for at least six months and have three years of credit history. Depending on the lender, there may also be income requirements, typically gross annual earnings of at least $18,000. Before you refinance, consider whether your credit score is where it should be for you to secure a lower interest rate than your original loan. myAutoLoan requires a FICO score of 575 or higher.

Benefits of Multiple Lender Matches

MyAutoLoan gives applicants up to four lender matches with a soft credit check and the lowest daily rates for refinancing loans. As of Jan. 31, 2023, the lowest refinance auto rate is 2.49 percent. Most lenders provide approval within 30 seconds of application submission and the funds to pay off your previous lender within 24 hours. With multiple lenders, you can find one that fits your specific situation, for example, if you need a cosigner.

Stellar Company Reputation

MyAutoLoan receives an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) based on the lender’s accreditation and business practices. The company received its BBB accreditation in 2003.

In addition, its Trustpilot review score is 4.1. Many of its five-star reviews on Trustpilot indicate the ease of the application process and the availability of multiple offers. Negative reviews note that myAutoLoan shares your information with lenders who may contact you separately, however.

Bank of America is the second-largest banking institution in the United States.¹ It saves clients an average of $60 per month on their auto loan payments through refinancing. Bank of America’s online, no-fee application takes minutes and most applicants get credit decisions in 60 seconds. Furthermore, Bank of America lets you refinance whether your existing loan is through Bank of America or another financial institution.

No Prepayment Penalties

Some lenders subject you to a prepayment penalty for paying off your loan early, but not Bank of America. If your current loan has a prepayment penalty, the amount you save by refinancing with Bank of America may be significantly more than the penalty. In that case, refinancing may still be a good idea.

Interest Rate Discounts

If the interest rate you qualify for is significantly lower than your current loan rate, it may be the right time to refinance. Bank of America sweetens the deal for Bank of America Preferred Rewards or Preferred Rewards for Wealth Management customers, who qualify for interest rate discounts of up to 0.50 percent.

Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program is one of the reasons we picked it as one of the best auto loans for new cars. Membership is available in all 50 states, including Washington, D.C.

One-Minute Approval Process

Bank of America’s easy and fast process requires you to provide the following information online for the loan approval in 60 seconds:

• Address
• Car year
• Date of birth
• Email address
• Employer name
• Employment status
• Housing status
• Loan amount
• Loan term (48, 60 or 72 months)
• Loan type
• Make
• Mileage
• Model
• Monthly housing payment
• Name
• Occupation
• Phone number
• Social Security number
• Time employed
• Trim
• U.S. citizenship status
• Vehicle identification number (VIN)
• Yearly income

After approval, you’ll have 30 days to think about the offered amount without losing the interest rate, which is locked in at the time of your offer.

Based in Denver, AUTOPAY specializes in auto refinancing and new purchase financing. Apply for a refinanced loan in minutes to save an average of $105 on your monthly payments. With AUTOPAY, you can apply for a traditional refinancing loan, receive cash back to consolidate debt or pay off your lease early with a lease buyout. The company works with customers across the credit spectrum to find fair rates.

Variety of Refinancing Options

AUTOPAY offers three refinancing options, each with its own benefits. Not all lenders and aggregators do cash back and lease buyout options for refinancing, so AUTOPAY’s three options provide more flexibility for unique situations:

1. Traditional: Traditional refinancing reduces your monthly payments or interest, shortens the length of your loan and allows you to add or subtract persons from your loan. The main benefit of traditional financing are the better terms.
2. Cash back: With cash back, receive as much as $12,000 and use the funds to pay high-interest obligations or personal costs or to consolidate debt. In addition to better terms, cash back refinancing gives you direct access to additional cash.
3. Lease buyout: A lease buyout pays off the balance of your leased vehicle, avoids paying high mileage and other fees and allows you to keep your car at the end of your base term. Lease buyouts reduce your monthly payments and set up a new loan with better APR and terms, while also building equity in your vehicle.

Refinancing with No Credit

Just as not all lenders provide cash back and lease buyout options, not all lenders and aggregators offer beneficial terms to people with bad credit. AUTOPAY helps people with no, inactive or low credit find auto loans. Here are the steps to finding a lender through AUTOPAY if your credit score is not as high as it could be:

1. Gather documents: Get together your proof of employment history, pay stubs, previous addresses, bills and driver’s license.
2. Find a cosigner: You may need a cosigner on your loan if you lack a credit history altogether.
3. Save for a larger down payment: The larger the down payment, the less money you’ll need to borrow and the lower your monthly payments will be. If you can swing 20 percent, it shows you’re serious about making regular payments
4. Pay a higher interest rate: A cosigner with good credit can offset the risk, but your interest rate may still be higher than someone with good credit.

Like most aggregators, each lending partner has different approval criteria; this is how AUTOPAY provides financing solutions for people with good and bad credit.

Auto Refinance Calculator

AUTOPAY has a convenient auto refinance calculator on its website to give you an estimate of how much refinancing will save you. Last year, AUTOPAY saved borrowers an average of $1,158 refinancing their car loans and lowered APRs by 50 percent.⁴ Here’s what you need to get started:

• Current monthly payment
• Balance left on loan
• Remaining loan term
• New loan term
• Credit score (rebuilding, average or excellent)

LendingTree is an auto loan aggregator that allows you to compare lenders and rates. The company offers the lowest minimum APR we’ve seen at only 0.99 percent, making it one of the best auto loan aggregators for new car owners. At the same time, LendingTree offers multiple options for refinancing to lower your payment or APR or pay off your loan faster, including cash-out auto refinancing.

Low APRs

LendingTree’s minimum APR is 0.99 percent, the lowest we’ve seen across loan providers and loan aggregators. If you have good credit and a high income, LendingTree is an easy win. A shorter loan term with a low APR is the best option financially, so you can accrue less interest and pay the loan off more quickly. Your credit score is the biggest determining factor of APR, so if you have low credit, your APR will be higher.

High Loan Amounts

Your loan amount depends on your provider, but LendingTree provides quotes for up to $4 million, which is more than enough for the average driver in the U.S. This is also known as the LTV ratio.

Some of LendingTree’s providers offer up to 125 percent LTV, meaning if you total your car, you’ll receive 25 percent more than its current value to pay for a new car. Gap insurance is another way to cover the remainder of your auto loan if you total your car and it’s usually required if you have a loan or lease your vehicle.

Top Lenders for Auto Refinancing

Below is a rundown of the top five lenders that LendingTree recommends for auto refinancing. The company will do the legwork of getting your quotes from the appropriate lenders, but this information may be helpful as you compare quotes from multiple companies:

• Auto Approve: Its starting APR is 2.14 percent, with loans ranging from $5,000 to $85,000. Auto Approve doesn’t charge an application fee.
• Caribou: Caribou has a starting APR of 2.83 percent. The downsides are its $399 fee and its limited availability (not available in Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, West Virginia and Wisconsin).
• Gravity Lending: Prime credit lenders may choose Gravity Lending, which does not charge fees and can process applications for funding in a few minutes. The lowest rates start at 5.04 percent, but it requires a minimum credit score of 760 and a vehicle model year 2021 or newer as of 2023.
• iLending: With loan amounts starting at $7,500, iLending was the most popular refinance auto lender on LendingTree in the first half of 2022. It doesn’t charge an application fee, allows joint applicants and can qualify cars with as many as 200,000 miles for refinancing.
• RefiJet: This lender was the most popular subprime auto refinance lender on LendingTree, meaning it’s a great option for people with low credit scores and poor credit histories. The minimum credit requirement is just 550. Loan amounts start at $5,000, with a $395 origination fee that you can roll into your loan.

Digital Federal Credit Union, also known as DCU, is a member-owned not-for-profit financial cooperative. DCU serves more than 1 million members and families in all 50 states. Headquartered in Massachusetts, DCU is one of the 20 largest credit unions nationwide.⁵ It offers consumer banking and lending as well as business banking, business lending, auto insurance and realty services.

Discounts and Benefits

DCU offers the following discounts and benefits with its refinance loans:

• 60 days of no payments after the closing of the loan (interest will begin to accrue the day DCU funds your loan)
• A membership level discount of 0.50 percent included for Plus and Relationship members with electronic payments
• Energy efficiency discount at 0.25 percent if a vehicle has a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy rating of 35 mpg or 35 mpg-e (miles per gallon of gasoline-equivalent) combined city/highway
• Maximum loan amount of 130 percent of book value
• Same rates for new or used vehicles

Here’s a breakdown of membership options with DCU ― the more a member does with DCU, the more these benefits apply:

• Basic: The basic plan includes no minimum balances or monthly maintenance fees on accounts, free use of DCU branches, ATMs, digital banking options and debit cards, free account alerts and notifications.
• Plus: Plus includes basic member benefits plus payments 48 hours early with direct deposit, up to $10 per month in ATM fee reimbursements from other institutions and 0.50 percent discounts on consumer loans with electronic payments.
• Relationship: Relationship members include Plus member benefits and up to $25 per month in ATM fee reimbursements from other institutions and 100 free DCU checks per year.

Affordable Payments

The longer your loan term, the lower your monthly payment. See below a chart showing loan terms, APR and estimated monthly payment (SMP) available with DCU.