Auto Refinance Rates: Find the Lowest Rates & Prequalify Today

Southeast Financial Credit Union (SFCU) offers the lowest auto loan refinance rates on our list.

If you’re looking to refinance your auto loan at a lower rate, SFCU has the lowest starting annual percentage rate (APR) on this list. It’s important to note that its ultra-low 3.50% rate only applies to 12-month loan terms, so you’ll have to pay your car off within a year. You’ll also need excellent credit.

As is the case with most credit union auto loans, you’ll need to become a member to get a refinance loan. That said, qualifying is easy and costs a total of $10 or less.

To qualify for a refinance loan with Southeast Financial Credit Union, you’ll need a credit score of at least 600.

You’ll also need to become an SFCU member, which requires creating a savings account with a $5 deposit and qualifying with one of the below:

• Donate $5 to Autism Tennessee
• Be a current or retired Southeast Financial Select Employee Group employee
• Be a relative of a Southeast Financial Credit Union member
• Live, work, worship, go to school or volunteer in a qualifying Tennessee or Kentucky community, Tishomingo County, Miss., or Corinth, Miss.

LendingTree users who have worked with Caribou have given it a perfect score. And instead of calling, you can get in touch with your loan officer via text or email if you prefer.

If you’d like a little expert help while you check out your refinance options, Caribou might be for you. Caribou is not a lender itself — it’s a loan marketplace that connects borrowers to its network of partner lenders.

Although Caribou itself doesn’t charge anything to use the service or apply, it does charge a $499 processing fee to its partner lenders. Some of these lenders may pass along this fee to you, usually by rolling the fee into your loan (increasing the cost of borrowing).

Keep in mind that Caribou’s lowest 4.39% rate only applies to 36-month loan terms for borrowers with excellent credit.

To refinance a car with Caribou, you must meet the requirements below:

• Credit score: 580+
• Residency: Can’t live in Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada or West Virginia
• Minimal annual income: $24,000
• Vehicle restrictions: Car must be 20 years old or newer, cannot have more than 150,000 miles and must have at least $10,000 left on current loan

Many auto refinance lenders start their loans at $5,000 or $10,000 and cap them to $100,000. At Consumers Credit Union (CCU), auto refinance loans run from $250–$500,000.

If you’re stuck in a higher-interest, smaller car loan, CCU might be able to help. You just need a credit score of at least 620 to qualify for a refinance loan as small as $250. If you sign up for autopay, you also get a 0.25% interest rate discount.

Still, like other credit unions, you’ll need to become a member of CCU in order to receive your loan funds. You’ll also have to pay a nominal one-time fee of $5.

To get an auto refinance loan with CCU, you must meet the requirements below:

• Credit score: 620+
• Administrative: Pay a $5 fee (which CCU usually reimburses, but not on auto refinance loans); open a Member Share/Savings account

Depending on your credit and the lender RefiJet connects you with, you may be able to refinance your car payment-free for the first 90 days.

When you refinance a car, you usually get a grace period of 30 to 45 days before you have to make your first payment. With RefiJet, you could skip 90 days instead. You may need excellent credit to qualify for this perk, and note that interest will continue to accrue, even if your payment isn’t technically due.

If you only have a couple thousand to refinance, you will have to go with another lender. RefiJet’s loans start at $5,000.

To qualify for a RefiJet auto refinance loan, you’ll need to meet these requirements:

• Credit score: 500+
• Minimum income: $1,900 single or $2,200 joint; must have a job or verifiable source of income
• Other credit considerations: Recent car payments must have been made on time
• Vehicle restrictions: Must be less than 10 years old, have fewer than 150,000 miles and have at least $5,000 left on current loan
• Administrative: Must have a valid driver’s license, full coverage insurance and vehicle registration

Sometimes life happens and, when it does, PenFed Credit Union offers debt protection plans so you can avoid any negative impact to your credit. Debt protection can also provide peace of mind during a turbulent economy.

In the case of death, disability or loss of employment, PenFed Credit Union offers the option of debt protection for a monthly fee. In these instances, PenFed can cancel your loan balance or monthly payments with no penalties. Protection rates vary, but start at $.88 per $1,000 of the loan balance you’d like covered.

You can check rates before joining the credit union. If you want to accept your loan, you have to become a member.

To qualify for a PenFed auto loan, you must meet the following requirements:

• Membership: PenFed membership (anyone can join)
• Administrative: Open a PenFed savings account with $5 deposit; may need to submit documents to verify your identity and income
• Vehicle restrictions: Must have less than 125,000 miles

With Autopay, you can take out as much as $12,000 in your car’s equity with a cash-out auto refinance loan.

Equity is how much of your car you actually own, based on how much you’ve paid into it and how much it’s worth. With Autopay, you may be able to take out up to $12,000 of your equity and use it as cash. You don’t want to cash out equity if you don’t need to (it drives up the balance of your auto refi loan), but this can be a good strategy if you have higher-interest debt to pay off.

Autopay is a lending marketplace that connects borrowers with partner lenders. Along with lenders RateGenius and Tresl, Autopay is owned by The Savings Group.

Autopay connects borrowers to partner lenders and financial institutions. These partners all have different eligibility requirements.

To use the marketplace, you and the vehicle you’re refinancing must meet the requirements below:

• Credit score: 580+
• Minimum monthly income: $2,500
• Vehicle restrictions: Must be 10 years or newer with less than 150,000 miles

Many auto refinance companies take at least a few days to get your paperwork together and your loan finalized. myAutoLoan is different. It can overnight your documents, or you can sign them online — helping move along the process.

myAutoLoan doesn’t issue loans directly. Instead, you can receive up to four offers from its partner lenders. If you’re approved for a refinance auto loan, you won’t have to worry about paying off your old lender — myAutoLoan will take care of that for you.

However, if your car has more than 125,000 miles on it, you won’t be able to refinance it through myAutoLoan. You also can’t call myAutoLoan if you need help. Instead, you have to request a callback with an online form.

You’ll need to meet this criteria to qualify for an auto refinance loan on myAutoLoan’s network:

• Age: 18+
• Credit score: 600+
• Minimum income requirement: $18,000 annual gross income
• Residency requirements: Can’t live in Alaska or Hawaii
• Vehicle restrictions: Car must be 10 years old or newer, cannot have more than 125,000 miles and must have at least $5,000 left on current loan

Refinancing can seem intimidating because of the paperwork involved. Auto Approve streamlines the process by directly paying off your current lender and covering your DMV paperwork.

Auto Approve isn’t a direct lender — instead, it connects consumers with lenders in its network. To make refinancing as easy as possible, it’ll pay off your current lender and take care of any DMV paperwork for you once you close.

If you need to refinance a small car loan, you may need to look elsewhere since Auto Approve’s loans start at $10,000. And as easy as Auto Approve’s experience may be, customer service is only available Monday through Friday.

To qualify for a car refinance loan with Auto Approve, you’ll need a credit score of at least 600 and your car must be 20 model years or newer and have fewer than 125,000 miles.

To close on your loan, you will have to provide the following:

• Driver’s license
• Proof of insurance
• Vehicle registration
• Proof of income
• Contract for current auto loan

When you owe more on your car than what it’s worth, that means you have an upside-down car loan. Not all lenders will refinance when you’re upside down, but iLending has partners that may work with you as long as you have excellent credit, little debt and a decently high income.

iLending is a lending platform that hooks borrowers up with partner lenders. Having a variety of lenders on board means you have options. Some of iLending’s partners refinance upside-down car loans. The lender may roll the difference between your current loan and your vehicle’s worth into your new loan (which means more interest since you’ll have a larger loan). Even so, you could still end up saving money if you qualify for a lower rate.

While iLending refinances special vehicles like RVs and boats in addition to cars, it doesn’t specify maximum age or mileage restrictions.

To refinance your vehicle with iLending, you must meet the below requirements:

• Credit score: 560+
• Minimum credit history: Six months and one credit account (credit card, mortgage, loan)
• Minimum income: $1,500 per month (varies)

While some lenders require that you have a high credit score to get an auto refinance loan, OpenRoad Lending allows you to qualify with a credit score of 460.

With a minimum credit score requirement of just 460, OpenRoad Lending could be a solution if you’re struggling to get approved. Another lending platform, OpenRoad, doesn’t offer loans itself. Instead, it works with partner lenders, some of which are open to bad credit.

Compared to its credit score requirements, OpenRoad’s vehicle requirements are a little strict. It only refinances cars that are eight model years and newer. It also doesn’t offer specialty vehicle refinancing.

To qualify for refinancing through OpenRoad Lending, you’ll need to meet the following criteria:

• Credit score: 460+
• Minimum monthly income: At least $1,500 gross (Uber does not qualify)
• Vehicle restrictions: Must be eight model years or newer and have less than 140,000 miles