Auto Refinance Calculator (2026)
Is refinancing worth it?
✓ Refinancing pays off
Save $1,044
A lower payment and less paid in total.
Keep your current loan
$497.70 a month
- APR
- 9%
- Months to pay
- 48
- Left to pay
- $23,889.61
Refinance
$469.70 a month
- APR
- 6%
- Months to pay
- 48
- Total, with fees
- $22,845.66
What changes if you refinance
- Each month
- ▼ $28.00 less
- In total, fees included
- ▼ $1,043.95 less
Fees paid back in month 11 of 48
If you sell the car or pay the loan off before month 11, the refinance will have cost you money.
Refinancing a $20,000 balance from 9% to 6% APR, keeping 48 months, lowers the payment from $497.70 to $469.70 and saves about $1,044 after $300 in fees, which are paid back in 11 months.
By Matt Rum. Checked against federal consumer guides on .
When refinancing helps and when it does not
- Lower rate, same term
- The clearest win: a lower payment and less interest in total.
- Longer term
- Stretching the same loan to 72 months drops the payment to $331.46, but the total saving shrinks to -$275 because you pay interest for longer. A longer loan can also leave you owing more than the car is worth.
- Fees
- Lenders may charge an application or origination fee, and your state charges to record the new lien or reissue the title. Fees paid in cash need a break-even period; fees added to the loan also collect interest.
- Late in the loan
- Most of the interest is paid in the early months, so refinancing near the end saves little.
- Prepayment penalty
- Check your current contract. A penalty for paying early counts as a refinancing cost.
How we calculate this
Both loans use the standard payment formula, payment = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n), with r = APR ÷ 12, and a month-by-month schedule whose last payment absorbs rounding.
Savings = what is left to pay on the current loan − (all payments on the new loan + fees paid in cash). Fees added to the loan raise its balance instead. Break-even = cash fees ÷ monthly payment saving, rounded up to a whole month.
We assume the current loan is a simple-interest loan paid on schedule and that the payoff balance is what you enter. The full method is on our methodology page.
Sources
- CFPB: What should I do if I can't make my car payments? (longer terms and interest) (consumerfinance.gov), checked Nov 10, 2026
- CFPB: Auto loans (consumerfinance.gov), checked Nov 10, 2026
- Regulation Z, Appendix H: H-11 installment loan sample ($5,000, 12%, 24 months) (consumerfinance.gov), checked Nov 10, 2026
Auto refinance: common questions
Is it worth refinancing a car loan for 1%?
It depends on the balance and months left. On a $20,000 balance with four years to go, going from 9% to 8% saves about $453 in interest before fees. Enter your loan to see the net figure.
Does refinancing hurt my credit?
Applying usually means a hard credit inquiry, and a new account lowers the average age of your accounts, so your score can dip a little for a while. Compare offers within a short period rather than spreading applications out.
What fees come with refinancing a car?
Common ones are a lender fee and the state's title or lien recording fee. Our title and registration page lists each state's title fee.
Can I deduct interest on a refinanced car loan?
For a new, US-assembled car bought for personal use, a refinance qualifies for the 2025 to 2028 federal car loan interest deduction only up to the balance of the original loan. Cash taken out does not qualify.