Car Refinance Calculator for existing auto loans. It compares your balance, rate and payment with a new loan, counts fees and penalties, and shows which month refinancing pays off.
Your balance, rate and payment are on your latest loan statement. The months left are worked out from them.
Fees, Payoff and Car Value
Refinance fees usually cover the lender’s charge and a title transfer. Your car’s value sets the loan-to-value ratio lenders check before approving.
Compare New Loan Terms
| Term | Payment | Interest | Net Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 mo | $925.63 | $1,915 | $2,670 |
| 36 mo | $643.74 | $2,875 | $1,711 |
| 48 mo | $503.34 | $3,860 | $725 |
| 60 mo | $419.53 | $4,872 | −$286 |
| 72 mo | $364.01 | $5,909 | −$1,323 |
| 84 mo | $324.65 | $6,971 | −$2,386 |
Same new rate for every row. Payment and interest include any cash out; the savings column excludes it and compares the refinanced balance with what is left on your current loan.
Savings Year by Year
| Year | Current Loan | New Loan | Running Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $6,240 | $6,040 | $200 |
| Year 2 | $6,240 | $6,040 | $400 |
| Year 3 | $6,240 | $6,040 | $600 |
| Year 4 | $6,165 | $6,040 | $725 |
A longer new loan saves money each month at first, then keeps charging after your old loan would have ended. Watch the running total.
Average Used-Car Rates by Credit
| Credit Tier | Used-Car APR |
|---|---|
| Super prime (781+) | 6.29% |
| Prime (661–780) | 8.81% |
| Near prime (601–660) | 13.93% |
| Subprime (501–600) | 19.10% |
| Deep subprime (300–500) | 21.62% |
Experian’s Q2 2026 averages for used-car loans, a common benchmark for refinance offers since lenders value your car as a used vehicle.
Check Savings With the Car Refinance Calculator
The Car Refinance Calculator compares finishing your current auto loan against replacing it with a new one. It counts every payment left on both loans plus fees and any prepayment penalty. What remains is the money refinancing actually saves or costs.
Drivers use it after their credit improves or when a lender sends a lower-rate offer. You need three numbers from your latest statement, which are the balance, the APR and the monthly payment. The credit score menu fills in a benchmark new rate you can replace with a real quote.
Months Left, Worked Out From Your Statement
You do not need to know how many payments remain. The tool works it out from the balance, rate and payment you already pay, using the standard loan payoff formula.
$$n = \frac{-\ln\left(1 – \dfrac{B \times r}{P}\right)}{\ln(1 + r)}$$
In this formula, B is the balance, P the monthly payment and r the APR divided by 12. A $20,000 balance at 11.19% with $520 payments has 48 payments left. Those payments still carry $4,885 of interest.
Use the payoff amount from your lender, not the balance printed on an old statement. As Credit Karma notes, interest keeps building after your last payment. The payoff figure includes that interest, and it is what the new lender actually sends.
The payment has to clear the balance within 120 months at your current rate, or the tool flags it. If the payment does not even cover a month’s interest, the loan would never end. That usually means the balance, rate or payment was typed wrong.
What the Tool Counts as Savings
Net savings compare the full remaining cost of your current loan with the full cost of the new one. Anything you pay up front for fees or a penalty goes on the new-loan side.
$$S = \sum P_{\text{old}} – \left(P_{\text{new}} \times n_{\text{new}} + \text{upfront costs}\right)$$
At the defaults, the new loan finances $20,300, which is the balance plus $300 of fees rolled in. At 8.81% for 48 months the payment is $503.34. The total paid comes to $725 less than finishing the current loan.
Cash out is kept out of the savings figure because it is new borrowing, not a saving. Taking $3,000 cash out on the default loan raises the payment to $577.72 and adds $570 of interest. The savings on the original balance stay at $725.
When a Lower Payment Costs More
Stretching the term is the most common refinance trap. The table below keeps the default $20,300 loan at 8.81% and changes only the new term. The current loan has 48 payments left.
| New Term | Monthly Payment | Interest on New Loan | Net Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36 months | $643.74 | $2,875 | $1,711 |
| 48 months | $503.34 | $3,860 | $725 |
| 60 months | $419.53 | $4,872 | −$286 |
| 72 months | $364.01 | $5,909 | −$1,323 |
At 60 months the payment drops by $100 a month, yet the loan costs $286 more overall. The rate is lower, but interest runs a year past the date your old loan would have ended.
The 36-month option saves the most, but its break-even comes late. Its payment is $123.74 above your current one, so the running comparison stays behind until month 45. It only moves ahead after the new loan ends while the old one would still be charging you.
Rolling Fees In or Paying Them Up Front
Refinance fees usually cover a lender charge and a title transfer. Rolling them into the loan means no cash out of pocket, and the default saves money from the first month. The fees then collect interest for the whole term.
Paying the default $300 up front raises the savings from $725 to $782, and break-even arrives in month 13. With $800 in fees paid up front, savings fall to $282 and break-even slips to month 34. High fees can wipe out a small rate cut.
Keeping Your Old Payment After Refinancing
The fourth card shows what happens if you refinance but keep paying your old amount. At the defaults, $520 a month clears the new loan in 47 payments with $3,708 in interest. That saves $877, more than the $725 on the scheduled plan.
This only works if the new lender takes extra payments without a penalty. Experian notes that prepayment penalties, where they apply, typically run about 2% of the loan amount. Check both the old and new contracts for one.
Loan-to-Value and Approval
Lenders compare the new loan with what the car is worth. Many cap refinance loans near 125% of the car’s value, according to a lender guide on Nasdaq. The default $20,300 loan on a $22,000 car is 92.3%.
Enter what the car would sell for today, not what you paid. The Used Car Value Calculator gives a current figure. If the same loan sat on a $15,000 car, loan-to-value would reach 135.3% and the tool would warn that approval is unlikely.
A loan above 100% of the car’s value leaves you owing more than it is worth. The GAP Coverage Calculator sizes that gap. The Car Depreciation Calculator shows how fast the car’s value will keep falling during the new loan.
Rates to Compare a Refinance Offer Against
Lenders price a refinance on a car you already own, so used-car rates are the fairest benchmark. These are Experian’s Q2 2026 averages by credit tier.
| Credit Tier | Average Used-Car APR |
|---|---|
| Super prime (781+) | 6.29% |
| Prime (661–780) | 8.81% |
| Near prime (601–660) | 13.93% |
| Subprime (501–600) | 19.10% |
| Deep subprime (300–500) | 21.62% |
If a quote is more than half a point above your tier’s average, the tool flags it. The overall averages were 6.35% for new-car loans and 11.19% for used-car loans. The original loan’s terms can be checked in the Auto Loan Calculator.
Entries That Distort the Car Refinance Calculator
Leaving the prepayment penalty at zero without reading the contract can overstate savings. Credit Karma notes many refinance calculators skip this charge entirely. This one includes it, but only if you enter it.
Entering the car’s purchase price as its value makes loan-to-value look better than a lender will see it. A three-year-old car is often worth well under what you paid. Lenders use its current market value.
Is Refinancing Worth It for You?
When does refinancing a car loan make sense?
It makes the most sense when your credit has improved since you took the loan. With the same $20,000 balance and $520 payment, a 19.10% loan still carries $11,191 of interest over 60 payments. Refinancing to 8.81% for 48 months saves about $7,031.
It makes less sense near the end of a loan, when most of the interest is already paid. The savings shrink with every month left off the old loan, while the fees stay the same.
Does refinancing hurt your credit?
Each application creates a credit inquiry, but shopping several lenders at once has little effect. The CFPB says auto loan inquiries made within 14 to 45 days of each other generally count as one.
Keeping all your applications inside 14 days stays within even the strictest scoring window. The new account also lowers the average age of your credit a little, which usually recovers with on-time payments.
Can you refinance if you owe more than the car is worth?
Sometimes, if the loan-to-value stays under the lender’s limit, often around 125%. Paying fees in cash instead of rolling them in, and skipping cash out, keeps the ratio as low as possible.
If you are well past that limit, paying the balance down for a few months first can bring the ratio into range. Lower-rate offers are rarely available until the loan and the car’s value move closer together.