Gypes

Vehicle refinancing

Auto refinance calculator

See whether a lower payment comes from a lower rate, a longer term, or both—and whether fees erase the savings.

Use a current payoff quote or statement for the existing loan and a written refinance offer for the new loan. Gray placeholders are examples only and are not counted. The calculator compares cash cost, not approval odds.

1Describe the current loan

Enter what is owed now, the current APR, and the number of scheduled payments remaining.

2Enter the refinance offer

Copy the contract interest rate and full term from the written offer. A longer term can lower the payment while increasing total cost.

3Account for refinance fees

Use the offer’s itemized charges and tell the calculator whether they leave your bank account now or become part of the new balance.

4Choose the comparison horizon

Compare costs through the month you expect to keep the loan or vehicle. The calculator also reports full-term totals.

A lower payment is not automatically a cheaper refinance

A refinance can lower the monthly payment because the rate falls, because repayment is stretched over more months, or because both change. Only the first directly reduces interest cost. This calculator shows the payment change, total remaining finance cost, balances at a chosen horizon, and the month when the refinance catches up after fees.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s auto-loan terms identifies the interest rate and APR as important but different measures of borrowing cost. The CFPB auto-loan comparison worksheet recommends comparing amount financed, finance charge, APR, term, and total of payments rather than a payment alone.

Use a current payoff quote, not an old statement balance

Enter the amount required to satisfy the current loan as of the proposed refinance date. A payoff quote can differ from a statement balance because of accrued interest, timing, or fees. The model treats that payoff balance as the opening principal for both paths so the comparison starts from the same debt.

Interest rate and APR are not interchangeable

The payment formula needs the contract interest rate used to accrue interest. A disclosed APR can be higher because it incorporates certain finance charges. If an offer shows both an interest rate and an APR, enter the interest rate in the rate field, then separately compare the disclosed APR and itemized charges. Enter title, lien, application, payoff, or other actual refinance charges in the fee field only once.

Cash fees and financed fees affect the timing differently

Cash-paid fees increase refinance cost immediately. Financed fees increase the new principal and also accrue interest. The lifetime comparison counts the fee in either case. At the selected horizon, cash fees appear in cumulative cash cost while financed fees remain partly in the loan balance until repaid.

Why the horizon comparison includes remaining balances

Comparing only payments through month 24 would make a long new term look artificially cheap. This model adds the remaining loan balance to payments and cash fees through the selected month. That balance-aware economic cost measures how much cash has gone out plus how much debt remains. It does not treat payment deferral as savings.

How break-even is calculated

For each month, the calculator compares current-path payments plus the current balance with refinance-path cash fees, payments, and the new balance. Break-even is the first month the refinance path is no more expensive. If it never catches up before both modeled loans end, the result says so. A planned sale, trade, or early payoff before that month can change the decision.

Check eligibility, equity, and contract details

A lender may restrict vehicle age, mileage, loan-to-value ratio, title status, minimum balance, or remaining term. Confirm whether the current contract has a prepayment charge and whether optional products from the original transaction generate a refund after payoff. This calculator does not estimate approval, credit-score effects, taxes, title timing, late charges, insurance, or vehicle value.

Avoid advance-fee refinance promises

The Federal Trade Commission warns about auto-refinance scams that demand money in advance, guarantee lower payments, or tell borrowers to stop paying their lender. Verify the lender independently, understand the written terms, and keep making required payments unless your current lender confirms a different arrangement.

Use the result with the rest of the vehicle decision

Use the auto loan calculator to reconstruct a purchase offer and the car lease vs. buy calculator when ownership itself is still undecided. If the refinance is meant to solve a cash-flow problem, test the new payment inside the monthly budget calculator and contact the current lender early if payments are becoming difficult.

This calculator provides general educational arithmetic, not financial, lending, credit, tax, insurance, or legal advice. It is not a loan offer or approval estimate. Actual payoff amounts, daily interest, rounding, fees, refunds, payment dates, and contract terms may differ.