Banks that refinance car loans fall into three groups: large national banks like Capital One, Bank of America, and Chase; credit unions such as Navy Federal; and online lenders and comparison marketplaces. Any of them can replace your current auto loan with a new one, ideally at a lower rate or a shorter term. The right choice depends on your credit score, how much you owe compared to the car’s value, and the age and mileage of the vehicle.
Banks and Lenders That Refinance Auto Loans
National Banks
Capital One, Bank of America, and Chase all run dedicated auto refinancing programs you can apply to online. Capital One lets you pre-qualify in minutes without a hard credit pull, charges no application fee, and covers state title transfer costs by adding them to your loan balance.1Capital One. Auto Refinancing FAQs Bank of America offers refinancing alongside its new and used auto loan products.2Bank of America. Auto Loans and Car Financing Chase requires that your existing financing be in place for at least 91 days before it will refinance.3Chase. Auto Loan Refinancing
If you already bank somewhere, start there. Relationship discounts on the rate are common. The trade-off is that large banks tend to apply stricter vehicle and credit standards than smaller lenders.
Credit Unions
Credit unions are member-owned nonprofits, so surplus revenue flows back to members through lower rates and fewer fees instead of to shareholders. Navy Federal Credit Union is one of the largest, serving military members, veterans, and their families.4Navy Federal Credit Union. About Us Each credit union sets its own membership rules based on employer, military affiliation, or geography.5Navy Federal Credit Union. Corporate Fact Sheet If you qualify to join, the rate difference typically justifies the paperwork.
Online Lenders and Marketplaces
Online-only lenders and comparison marketplaces show you offers from several financing sources at once. The convenience comes with a trade-off: a marketplace matches you with a lender rather than letting you negotiate directly, and the intermediary may add a rate markup. Applying directly with a bank or credit union gives you more control and lets you lean on any existing customer relationship. For borrowers who want speed and have no bank to turn to, online platforms are a reasonable starting point for comparing annual percentage rates.
Do You Qualify to Refinance
Credit Score and Debt-to-Income
There is no universal minimum credit score for auto refinancing, but most lenders look for at least 600. Borrowers above 720 get the most competitive rates. Scores in the 500s and low 600s fall into subprime territory where rates can run above 15%. As of late 2025, prime borrowers with new car loans averaged around 6.5%, while subprime borrowers averaged over 13%.
Lenders also check your debt-to-income ratio, which compares your total monthly debt payments against gross monthly income. Below 36% is considered strong. Between 36% and 49% is workable but may narrow your options. Above 50%, most lenders decline.
The Car Itself
The vehicle has to qualify as acceptable collateral. Common thresholds across lenders:
- Age: usually 10 years or newer. Capital One sets this as a firm cutoff.1Capital One. Auto Refinancing FAQs
- Mileage: typically capped between 100,000 and 150,000 miles.
- Loan amount: minimums from $5,000 to $7,500, maximums from $75,000 to $100,000.
- Title status: clean title almost always required. Salvage, lemon buyback, and other branded titles are typically disqualified.
- Vehicle type: personal-use only. Commercial vehicles, motorcycles, RVs, and heavily modified cars are generally excluded.
Loan-to-Value Ratio
Lenders compare what you owe against the car’s current market value using tools like Kelley Blue Book or NADA Guides. Most cap the loan-to-value ratio at 125%. If your car is worth $15,000, that puts the maximum refinanceable balance at about $18,750. A few lenders stretch to 130%, but rates climb at that level.
Waiting Period
Some lenders require your current loan to be at least 60 to 90 days old before they will touch it. Chase requires 91 days.3Chase. Auto Loan Refinancing Capital One requires no material changes to your credit in the last 90 days, including new delinquencies or bankruptcy filings.1Capital One. Auto Refinancing FAQs
When Refinancing Is Worth It
Refinancing pays off in a few clear scenarios: your credit score has improved since you took out the original loan, market rates have dropped, or you got stuck with a high rate from a dealer-arranged loan. A reduction of one to two percentage points on a five-year loan can save hundreds or thousands over the remaining term.
It is not always a win. The situations where refinancing can quietly cost you money:
- You are near the end of your loan. Interest is front-loaded on most auto loans, so if you have already paid through most of the interest, refinancing restarts that clock for little gain.
- You extend the term. A lower monthly payment feels good, but stretching a three-year remaining balance into a new five-year loan means paying interest for two extra years. Even at a lower rate, total interest can rise.
- Your car is too old or too high-mileage. Most lenders will not refinance vehicles older than 10 years or past 100,000 to 150,000 miles, and rates on aging vehicles run higher when you do find a willing lender.
- You owe much more than the car is worth. Loan-to-value above 125% usually draws a flat decline.
The number that matters is total interest paid over the life of the loan, not the monthly payment. Run that comparison before you apply anywhere. If the total goes up, the refinance is not saving you anything.
If You Owe More Than the Car Is Worth
Being “upside down” on the loan does not automatically disqualify you. Lenders that allow up to 125% LTV can cover modest negative equity. For deeper shortfalls, you have a few options: make a lump-sum payment to close the gap, keep paying the original loan until the gap closes, or refinance into a shorter term so you build equity faster even if the monthly payment holds steady or rises slightly.
What to avoid is rolling significant negative equity into a longer-term loan to shrink the payment. That buries you deeper underwater. If the only refinance you can get requires dramatically stretching the term, staying with your current loan is usually the better call.
What to Have Ready Before You Apply
Pulling your paperwork together up front keeps the application moving and keeps rate locks from expiring. Lenders typically ask for:
- Government-issued photo ID and your Social Security number. Banks are required under federal regulations to verify your identity before opening any account.6FFIEC BSA/AML Manual. Assessing Compliance with BSA Regulatory Requirements – Customer Identification Program
- Proof of address, such as a recent utility bill, lease, or bank statement.
- Income verification: two most recent pay stubs if employed, two years of tax returns if self-employed.
- Proof of auto insurance. Most lenders require comprehensive and collision coverage with specific deductible limits.
- The 17-digit VIN (found on the lower driver-side corner of the windshield or the driver-side door jamb) and the current odometer reading.
- An official payoff statement from your current lender, showing the exact balance to close the old loan including daily interest accrual.
Shop Several Lenders in One Window
Apply to several lenders within a short span. Credit scoring models treat multiple auto loan inquiries made within 14 to 45 days as a single hard inquiry, so submitting applications to three or four lenders in the same two-week stretch does not hurt your score any more than one application would.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Will Shopping for an Auto Loan Affect My Credit This is one of the most underused protections in auto financing.
When comparing offers, look at four numbers: the interest rate, the loan term, the monthly payment, and the total of all payments over the life of the loan. The last one tells you whether you are actually saving money.
Costs That Can Eat Into Your Savings
Prepayment Penalties on the Old Loan
Check your current loan contract for a prepayment penalty clause before you apply. Some auto lenders charge a fee for paying off the loan early, which is exactly what refinancing does. Not all lenders charge them, and some states prohibit them for certain loan types.8Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Can I Prepay My Loan at Any Time Without Penalty If yours includes one, build it into your savings math. A $300 penalty on a refinance that only saves you $400 is not much of a deal.
GAP Insurance
If you bought Guaranteed Asset Protection coverage with your original loan, it does not transfer. GAP is tied to the specific loan, so refinancing effectively terminates the old policy. If you paid upfront, contact your GAP provider after the refinance closes and ask for a prorated refund of the unused portion. Refunds typically take 30 to 60 days.
If your new loan balance still exceeds the car’s value, consider buying a new GAP policy through the refinancing lender. Navy Federal offers it as an optional add-on and notes it is worth considering for borrowers who made a low down payment or drive more than 15,000 miles a year.9Navy Federal Credit Union. Guaranteed Asset Protection The purchase is always optional and does not affect loan approval.
Title and Lien Transfer Fees
Updating the lienholder on your title carries a state fee that varies widely. Some lenders absorb it (Capital One rolls it into the loan balance), while others pass it through as an out-of-pocket cost. Ask upfront who pays and whether any additional state or county charges apply.