eddiebeltoe

Make a long story short im currently getting raped paying off my 04 tl with a apr of 16% i have half way decent credit (689) im tryin all i can to find another bank to give me a better rate any tips or advice u can share to point me in the right direction......thanks everyone

alex2364

Go to a credit union.

Cyberdemon

Run a credit report and find out if you have any errors or major blemishes on your credit history you can get corrected.

Then you can look online at refinancing...16% is absurd! How many months was that term for? Not sure what amount you needed to take out, but if you're financing the whole thing thats a HUGE chunk of interest.

Was that the only place that would approve you when you took out the loan?

Loseit

iTrader: (1)

16%!!!?? i didn't even know car loan rates went that high!?

calgary2800

Damm, 16% rate!! Run dont walk to refiance.

subinf

Wow

v6cord2k5

iTrader: (1)

fixed.

MiataNut

I have heard of car loan rates in the 20s!! Doesn't make 16% OK, though. I think my first car loan back in the early 90s with very little credit was 10% through GMAC and I thought I was gettin shafted at that. As said above, CREDIT UNION!!!! I have one car loan at the moment and it's under 5%. It's probably the 15th car loan I've had thru my C.U., very low rates and great service.

fsttyms1

As with the others, Credit Union.

dallison

credit union

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Credit union... or better yet... just pay it off. Can't imagine you owe that much on a 2004...

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

If 16% was all I could get, I wouldn't have gotten the car in the first place.

That's just ridiculous. Mine's around 5% and even then it is possible to get a lower rate. The only reason I haven't done it is because my CU automatically adds $3,000 to the balance at the new rate, which effectively wipes out any savings due to the increased interest payments coming from the extra 3 grand.

Refinance now. I've seen worse, but 16% is still horrific.

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

If you signed up for a loan that high that's not a good thing. Pay it off.

If you signed up for a loan lower than that, it means you missed a payment or three and they jacked up your interest rate. Which means refinancing is not going to help you. Other banks and credit unions will not help you if this is true.

My advice is to lower payments on other things you are doing (credit cards, store credit cards, etc.) and pay this off ASAP. The higher the interest rate, the higher the priority should be to pay the darn thing off.

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

Damn and I though my 11.5% was high.

webmastir

yup 5% here too. only because wife had fico in mid 700's (yay).
so to jump on the repeat wagon:
credit union is your best bet, most likely.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

That IS high.

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

I know that's still very bad! I'm trying to work on lowering it.

My payments are always on time and I'm paying way more then I should be very month. Hopefully I can pay it off by the end of this year.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

If my loan was 16% or 11.5%, I would not have gotten the car. Or it will be incentive to pay it off.

OP....check your credit. Unfortunately 689 is not as high as it was 2 years ago. Most lenders are looking for people with much higher scores to lend money to these days. If you cannot pay it off, my suggestion is to do all you can to get a higher score (more than 730) and then try to re-finance.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

Good plan. If you can get it paid off in a year, my recommendation is to eat the couple extra bucks and not refinance. It really hits your credit to do that and in the long run it's just not worth it.

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

[quote=RaviNJCLs;11648910]

If my loan was 16% or 11.5%, I would not have gotten the car. Or it will be incentive to pay it off.

quote]

It is an incentive to pay the car off quicker. I had the money to make large monthly payments and I really wanted the TL. The high percentage didn't stop me from buying because I can pay it of quickly. Helps my credit too

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

It does help your credit. But it's a lot to spend.

MiataNut

That's a good point. You would be better off just getting a car for whatever cash you had for downpayment....2500 bucks or so buys you a very decent Corolla outright that, if you are choosy, will still last you another 150k miles.

MiataNut

PS - a 689 score should get you a credit union loan no problem. Have you tried?

Cyberdemon

Some people don't take the hint that when a bank gives you an interest rate that high it's their way of saying "you probably shouldn't be taking this loan".

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

some people are stubborn

dallison

my 1st car that i ever financed was a 97 maxima. I had terrible credit (my fault of course) and i was going to either pay it off in a couple months or trade it. The interest rate was pretty similar but i was ok with it since it would be short term. Once i was established after a few months i bought a new maxima with their lowest promotional apr which may have been .9 %

TL_Captain

16%? must be a super super HOT lady sold you the loan.

Izzy-Type-S

iTrader: (1)

The stimulus packages were supposed to make car loans easier and mroe readily available...look into other banks, credit unions, etc.

Moog-Type-S

OP: Why did you even sign off on 16%?!?!?!?!?

That's nuts!!!!

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

I'm sure he will and the rate will be better than 16%, but if he can get that over 700 or 72 it will be a much better rate.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

nj2pa2nc

that was about the same time when mortgage interest rates were 15%-20% and that was for excellent credit.

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

You have to start somewhere. Even if it is a high interest rate just pay the loan off quickly and your credit will improve. I hear it's one of the fastest ways for your scrore to grow.

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

The difference is that when dallison or myself bought out first car 15% was the norm for cars.

Moog-Type-S

People don't remember or were not around when interest rates of 15% for car loans were the norm.

The interest rate environment we have been in for the last decades is NOT normal.

It's part of the reason why the economy hit the wall.

We will be back to normal (higher) interest rates soon.

Dr. Colorado

WTF 16% that's insane

I'm a proponent of buying cars in cash but you certainly should be able to go through a FCU at a lower rate. I know my FCU's auto loans are 5% if one's credit score is >700 so you should be okay. I'm curious how much your remaining principal is and if you're better served just paying it off ASAP.

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

that's crazy!

Funny, where I come from, they didn't even have loans for cars back in the day. Little place called Fergana, Uzbekhistan

Moog-Type-S

Interesting....what type of spacecraft did you use to get here?

calgary2800

Loansharks are better rates than that.

Cyberdemon

It's also the reason why my first car was a $1500 Chrysler and I wouldn't have thought "Well I can make the payments on a $30,000 car so I should do that for the next 7 years".

People have gotten so used to the thought of "affording the payment" not "affording the car". Scares the piss out of me when I see some of the people on here in their teens are driving a brand new Type S. Either rich parents, or plowing themselves into debt as soon as uncle Sam would let them.