Car loan refinancing can be very beneficial to a borrower in the following instances:
For lowering interest rates:
If you come across a new/refinancing loan option at a lower interest rate during the course of your existing car loan, you can choose this new option and lower the overall interest that you pay on your loan. All you have to do is pay off your current loan and approach the new lender. However, you should make sure that the prepayment penalty charged for your old auto loan is lower than the benefits offered by refinancing.
You can also consider refinancing your car loan if your credit score has improved over your loan tenure. When this happens, you may be eligible for a finer loan deal at a lower interest rate with better terms.
For modifying your loan tenure:
With auto loan refinancing, you can increase/decrease your loan tenure. This will ideally help you reduce your monthly payments. If you extend your tenure through refinancing, you can repay your loan over a longer period of time. This will help you decrease your EMIs. However, you need to remember that you may have to pay a higher amount in total (including your interest) at the end of your tenure.
On the other hand, if you refinance your loan to reduce the loan term, you will be able to clear off your loan quickly and decrease the interest amount that you pay for your loan. In this case, your EMIs may increase.
For making modifications to a co-signer agreement:
When you refinance your loan, you can add a co-signer or eliminate your existing co-signer. In case your present co-signer no longer wants to provide a guarantee for your repayment, then you can remove their responsibility by getting a new loan from a different lender.
For changing the terms of your auto loan:
At the time of applying for your current loan, you may have not been too happy with your loan offer. However, you may have settled for this loan as it might have been slightly better than the other options. If you stumble upon a more desirable auto loan with better terms related to late fees, hypothecation, insurance, application charges, etc., you may choose to refinance to enjoy these better features.