Your car's refinance payments will be affected by any number of factors, not least of which is the quality of your credit. Lenders often trumpet their unbeatable two-percent finance rates, when in truth, only a select few applicants will ever qualify for such outstanding deals. If you pay attention to the fine print at the bottom of the screen during car ads or listen to the motor-mouthed announcer, you'll likely find all the proof you need.

It bears mentioning that your refinance payments are also heavily influenced by the state of the market itself. While it's wise to keep one eye on the Fed at all times to keep tabs on Alan Greenspan and the prime rate, it's also smart to stay focused on the automotive retail industry as well. Remember, it's not just macroscopic factors such as interest rates, inflation, and other indicators that determine your refinancing terms, but variables that are specific to the car industry as well.

Other Variables to Consider

So, interest rates are low, your credit scores are high, and there's a song in your heart. What could possibly steer you astray? Well, for one thing, many car buyers simply don't realize that their refinancing rates are negotiable. They plow so much energy into driving down their purchase price that they forget to haggle over the financing terms as well. This is not unlike whittling down the price of a razor from five dollars to three dollars but agreeing to pay ten bucks every month for the replacement blades when you could've had them for half that price.

You'll also need to weigh the value of paying off your vehicle as rapidly as possible to determine the amount of your monthly refinance payments. If you know, for example, that you have a child on the way in nine months and that you'll need every available cent, it may be wise to take a higher rate with a shorter term. Or if you've just gone into debt paying for graduate school, you may want to extend the life of your loan and minimize your monthly payments for the time being.