Bad Credit Auto Refinance

I currently have an auto loan with Bank of America. I am paying 9.7% APR. I’m considering refinancing just to get my interest rate lower.

In fall 05, I started it w/ a loan balance of ~$27K. In 1.5yrs, I’ve paid down the loan to a little under $15K. Currently the car has a trade-in value of ~$19,500 and a retail resale value of ~$23K(I looked this up on Kelly Blue Book’s website). So I know that I’m not upside-down on my loan.

Do I have a good chance of refinancing? My credit is solid, but the only thing that I’m afraid might hinder me is the credit card balances that I currently have(although I’ve been paying them on time).

More importantly–Is there a chance Bank of America might be able to refinance my car loan for a lower rate? If they do this, is it possible for the loan acct.# to stay the same?(since it’s within the same bank) Do banks sometimes refinance car loans that they already manage? And if I tried to refi with Bank of America, would it create a hard inquiry?
I asked about it at my credit union and I’d say it’s a no-no. The credit union said they only determine int. rates based on what tier my credit score falls in, so my good loan-to-value ratio, length of loan, etc won’t help me.

Some Additional Resources:
http://www.automobileindia.com/cars/loans/auto-refinance-calculator.html
automobile india provides you with the auto loan refinance calculator. check it out.

http://www.business.com/directory/automotive/finance/weblistings.asp
http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/auto/auto-loan-calculator.aspx. Wells Fargo Auto Finance Center Wells Fargo offers auto refinance options for your auto

They also said that I’d only qualify for a “used car” loan, and the rates are higher for those. But I will definitely try Bank of America…except I called 2X today and got disconnected each time after waiting a while. >:( Anyone have any specific car loan experience dealing with Bank of America?

freedom from debt!

I applied and approved for a car refinance loan with Wells Fargo. My question is, I owe $26,000 for my car but the blue book value is only $17,500. Will I have to pay the difference between what I owe and what the car if valued at? I can’t call Wells Fargo’s customer service because their offices are closed.

Some Additional Resources:
http://www.credit.com/vcapps/calc_refinance.jsp
Don’t skip the loan-shopping process for your refinance loan.. Auto Loan . Credit Score Estimator . Debt-to-Income Calculator . Home Mortgage . Savings

http://www.myautoloan.com/
Apply online – get up to 4 loan offers at competitive auto loan rates for new car loans, used car loans and auto loan refinance.

freedom from debt!

I just want to get a general idea from people who have or who have known someone else who have gotten a car loan on bad credit and how high the interest rate is.

Let’s say the applicant has a well-paying job but only for the past few months (say, 90k/yr). Looking at a new car 20-30k, on a 5 year payments plan. Down payment is 10%-20%.

What interest rates would you expect for mid-500’s credit score?

For 500?

For high 400’s?

Even lower? (is that possible?)
So status=’car loan’;return true;” onmouseout=”self.status=””>car loan companies look at a lot more than just the credit score, right?

As in, a 550 credit score (due to no credit history) is much better than a 550 score that’s due to collections and late payments.

Don’t file Bankrupcy