Anyone refinanced lately?

[Bron Swanson]

With a credit score of around 805, the best I could get was 7.3% ish in Nov 2024 for a new 2024 Big Bend.

Within a month I had refinanced at 4.25% via Relative Bank (a relative who was happy to make 4.25% off me, which I was happy to pay them when compared to 7.3%). I was extremely fortunate in this regard, obviously.

Factoring in my down payment amount, I am at roughly $625 a month (up from $475 with the Sport I used to own).

I thought my insurance would go nuts going from the Sport to the Full-size, but GEICO only ended up raising it around $125 over the course of 6 months if I remember correctly.

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[GI_Jo_Nathan]

Yep, I hear ya. Not only do those payments make me cringe, they make me anxious.

Besides that, I happen to live in SoCal, home of rising insurance costs and high prices at the pump. Our insurance rates out here are out of control.

Right now, I pay $199mo to insure the Bronco, and just received a notice from Geico that my rate is increasing to $240.

Jeez.. My Bronco is $80.
I pay about $460 a month for 5 vehicles.
Four of them have full coverage, and we have a 16yo driver.
Gotta love West Florida.

 

[BroncocnorB]

Well in this economy it’s why I’m just gonna move out of FL near the beach and rent it out (2500 sf with beautiful inground pool) for $3000 a month. For many young couples it’s cheaper than buying. I’d rather do that, than sell.
I think days of car and home ownership are ending and falling upon us soon. We’ll be like Western Europe; you might own a car, but you’ll rent the place you live in.

 

[bassist]

Call your lender and ask if they have any better options or try a credit union (if not already)

Credit union is always the answer.

 

[zoober]

Mine is almost a grand

I just threw up in my mouth.
how does one get ahead in life with a 1k car payment?
i know I’m a geezer, and am blessed to be able to pay cash, but I wouldn’t be in this position had I payed car payments like that early on.

 

[NebraskaBronco]

2021 interest rates were fantastic, you won’t touch anything close and besides 3 years in, you’ve probably paid most of that interest already.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

that works out to between about $785-915/month

$700 to $1000 ...man..... it warps my mind.
That jives with a lot of articles and vids that I've seen covering that stat.
I still can't quite comprehend it though.

I see Super Dutys that go six figures now and it just baffles me.
Nothing about that truck is worth six figures to me ... unless a guy were to put it to work making $$$ off it.
But most of these are just hauling groceries back to the house.... like, how???


Also, my payment/APR :
2021 Bronco, whatever Bank via the Ford dealer I ordered/purchased it through ... just a couple percent APR as I recall.

Two years later, wifes car, closer to 7% I think.
But I'm old enough to remember when that was a normal rate, LOL !!!

Being in the building/construction trades and having experienced 2008/09/10 , I always go for the longer terms (keeping the APR in mind) , but we religiously over pay every month to pay off at the term we actually want.
IE, get a 6 year note but over pay so that it pays off in 4 .... but if work/economy were to bottom out again, we can switch to the lower payment and stretch our dollars in bad times.
We've been really fortunate since 2010 though ....

Usually at some point, as it gets close to the end, we just dig in and pay off those last couple grand to get rid of the payment.

 

[mikec426]

Navy Federal (Go Navy!) is my go-to.

Heck yeah! I got 2.09% in 2022. I think they give 0.1% deductions for every 10% of disability rating too. They let me split my payments to when I get paid every 2 weeks. Works out to 13 monthly payments by the end of the year. And it’s super easy to change the amount. I add a little bit here and there. Gives me a nice buffer if I need it and I’ll end up paying it off early.

NFCU’s motorcycle rates suck though… But I honestly don’t know what other banks are giving. (I pay those off super quick anyway )

 

[BroncoChallenger]

I've always thought of it as, if you can't buy it in cash, you probably shouldn't finance it.

Quite honestly, if everybody lived by that today, OEMs would be just about out of business and everyone would be driving 20+ year old vehicles, because VERY FEW people can afford to pay cash for anything today. Between interest rates and the going rate of vehicles? For many people it's just not possible. Same with housing or just about any other big purchase.

 

[BroncoA512021]

Jeez.. My Bronco is $80.
I pay about $460 a month for 5 vehicles.
Four of them have full coverage, and we have a 16yo driver.
Gotta love West Florida.

Define "full coverage"

 

[GI_Jo_Nathan]

Define "full coverage"

Yeah that is getting harder and harder to define.
Basically includes collision, comprehensive, and roadside. Like if you had a loan on it.

 

[BroncoA512021]

Yeah that is getting harder and harder to define.
Basically includes collision, comprehensive, and roadside. Like if you had a loan on it.

Liability limits matter...... IMO -low limits is not "full coverage"

 

[GI_Jo_Nathan]

Liability limits matter...... IMO -low limits is not "full coverage"

I agree. Couldn't tell you what the limits are on each vehicle, I know they're not the minimums. But honestly probably not double or anything like that.

 

[Missy]

I would never disclose what car payments we have, from the reactions, I would give all of ya'll a heart attack! We have 3 vehicles between the 2 of us, bought all of them used, and our notes are still high, and we have excellent credit. But I will be paying them off early, and we will not be getting another vehicle for years to come.

 

[UncleBrad]

I refinanced immediately after generating my first payment statement. Sent that first payment to Ford, then gave the loan to my Credit Union, and paid off the loan in the first year of ownership. The thought of making a car payment for 5 years...

What's the average car payment nowadays?

Through my credit union (also Navy) I was able to get (if I remember correctly) around 7.24%, 78 month, with an excellent credit rating and 10% down last November. At the time, it was better than Ford's. Something like $550 per month, but I'm paying this off way early. That truly is insane. I really feel like I got screwed. Just must have been a bad time to do it.

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