Refinancing My 2013 Toyota Prius
About two years ago I purchased a new 2013 Toyota Prius. I immediately went down to my local credit union (Travis Credit Union) to refinance the loan, partly because I like to keep my business and money local to Solano County whenever possible, and partly because I wanted a slightly better interest rate than I was given on the initial loan financed at the dealership.
Now that I have had the car two years, I am again considering refinancing the loan, for several reasons:
Interest rates have dropped. The interest rate on my current loan is 5.73%. But Travis Credit Union is currently advertising refinance rates of 2.99%. A lower interest rate means less money down the drain.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I am trying to prioritize my emergency fund. Having a smaller car payment on a lower interest rate will free up some monthly funds for my emergency fund.
I have used my credit cards far too much the past few months, due to unforeseen expenses and cross-county travel for family obligations. This is what an emergency fund should be for, so again having a lower car payment will allow me to direct more funds toward reducing/eliminating credit card debt.
Now the proverbial sixty-four thousand dollar question is whether I can refinance the loan right over the phone or whether I will have to truck myself down to Travis Credit Union to initiate the refinance application.
