AUSTIN, Texas -

Perhaps your finance company is slightly tightening some underwriting strategy when a contract is first originated at the time of vehicle delivery.

But some shops evidently are loosening a bit when refinancing contracts, as RateGenius is seeing the highest approval level ever through its network of more than 150 finance company partners nationwide.

According to its monthly Auto Refinance Rate Report, RateGenius found that the average overall auto refinance interest rate for June came in at 6.63%. Analysts explained this metric is an average across all terms (36 to 72 months) and all credit profiles for approved con during the course of the month.

But as of a news release distributed on Friday highlighting the report, RateGenius indicated the current average overall auto refinance interest rate for July had fallen even further to 5.67%.

Analysts went on to mention June also had the highest approval rate on record, as 38% of all applicants were approved for refinancing during the month.

The monthly Auto Refinance Rate Report is an analysis of anonymized completed auto refinance applications and funded contracts in RateGenius’s finance company network

Analysts went on to mention the overall average auto refinance interest rate decreased slightly in June from May’s average rate of 6.67%. Among consumers with excellent credit, the average rate was 3.88%, which once again marked the lowest rate of the year so far for this subset.

Borrowers were also able to save the most so far this year in June, saving on average $99.86 per month. And for the first time this year, consumers with credit scores below 700 saved more than $100 per month refinancing their installment contracts.

JULY 2021 AUTO REFINANCE REPORT FINDINGS

Average Auto Refinance Interest Rates by Month
Average interest rates by credit tier from January 1 to June 3, 2021 for all approved auto refinance loans in the RateGenius network.

Credit Tier

Jan-21

Feb-21

Mar-21

Apr-21

May-21

Jun-21

All borrowers

6.48%

 

6.21%

 

6.42%

 

6.45%

 

6.67%

 

6.63%

 

750+ Excellent

4.14%

 

4.09%

 

4.01%

 

3.97%

 

3.95%

 

3.88%

 

700-749 Good

5.00%

 

4.87%

 

4.85%

 

4.79%

 

4.86%

 

4.67%

 

640-699 Fair

7.31%

 

6.93%

 

7.00%

 

6.81%

 

6.81%

 

6.61%

 

<640 Poor

12.21%

 

11.98%

 

12.05%

 

11.56%

 

11.21%

 

11.11%

 

Average Monthly Auto Refinance Savings by Credit Tier
How much borrowers saved after refinancing their auto loans by credit tier from January 1 to June 30, 2021.

Credit Tier

Jan-21

Feb-21

Mar-21

Apr-21

May-21

Jun-21

All borrowers

$86.11

$90.77

$89.63

$91.50

$98.14

$99.86

750+ Excellent

$80.17

$85.13

$80.85

$79.74

$85.54

$85.18

700-749 Good

$85.82

$87.40

$89.69

$91.71

$94.16

$102.05

640-699 Fair

$90.78

$98.00

$94.25

$97.50

$104.34

$104.50

<640 Poor

$88.28

$93.80

$95.91

$98.76

$106.89

$101.46

Monthly Average Auto Loan Balance Refinanced by Credit Tier
The average auto loan balance refinanced by credit tier from January 1 to June 30, 2021.

Credit Tier

Jan-21

Feb-21

Mar-21

Apr-21

May-21

Jun-21

All borrowers

$23,222

$23,220

$23,271

$23,391

$23,639

$23,950

750+ Excellent

$23,652

$23,553

$24,651

$24,119

$24,541

$25,220

700-749 Good

$24,041

$23,941

$23,596

$23,789

$24,200

$24,532

640-699 Fair

$22,707

$23,050

$22,636

$23,192

$23,440

$23,968

<640 Poor

$21,274

$21,184

$21,032

$23,394

$21,908

$21,789

July 2021: Current Auto Refinance Interest Rates
Average interest rates by credit tier and loan for auto refinance loans this month

Credit Tier

36-month term

48-month term

60-month term

72-month term

750+ Excellent

2.48%

2.52%

2.70%

2.99%

700-749 Good

–

3.14%

3.06%

2.99%

640-699 Fair

6.21%

5.77%

6.15%

5.99%

<640 Poor

–

9.37%

8.79%

9.28%

Source: RateGenius database