So I bought a used car last year, financed it for 5 years so I could be sure I wouldn't over extend myself, and since it was my first loan other than credit cards and a small student loan, I didn't get the greatest interest rate. I financed it through my insurance company. I can refinance through my bank for 36 months at a lower interest rate, and basically shave a year off my loan for $50 more a month (keeping my current loan I would have to put an extra $100ish/mo to shave a year off). I make a fair amount more now than I did when I bought the car, so the extra money every month isn't an issue (I'll probably pay extra on the premium every payment even if I do refinance.)
So it seems like a no brainer to me, but I just want to know, does refinancing a loan affect your credit in any way? I have good credit, always on time with payments, etc, just want to make sure I won't have any unknown affects on credit by doing this. I can't see how would negatively affect me in any way, but I'm no expert, and credit scoring criteria seems finicky, which is why I'm asking.
So it seems like a no brainer to me, but I just want to know, does refinancing a loan affect your credit in any way? I have good credit, always on time with payments, etc, just want to make sure I won't have any unknown affects on credit by doing this. I can't see how would negatively affect me in any way, but I'm no expert, and credit scoring criteria seems finicky, which is why I'm asking.