Overhaulin' - How can I lower my interest rate on my car loan?

How can I lower my interest rate on my car loan?

Price: 25K Downpayment: 12K Make: Toyota Model: Solara 2006 Interest Rate: 8.9% (kinda high for me) FICO: 680+ My monthly payment is 254.72 and I owe less than 11K on it. What can I do or say to lower my interest rate or is there a better car finance anyone could recommend? Thank you!

Public Comments

You aren't that much above the average rate for a 4 year loan. You can probably get it down to 6 to 7% if your credit rating is good by making a larger down payment, or a shorter loan term. Raise your down to around $15K and do a 24 month loan for the best rates. Of course that also means a higher payment, so it's a trade off. Do you by chance have a credit union where you are employed? That might be your best bet.
you have to have a house and\or an outstanfding credit score. If you did you could get a sencond mortage out at a rate of say 7.5% or 7.9% if you have a high limit credit card, you could get a 4.99% for the life of the loan deal. You could do a balance transfer to one or more credit cards for lower limits for short periods of time.
do you belong to a credit union? when i bought my car, i initially had a high interest rate because i did the huuuge mistake of financing it through the dealer (terrible, terrible terrible!!). although, i refi'd it basicly the next day at my credit union for a rate of 4.79%.... and by checking my credit union's rates today it is 5.49% for 36mo (with no prepayment penalties). Bankrate.com, i think, has a LOT of consumer information regarding a broad range of topics including auto refinancing (current rates avg from 6.81-7.32%, today, from off the site)