Most people depend on their vehicles to get them where they need to go---work, shopping, a friend's house, church. Most people also have to take out a loan to cover part or all of the cost of their ride. Refinancing can save a person with an auto loan hundreds or even thousands of dollars, but it isn't always clear when the refinancing should be done.
Loan Provider
Consider who provided the loan. If your loan is from a dealership, then you probably didn't get a very good deal in terms of the interest rate. This is one of the reasons people often become "upside down" on their auto loans (they owe more than the car is worth)---the interest rate won't let them get ahead. Check to see if you can get a loan from your bank or credit union. Often a refinancing loan from these institutions will have interest rates lower than what the dealerships will offer, even if the interest rate from the bank or credit union is still on the high side. If you can find this kind of deal, then it might be worth looking into refinancing immediately.
Credit Score
Check your credit score. If it has been a year or more since you financed your auto loan, and you have been meticulous about paying payments on that (and other) debt, your credit score may have improved enough so that the dealership or other financial institution may be willing to give you a better rate of interest. The longer you take to be consistent with your debt repayments, the longer it will take to improve your credit score and get the better refinancing interest rate.
Calendar
Look at the yearly calendar. Many financial institutions and dealerships offer holiday specials for loan refinancing or first-time sales. These are given as incentives to customers to make purchases or to switch financial service providers. Similar incentives may be offered even on nonholidays by institutions that are new in order to get a foot in the door among competitors. These are good times to refinance.
Consolidation
Ask yourself if you are going to consolidate any of your other debts soon. If you are, then you might not want to wait to refinance your auto loan separately, because consolidation may give you a better interest rate than keeping the auto loan separate. You can just include the auto loan into the consolidation and refinance that way.
General Rule
The amount of time that should pass before auto refinancing is not able to be determined simply because there are so many different opportunities to acquire a better rate of interest. Refinance whenever you know that the rate of interest gained through refinancing will more than pay for any refinancing fees, even if it's only been a short time since acquiring the original loan.
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