You’ve forsaken digital cable, stopped eating out so much and turned the thermostat down a notch or two in the winter. You’ve even refinanced your house to get the monthly mortgage payments down. 

But if you still need a little more money every month to get by, how about refinancing your second largest asset: your car? 

If you have a long-term automobile loan and you’re trying to make up a small monthly gap in your budget, some say it may be worth your while to consider getting a new loan rate. Others, namely auto dealers, suggest refinancing may be more trouble than it’s worth. 

AAA Mid-Atlantic in Wilmington, Del., is behind the concept, working with Capital One Auto Finance to offer refinancing online. Even in today’s environment of rising interest rates, there are several reasons to refinance your auto loan, said Cynthia Somma, AAA’s regional manager of financial services marketing. 

Through meticulous payment of credit card bills and other debts and obligations, a person with a low credit score can bring up his or her credit rating, Somma said. If your credit score has improved after you started making payments on a long-term loan, you might be able to get a better interest rate by going to a different lender, she said.  

If you simply need to pay less every month, you can use refinancing to extend the life of your loan, she said. 

And if you’re kicking yourself for accepting a high interest rate when you drove your car off the lot, refinancing is a chance to do better, she said. 

Here’s how it works: A car buyer might initially get a five-year, $25,000 loan at a 10.25 annual percentage rate. With improved credit, that buyer might be able to refinance at 7.25 percent, saving about $1,400 over the remaining four years of the loan, or about $30 a month, said Capital One spokesman Steve Schooff. 

“While refinancing an auto loan may not make sense for all, for some, refinancing an auto loan still makes all the sense in the world,” said Schooff, who described Capital One as the largest online auto lender in the nation. He said people can visit www.capitalone.com/autoloans, apply and get an answer within 15 minutes. 

More consumers are looking at this option, said Mary Kay Bean, spokeswoman for Chase Auto Finance Group, based in Detroit. She noted the company has offered auto refinancing on its Web site, Chase.com, for three or four years. 

“It’s not a major part of our business. Consumers don’t see the same magnitude of savings as they would from refinancing a mortgage,” Bean said.

But consumers with a longer-term loan on a vehicle with a higher sticker price might benefit, Bean said. 

Brian Jones, vice president of the Texas-based Rategenius.com, said his company saves the average customer 3.67 percentage points off their interest rate; that translates into an average savings of $63 a month. 

While not right for everybody, automobile refinancing could benefit borrowers who have costly long-term deals, Jones said. “The vast majority of people come to us after they have been given an exorbitant rate in the dealership, and they want to get the rate they deserve,” Jones said. 

The process of refinancing an automobile is similar to refinancing a house, but auto loans typically have a shorter life. Home mortgages typically run 15 to 30 years. Auto loans usually are set for five to six years, but most terminate sooner, said Dave Hitchens, vice president of consumer lending at Wilmington Trust. Instead of finishing their auto loans, people tend to trade in their cars and start over, or pay off the balance, he said. 

Auto dealers, who find their customers a starting finance rate, were dubious about the practice of refinancing. 

In recent years, manufacturers have been providing incentives, such as low- or no-interest loans, or a cash-back bonus equaling the interest payments, said Frank Ursomarso Sr., of the Union Park dealerships in Wilmington. There isn’t much room for a lender to improve on that, Ursomarso said. 

Unlike a home, which typically increases in value, cars depreciate, making them less attractive for refinancing to lenders, Ursomarso said. Many customers who try to refinance will find they can’t get a better rate, he said. 

Instead of refinancing your old car, trade it in for a new one with a competitive financing program, he suggested. 

“I would advise a consumer to be very cautious before they do something like that,” he said of refinancing an automobile. He suggested making sure when you buy the car that you can make the payments. “Consumers should buy cars which fit their economic situation and fit their needs. They shouldn’t overbuy, and they shouldn’t underbuy.” 

Ronnie Hux, general manager of Auto Team Delaware in Wilmington, cautioned that seeking auto refinancing can lead to more inquiries on your credit, which can lower your credit score. 

If you decide to refinance, Somma suggests going through a different lender than the one you have your current loan with. She suggested using online tools, like www.aaa.com/autoloan, to calculate whether you can get a better rate. 

Apply, and if you get accepted, the new lender will send you a check to pay off your current loan, she said. You would then make the new monthly payments to your new lender. 

In addition to offering refinancing, Somma noted that AAA also offers a “U-Turn” program, which allows members to try to get a better loan within 45 days of purchasing their car. These rates tend to be better than refinancing later, she said. 

Of course, you can avoid the whole situation by getting a good rate in the first place. 

“Our suggestion to our AAA members is that they should be armed prior to entering the dealership,” Somma said. “They should do their homework, apply at a few places to see what rates they can get,” depending on their credit score, “and then walk into the dealership.” 

AAA members can work through Capital One to get a check in hand to buy the car at a dealership, Somma said. “When the dealer offers them a rate,” she said, “they can intelligently say: ‘No thanks, I got a better interest rate elsewhere.’ “