car payments were for 60 months. had 24 months left on loan. but car has
been paid off. should I be receiving something back, either in interest or
the balance of the car being adjusted. Balance was 1,600 at 7% paid off
24 months early

ArcSine

Nothing would be due back from the lender, unless there was something non-standard about the loan agreement (always check the docs).

Each of the 36 monthly payments that were made as scheduled simply paid the interest due for that month, and then reduced the loan balance a certain amount.

When you executed an early payoff after the 36th monthly payment, you would have just paid the remaining balance due on the note. There might have also been a few bucks extra you had to pay, to allow for the interest that would have accrued after your most recent monthly payment, up to the payoff date.

So generally, in an early payoff situation, as long as you pay the remaining balance due (as indicated by your amortization schedule following your last monthly payment) plus a little per-diem interest for any days that have elapsed since the last monthly pmt, that squares everybody up.

Where it will make a cash-flow diff, of course, is when you sell the car. Less loan payoff at sale time = more cash to you at sale time.

...it was early and I was full of no coffee...