Will I Get Accepted for Car Finance?

You can purchase a car outright – which isn’t for everybody – or you can opt for car finance. Some car dealerships offer their own finance options, but this is problematic. How will you know if your application for finance will be accepted? And do you really want to visit a car dealer, choose a car and apply in-store – with the risk of being rejected in-person? There must be an easier way… 

Read on as we answer all of your questions about car finance approval.

What actually is car finance?

Car finance is a credit agreement made between you and the lender, organised either directly with the lender, via your car dealer or using a car finance broker. Car finance involves paying for your car through an initial deposit payment, and then paying off the rest of the costs through monthly instalments. In the UK, it is common that car dealerships offer car finance options when consumers purchase a new car.

Can I get car finance?

There are several factors that can impact whether you can get car finance in the UK:

1. Age – To take out a car finance plan, you must be aged 18 to 75 years’ old.
2. Residency – You need to be a resident in the UK for at least three or more years. Most companies will not take on temporary residents.
3. Credit score – For most lenders, this is a big one. The better your credit score, the more likely you are to get approved, but some brokers – like My Car Credit – work with lenders who will take on applicants with poor or bad credit scores.
4. The car – The car needs to be less than 8 years old when you first take out the finance plan, and it must be less than 12 years old when the finance plan ends.
5. Employment – Being able to prove you are in stable employment will be favourable for most lenders. Normally, they ask for your previous three months’ bank statements and payslips to prove this.
6. Benefits – Most lenders will require at least half your benefits to be income based. Benefits that would count as a form of income are, Carers’ Allowance, Local Council Tax Support, Disability Living Allowance, Incapacity Benefit (long term incapacity), Tax Credits, Pension Credit and State Retirement Pension. For any other disability benefits, lenders are more flexible due to the nature of the benefit and will often accept government-funded allowance.
7. Retirement – Despite being out of employment, retired applicants may be in a good financial position. They would still be required to have proof of their income, whether that be from a pension, investment or property rental income.

What is a credit score?

A credit score is an expression which represents the creditworthiness of an individual. It shows someone’s credit history and lets lenders know what kind of borrower they are and how likely it is that they will manage repayments.

When you apply for car finance, your credit score will be looked at by your lender. People with a higher credit score are more likely to be successful when applying for car finance, and sometimes they can even get better interest rates. This is because they are considered as a ‘lower risk’ when compared to others with a lower credit score.

Lenders will use your credit score to tailor a car finance plan to you. If you have a higher credit score, some lenders will approve your car finance quicker and can often offer you lower interest rates.

Can I still get car finance if I have a poor credit score?

A credit score can impact on your eligibility for car finance, but a poor or bad credit score doesn’t always rule you out. If you have a poor credit score, you will have to jump through hoops with some lenders. The worse the score, the more hoops you will have to jump through.

However, at My Car Credit, we aim to find a car finance option that works for people with a whole range of credit scores and personal circumstances. You can use our car finance calculator to work out if you will be accepted for car finance with your credit score – and to find the best car finance option for you from our large panel of lenders.

Would I get accepted for car finance?

You could go straight through your car dealer for your car finance option, but they often prefer to only offer car finance to good or excellent credit scores. At My Car Credit, we consider all individual circumstances, with the aim of making car finance as simple and accessible as possible.

We have the largest panel of car finance lenders meaning that we are more likely to get someone a car finance agreement. Our smart technology allows us to place you with the best lender for your circumstances in a matter of seconds. We also have a team of manual underwriters, who can assess your individual circumstances where we haven’t been able to find you a deal automatically.

Find out if you can get car finance

At My Car Credit, we aim to help you through every step of the car finance process to make the process as hassle-free as possible.

For an instant quote, and to see what car finance plan you are eligible for, please use our simple car finance calculator. We are open 7 days a week and our website has loads of helpful tips, guidelines and answers to any questions you have.

For more information, call us on 01246 458 810 or email us at enquiries@mycarcredit.co.uk.