Car loan is a type of personal loan you take out to buy a new or a used car for personal purposes. The borrower is generally required to make repayments with incudes loan and interest over the period of 1 to 7 years.
We do the required homework before you buy the car. Our team prepares you to be in a better position to negotiate a good car deal by letting you know:
- Exactly how much you can spend.
- The best interest rate available to you.
- Repayments you will need to make.
- Balloon payments if any.
- Most importantly if you can service your car loan.
Key decisions while buying a car:
- Your requirements: It is very important that you plan for the type of car you need. Emotions run high when buying a new car. So, it is very important for you that you keep your calm, not get over excited and think about your car requirement for next 5 to 7 years since it is a substantial investment. If you are planning for kids or want to do some off roading, plan for the car accordingly.
- Budgeting: It is very important that you budget for all expenses when buying a new car. Some of the expenses you need to bear in mind are:
- Car Insurance: Comprehensive car insurance is quite expensive. Most lenders or bank lending you for a car loan will require you to have car insurance. So always budget for it.
- Stamp Duty and Registration: While new cars will normally include all these expenses, you need bear in mind these costs if buying an old car.
- Accessories: You may want to budget for car accessories such as seat covers if you looking to get any.
- After buying expenses: Apart from your car loan repayments, always budget for car servicing, repairs, petrol (fuel) and maintenance.
- Negotiation: Once you have zeroed in on the car you are going to buy, always contact multiple dealerships to negotiate. This can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
- Balloon Payments: Balloon payments are sometimes also known as residual payments. This means that while you make repayments on part of the loan, you make a lump sum payment at the end of your car loan term.
Example: Your car loan may be $50000, but you are just making repayments on $35000 and rest $15000 is the lump sum payment you are required to make at the end of your car loan term. It is very important to note that you are still paying interest on $15000. It’s only that you are not making a principal repayment on remaining $15000.
The key advantage of having a balloon payment is that it makes your repayments smaller and is favoured by a lot of consumers.
- Secured / Unsecured car loans: Generally speaking, most car loans will be secured against the car you are buying. Although unsecured car loans are available, but the interest rates are very high.
- Compare these features before committing to a car loan.:
Comparison rate |
|
Interest rate |
|
Application fee |
|
Other fees |
|
Extra repayments |
|
Loan term |
|
Loan conditions |
|
Car Loans for self-employed people:
Self-employed people are eligible to get car loans. But the options are different to PAYG employees. It is very important to determine if the car is going to be used for more than 50% for business or not.
If the car usage is more than 50% for business, most self-employed people will opt for a Chattel Mortgage.
What is a Chattel Mortgage?
It is a type of secured car loan where the bank provides car loan, and the borrower takes ownership of the car. The lender loan is secured against the car. So, if the borrower fails to make repayment, lender has the right to take possession of the car.
Chattel Mortgage is not regulated by the National Consumer Credit Protection Act (NCCPA). So, the process is much quicker.
Low doc Car Loans
We also have lenders who provide low doc car loans. Loc doc car loans generally attract higher interest rate. But the documents required are quite less in comparison to a full doc car loan.