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Rates from 8.9%
Representative APR 8.9%

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Find the right car finance plan

Looking to buy a new car? Car finance can make the cost of a new car more affordable by splitting the amount across monthly repayments, so you can get behind the wheel faster with a budget that suits you! Use our calculator to find out how much you could afford to borrow.

Searching for car finance plans with our soft search tool won’t affect your credit rating!

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Rates from 8.9%
Representative APR 8.9%

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What is car finance?

Car finance is essentially a credit plan used for the purchase of a car. You pay off the value of your vehicle with monthly repayments, thus spreading the initial cost and making it easier to manage.

You'll generally pay back the cost of the car, plus interest and fees, in regular monthly instalments. The overal cost will depend on the type of car finance you choose - sometimes (as with a personal contract purchase) you won't even pay off the whole cost of the vehicle.

Types of Car Finance:

Hire Purchase (HP)

With an HP, you’ll hire the car from the finance company and pay off its cost (with interest) over a set period. You’ll need to pay a deposit for a hire purchase, typically worth around 10% of the car’s value. Unlike with a personal car loan, this debt is secured against the vehicle, which the finance company technically owns until you’ve paid off the balance – plus a small ‘option to purchase’ fee. Because the debt is secured, it’s less risky to the car finance provider than an unsecured loan, meaning that you are less likely to get turned down.

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Personal Loan

An unsecured personal loan is probably the most straightforward way of financing a car purchase. Quite simply, you borrow the money to buy the car and pay it back, with interest, over a set period – typically 1-5 years. Since you use this money to buy the car yourself, you’ll own it outright from the day of purchase.

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Personal Contract Purchase (PCP)

Like with an HP, a personal contract purchase involves you paying an initial deposit, and then regular monthly instalments for a set period. But instead of paying off the cost of the car, with a PCP you’re just paying the depreciation – the difference between what the car is worth at the start of the contract and at the end. Once the contract is up, you’ll have the option to make what’s known as a ‘balloon payment’ to buy the car outright. It’s usually pretty expensive to buy the car at the end of the PCP either just return it or start a new PCP and get a different car.

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Use Money Expert to find car finance deals

We spoke to 500 drivers about buying cars on finance, and here's what we found:

Only a quarter of people who took out a car finance deal used a price comparison site.

Despite this, almost 60% of those who didn't use a comparison site believe they could've found a better deal if they did.

Our trusted advisers will help you find the right plan
Our trusted advisers will help you find the right plan
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Soft eligibility check: find out what deals you can get without affecting your credit score
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No obligations: speaking to our advisors won't commit you to taking out a deal
 

Common problems people faced when searching for car finance deals:

23%

People didn't understand all of the language & jargon

34%

Found taking out a car finance plan stressful

19%

Didn't know where to start looking for a finance plan

Data collected November 2019 by Forefront Market Research

Helpful Guides

Don't know your hire purchase from your personal contract purchase? Confused about interest rates, fees, and balloon payments? We've got a selection of helpful guides to ensure that you're fully clued up before you take out a car finance deal. Visit our guide library to see if you can find the information you're looking for.

See our guides

Find a Deal Easily

Arranging a finance plan to buy a new car can be confusing if you don't know where to look. Our advisors can help guide you through the process and make everything much easier. Fill in our short form letting us know a bit about what you want to borrow, and one of our advisors will be in touch to help you find the right plan.

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Rates from 8.9%
Representative APR 8.9%

How to Compare Car Finance Plans

Applying for car finance through Money Expert is easy. All you need to do is provide us with a few details about yourself and the car finance plan you're after, and you'll be shown some quotes.

You'll need the following details to hand in order to generate accurate quotes:

  • Your address and contact details
  • Your employment and income details
  • Your regular expenditure (a rough estimate is fine for a quote)
  • How much you want to borrow
  • The length of your desired loan term

Get this information to hand, and then use our soft search eligibility checker to see what deals you could get without affecting your credit score.

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Rates from 8.9%
Representative APR 8.9%

How much does car finance cost?

When paying for a car on finance, the total cost will depend on both the value of the vehicle and the interest your finance provider charges on your credit plan. There are a few different factors that will influence the price of the car finance plan you're offered:

Credit Score

A car finance provider won’t offer the same APR (interest rate) to all its customers. The rate you are quoted will depend on several factors, including your income and your financial history. To benefit from the cheapest rates, you must have a steady income and a good credit score.

Finance Type

Typically, personal contract purchase deals work out cheaper as you only pay off the depreciation in value of the car over time, rather than the total value. However, unless you pay the ‘balloon payment’ at the end of your PCP, you will not own the car outright at the end of the deal.

Deposits & Fees

Generally, the higher your deposit, then the lower your monthly repayments will be. You also need to look out for any extra fees and charges, including early repayment fees, as these will affect the overall cost of your finance deal.

Additional Information on Car Finance

Is it a good idea to finance a car?

The majority of people in the UK use some sort of car finance deal to buy their cars these days, but is it worth it? Using car finance to purchase a new vehicle can be a great way to get the car you want without stumping up the cash upfront. However, there are certain things to be aware of before you take out a car finance deal.

After buying a house, purchasing a car is one of the biggest expenditures most of us will make in our lives. Therefore, it's important to know exactly what you're getting into before getting into the details of a car finance plan.

Financing a car works similarly to taking out a secured loan. Pretty much any car finance deal will involve you paying monthly installments to your lender. While this can spread the initial cost of a new car over a number of years, you need to make sure your monthly repayments are affordable.

If you miss a payment, you could be hit with late payment fees and other charges which will only increase your debt. Missing payments can also negatively affect your credit score. Bad credit can affect your ability to access credit in the future, including other car finance deals and mortgages. Your car may also be repossessed, meaning all that money you've paid towards it will count for nothing.

Which car finance option is the cheapest?

This will depend on what you mean by ‘cheapest’. With a PCP you’re only paying for the depreciation and not the car itself. This means that you’ll pay less overall than you would with a hire purchase (assuming that the car costs the same amount). However, you won’t end up with a car at the end, unless you pay the balloon payment which is likely to spike the cost right up.

With both PCPs and hire purchases, you’ll have to pay a deposit. This will typically be around 10% of the vehicle cost but if can opt to pay more you’ll reduce your monthly payments.

Personal car loans won’t require a deposit.

Interest rates (or APR), tend to be broadly similar across all products – around 4-7% is typical – and will depend in part on your credit score.

How important is my credit rating?

Your credit rating will determine things like the APR of your finance plan and even whether or not you’re accepted in the first place. Although it’s unlikely you’ll be turned down entirely for having bad credit, it’s even less likely with PCPs or HPs as both are effectively secured loans. This means that if you default on payments, the car finance company will repossess the vehicle.

What happens if I give the car back damaged at the end of a PCP?

When the term of your personal contract purchase is up, you’ll have to hand the car back in the same condition you go it in or pay for any damage. You’ll also have to agree to a monthly or yearly mileage limit when you start your PCP and breaching it will jack up your monthly payments.

What happens if I can’t keep up with my car finance repayments?

If you can’t keep up with your payments on a hire purchase or personal contract purchase agreement and have to default, then the car will be repossessed. If you default on a personal car loan, however, you’ll have to either try and arrange a debt management plan or declare insolvency with an IVA or bankruptcy agreement.

The loan comparison service is provided by Money Expert in association with Magnitude Finance. Magnitude Finance is a credit broker not a lender and a trading style of DSG Financial Services Ltd, registered in England & Wales. Company number 02313903. DSG Financial Services Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority FRN 649675.

Last reviewed: 1 November 2024

Next review: 1 December 2024