Car Loans Frequently Asked Questions

Getting approval for a chattel mortgage with bad credit may be possible, given ‘chattel’ (usually a piece of equipment or car) is put up as security for the loan. That means if you fail to repay the loan, the creditor can recover the loaned amount by repossessing and selling the car or piece of equipment. This differs from unsecured car loans, where the asset is not tied to the loan and cannot be taken if you don’t meet the repayments. 

You can apply for a CommBank car loan pre-approval online, over the phone or by visiting a branch. The steps to apply for CommBank car loan pre-approval are similar to any other car loan application and include the following:

1. Consider checking your credit rating before applying for the loan. The lender uses your credit score and credit history to help determine your creditworthiness, and decide if you should be granted approval. Your credit score will likely also be used to determine what interest rate they are prepared to offer you.
2. Gather all the required documents and your personal information. This should include proof of income, identity and residency.
3. Review all the terms and conditions, interest rate and additional fees related to the loan to ensure it meets your requirements.
4. Submit your application to CommBank for approval.

Commonwealth Bank will then review and confirm all your details and, if successful, offer you pre-approval. Once you receive the pre-approval for the car loan from Commonwealth Bank, you can start shopping around for a new car with the knowledge you have finances secured.

The loan-to-value ratio, or LVR, is a percentage that expresses the amount of money owed on the car compared to the value of the car. For example, if you take out a $15,000 loan to buy a $20,000 car, you have a loan-to-value ratio of 75 per cent. Loan-to-value ratios change over time as you pay off your loan and your car depreciates in value. For example, two years later you might now owe $10,000 on your car, which might now be worth $15,000. In that case, although there would still be a $5,000 difference between the size of the outstanding loan and the value of the car, the loan-to-value ratio would now be 67 per cent.

A pre-approval is a formal document that indicates how much a lender is willing to lend to a consumer – once that person has found the car they want to buy. A lender will assess a borrower’s credit history and financial circumstances before issuing a pre-approval. However, lenders are under no obligation to follow through on pre-approvals, so pre-approvals should be seen as statements of intent rather than rock-solid guarantees.

A green slip, also known as compulsory third-party insurance or CTP insurance, is compulsory if you want to register a vehicle in Australia. If you’re responsible for a car accident, your green slip will be used to pay any compensation due to anyone who might be injured or killed. However, a green slip doesn’t cover you for vehicle damage or theft.

A guarantor on a car loan is a third party, usually a relative or friend, who guarantees to meet the repayments of a loan for the purchase of a car, if the borrower/owner of the car defaults on the loan.

Guarantor car loans can be useful for people who would otherwise struggle in being accepted for credit to purchase a vehicle. These may include people with bad credit, students and young people who may have no credit history, as well as some pensioners.

Many lenders offer guarantor car loans, guarantor personal loans and guarantor home loans, because of the significantly reduced risk to the lender.

Yes, you can get a car loan with bad credit, although you’ll probably find the process trickier and dearer than that experienced by people who have good credit histories.

You can find a number of lenders that specialise in bad credit car loans. However, make sure you compare bad credit car loans before you sign on the dotted line, because not all car loans are alike and having bad credit may mean you are more likely to be hit with higher fees and interest rates.

If you have bad credit, it’s important not to take out a car loan unless you can afford the repayments because a default could further damage your credit rating. Conversely, if you make all the repayments and repay the loan successfully, your credit rating might improve.

While it’s not necessarily a guarantee, having a guarantor on your car loan will improve your chances of having your application accepted, and may mean that you are able to attain a lower interest rate loan.

Having a guarantor with excellent credit history and/or is a property owner reduces the risk to the lender because the payments are guaranteed by someone who is considered to be financially secure and reliable.

As such, even if your credit history isn’t perfect, a guarantor may be able to help you secure a lower rate from some lenders.

Yes, some banks will be willing to provide guarantor loans, including Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Westpac and ANZ, though the terms for signing up to a banker-issued guarantor car loan may not necessarily be as good as another lender.

You should keep in mind though that these larger banks, because of their monopoly of the market, tend to have higher interest rates than the smaller lenders.

In comparison, smaller loan companies and credit unions tend to be more competitive in their battle for your business. There are plenty of lenders willing to lend to people with bad credit or no credit history who have willing guarantors.

If you own a car, it may be something that can help you bring down the cost of your next vehicle purchase through its sale. However, before you can do that you’ll want to find out how much your car is worth.

Your car’s worth can depend upon various aspects, including:

• Age
• Condition
• Model and make

A great starting place for aspects of this includes websites that offer online valuations, allowing you to enter your car’s make, model, year, badge and description, with the listed results displaying a price guide based on both selling your car privately and through a dealership.

Both have pros and cons, as cars can be very profitable, something that will no doubt impact any chance you have to make the most of your car’s value upon sale. Dealerships will try to profit on your trade-in by buying it for less than they can sell it for, so you shouldn’t expect the same price selling a car to a dealer that you would necessarily get selling a car privately.