Car Loans Frequently Asked Questions

When a lender does a credit check during the pre-approval and full application process, it’s noted on your credit report as an inquiry, which can impact your credit score and chances of approval. If you approach too many lenders for pre-approval, especially in a short period, these inquiries will likely hurt your credit score. Multiple attempts to get your car loan application through can affect your credit score. 

Every time you fail to make repayments on time, it is recorded on your credit report. Inability to pay your car loan installments on time can have a long term effect on your credit score. Further, if you’re unable to pay your car loan, a repossession will be on your credit file for seven years and impact your credit score.

If you are planning to purchase a vehicle for business use, you may be considering a chattel mortgage as an alternative to a standard car loan. 

With a chattel mortgage, the lender registers a security interest on the asset in the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR). The vehicle belongs to your business, so you can claim depreciation while repaying the loan. A chattel mortgage offers some advantages to small businesses, but you will also need to consider the disadvantages of a chattel mortgage. 

The biggest disadvantage is that such a mortgage is not regulated by the National Consumer Credit Protection Act (NCCP Act). So you need to understand the terms and conditions fully before you enter into an agreement for a chattel mortgage. 

As your car is offered as security for a chattel mortgage, there is a risk that it could be repossessed if you are unable to make repayments. The higher interest rate charged on chattel mortgages is another disadvantage. Unlike a lease, you have to pay for the maintenance of the vehicle in a chattel mortgage. 

An asset lease, also known as a finance lease or car lease, is an arrangement by which a finance company buys a car on your behalf. You get to borrow the car in return for making regular payments to the financier. At the end of the lease, you can either buy the car or hand it back.

The interest rate is the price you have to pay for borrowing money. The interest rate is expressed as an annual percentage of however much of the loan remains to be paid. For example, if you took out a $10,000 car loan with an interest rate of 8.75 per cent, you would be charged 8.75 per cent of $10,000, or $875 of interest per year. But if you then reduced the outstanding loan to $9,000, your annual interest bill would be 8.75 per cent of $9,000, or $787.50.

Dealer finance is a car loan organised through a car dealer – as opposed to car loans organised by a finance broker or directly by the lender.

There’s no set number. That’s because borrowing capacity differs from person to person, as well as lender to lender.

Lenders don’t give out car loans unless they’re confident they’ll be repaid. Each person is different, so the amount of money one person can successfully borrow will differ from another person’s number. Also, each lender uses its own formulas to calculate borrowing capacity – so Mr & Mrs Smith might find that while Lender X will give them a car loan for $20,000, Lender Y will offer only $18,000.

The comparison rate is known as the ‘real’ interest rate you have to pay – unlike the advertised interest rate, which is often an artificially low number. That’s because the comparison rate includes both the advertised rate and the associated fees. According to the industry standard, comparison rate calculations are made on the assumption that the car loan will be for $30,000 over five years.

The loan term is the amount of time the lender gives you to repay the car loan. For example, if you take out a $20,000 car loan with a five-year loan term, you would be expected to pay off the entire $20,000 (plus interest) within five years.

The LVR, or loan-to-value ratio, 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 an LVR of 75 per cent. LVRs 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 LVR would now be 67 per cent.

Stamp duty, or motor vehicle duty, is a tax you pay when you transfer a car into your name. Stamp duty applies to both new and used cars. Stamp duty is a state tax, so rates and conditions vary from state to state: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, ACT and Northern Territory.