How far back do lenders check on your records?

Candyapple

BossKy wrote: »

I can imagine it'll cost me through the roof, but needs a must in my case unfortunately.

So with regards to the soft search do i ask a dealer to do this or should I approach lenders directly? Such as black horse/zuto/ money barn etc?

Also with a soft search do they still give me a definite yes or no answer or is it more of a guesstimate on their part?

A soft search includes things such as ID checks and quotations, where a company confirms the details you have provided are correct when offering you a quote. It's not a definite yes or no, more like you'll get a quote for what APR% and amount they can loan you (if any).

Sometimes however even if you get quoted something for a soft search, you may still fall down at the hard search of your credit file and be declined. Every lender is different.

Money_Rollercoaster

Well, with soft searches you generally get an indication of A) whether they'll lend to you and the likely APR. I wasn't aware of many car finance providers even providing soft searches ... it's common among credit card and loan providers however.

PixelPound

Soft searches are for things like quotations, such as a probability of you getting the loan. The application itself will leave a hard search, visible to others, and you could still end up with a rejection. Usually however though most have a range of APR's so it may mean that you just don't get the best offered rate.

GazNicki

With the soft search they will look to see if you are eligible to apply for the finance, and get an indicative APR. However, from my personal experience, the indicative APR has never been the actual APR and the change has resulted in quite often an increase in monthly premiums of upto £20 per month. Doesn't seem like a lot when you say it that way, but over 4 years it amounts to almost £1000 difference.

Bus, as you are in a needs must situation, you need to look at all your alternatives and options. If car finance really is the only way, then considering a lower priced vehicle is likely to assist you.

fatbelly

I wouldn't have thought 2 settled defaults would cause much problem in actually getting an HP/CS/PCP deal on a car, though it may not be the most mse thing to do.

How much are you looking at as an affordable monthly payment

BossKy

I agree, it isn't the most Money saving plan around, and I can afford up to 4-500 per month in repayments (including insurance) so around 4-450 for the vehicle itself.

Thankfully I was gifted a 2 bed house in the countryside by my parents after their retirement and downsizing. So dont have any expenses aside from the (soon to have) vehicle and mobile phone / internet costs.

fatbelly

BossKy wrote: »

I agree, it isn't the most Money saving plan around, and I can afford up to 4-500 per month in repayments (including insurance) so around 4-450 for the vehicle itself.

Thankfully I was gifted a 2 bed house in the countryside by my parents after their retirement and downsizing. So dont have any expenses aside from the (soon to have) vehicle and mobile phone / internet costs.

I doubt you'll have any problems. Half of that would get you a decent car.

BossKy

Thanks for the advice!

cj1974cr

Car Finance is different to Unsecured loans for one key reason it's secured against you Car - so if you stop paying they take it back, if your defaults have been repaid this helps.

But let the Car Dealership - if that's where you buying if from your Credit History isn't perfect so they can get you the right finance package.