How likely will I be accepted for finance?

georgiaaob

Hi,

I’m planning to get a new car on finance and I wanted to ask if anyone knows how likely I’ll be accepted for finance? I’m 21 and my credit score is not the best as I missed a payment 3 months ago but everything else is fine. My Experian credit score is 748 and Clearscore is 660 out of 1000. When I checked my finance eligibility with the dealer it said I’ll be highly likely but that was just with an initial assessment so I’m not sure how accurate that is. In terms of affordability I earn £1,800 pm and I live at home with my parents and don’t pay any bills. I plan on putting a big deposit on the finance so will that help my case? If not is it possible to use a guarantor?

hopefully someone can answer as I don’t want to apply and not be accepted and I have to built my credit again!

Thanks

Ebe_Scrooge

Ignore your score, it's not a factor in lending decisions.  1 missed payment in isolation isn't the end of the world (OK, it's not ideal, but shouldn't scupper your chances just by itself).  The best bet is to apply and see what the result is - 1 search on your file will not make much difference.  I'd advise against a guarantor loan (even if such a thing is possible on car finance?) - if you're thinking of going down that route, you're better to get your guarantor to borrow the money themselves at a much lower APR, and give it to you.

Car finance is slightly easier to get than an unsecured loan, as the lender can simply repossess the car if you don't pay.

Of course, some might question the wisdom of spending a large amount on a new car - a good second-hand one bought outright is more MSE.  And if you've got £1800 a month spare, you'll easily save enough for a pretty decent car in just a few months.  But that's a whole different argument :-)

MrFrugalFever

You won’t know if you’ll be accepted until you apply. The car finance is normally secured and will be slightly easier to obtain because of it, with the APR rate advertised unless you are declined in which case a sub-prime lender with higher APR rate may be offered as an alternative.

Putting a sizeable deposit down also helps slightly because total amount of credit will be less.

The lender may request a Guarantor, that is their discretion and you are not normally able to request it yourself.

if you do get declined there are other routes to go down. Best of luck.

MEM62

Ebe_Scrooge said:

Of course, some might question the wisdom of spending a large amount on a new car - a good second-hand one bought outright is more MSE.  And if you've got £1800 a month spare, you'll easily save enough for a pretty decent car in just a few months.  But that's a whole different argument :-)

Absolutely this!

OP, that nice shiny car may look desirable now but paying interest to buy something with a value that falls like a stone is not really prudent.  And the car will seem a lot less desirable if the burden of the payments stops you doing other things in life like holidays with your friends or even leaving home and getting your own place.