Personal Car Loans & Personal Car Finance

We have a range of personal car loan and personal car finance options, both secured loans and unsecured loans, to suit all situations.  The choice of which depends on individual circumstance and whether you use the vehicle for business purposes, whether your employer offers salary packaging and the age and type of vehicle you wish to buy.

Are you looking to purchase a vintage or classic car, an import or a vehicle older than 10 years old?  360 Financial has a range products to suit your needs too!  Call us 1300 361 360 or Apply Now. 

Personal Car Loan & Personal Car Finance Options

Car Loan

A Car Loan, also known as a Secured Car Loan, is a facility where the financier lends you money to purchase the vehicle and in return takes secuirty over the vehicle. Read more about secured car loans.

Personal Car Loan

A Personal Loan is an unsecured loan.  That is the financier lends you money for the purchase of the vehicle but does not take security over the vehicle. Read more about personal car loans.

Novated Lease (Salary Packaging)

Depending on a range of factors, salary packaging a vehicle through the use of a Novated Lease can be a very tax effective option for purchasing a vehicle.  Under a Novated Lease you, as an employee, lease a vehicle and your employer agrees to make the lease payments from your pre-tax income. Read more about novated leases.

Finance Lease

Also known as a Car Lease, Auto Lease, Vehicle Lease or Asset Lease, a Finance Lease is a rental agreement between the financier (the lessor) and you (the lessee) for a set period. Read more about a finance lease.

Commercial Hire Purchase

Commercial Hire Purchase, also known as a CHP, is a flexible financing option for an individual borrower who may also use their vehicle for business purposes or as part of their normal employment. Read more about commercial hire purchase.

Not sure which finance option suits your needs?

To find out more about any of our financing options, call one of our trained Finance Consultants on 1300 361 360 or Apply Online today and you'll be driving away sooner with 360 Financial!

If you are a sole trader, partnership or company, check out our Commercial Products section for a range of options to satisfy your needs.

Addtional Car loan and Car finance information

The articles below are included to help you find out more about car loan and car finance options.  If you have any questions, please contact us.

 A world of car finance and car loan options

In today’s competitive car finance market, there are a number of car finance options available to fund a vehicle purchase.  With so many options, car finance can be confusing. This short summary will help you understand the various car finance options at a glance and help you find the perfect car finance for you whether you want, new or used a Ford or a Ferrari, for work or for personal use.

Car loan

A traditional form of car finance whereby you repay the principal amount with interest over time.  A car loan is generally a secured loan, so because the lender has the car as security, the interest rate can be lower than some other loans such as a personal loan.

Personal loan

Can be used as car finance, but it is an unsecured loan so the interest rate can be higher than a secured car loan.  The car remains unencumbered.

Lease

Often associated with business vehicles, leasing is a form of car finance that offers benefits to both individuals and businesses. A car finance lease enables you to finance a car without taking the risks associated with owning the car or having to outlay any capital to purchase the asset.

Operating lease

An operating lease is a car finance lease where you fixed monthly rental payment is matched to a term and distance that suits your driving needs. At the end of the operating lease term, the vehicle is simply returned in a good condition and the car finance obligation ends.

Novated lease

Novated leases are the perfect form of car finance for employees looking for car finance as the repayments are made from pre-tax salary.  Also an option for employees looking to add low-cost benefits to their staff remuneration packages.

Chattel mortgage

A Chattel Mortgage is a business car finance product available if the vehicle is to be used predominately for business purposes.

Commercial hire purchase

Commercial Hire Purchase, is a type of car finance lease where the customer uses the vehicle by hiring it for a set period of time and a fixed repayment.   Vehicle Ownership is transferred to the customer once the final payment is made.

Whether you are looking for car finance for yourself, the family or for business use, our trained Finance Consultants can tailor a car finance solution to suit you.  Contact 360 Financial Services for a confidential, obligation-free car finance discussion.

Write your own credit history using your car loan

Most of us need to apply for credit at some point in life.  For many, getting a loan is the only path to home ownership, or even to starting a business.  This is where a car loan can help!

“A car loan?  How can a car loan help me get a mortgage?” I hear you ask.  It’s all about getting a good credit history.

Regular, on-time repayments on a car loan show a level of financial responsibility that is well regarded by banks and financiers.  The key is making sure you pay your car loan repayments on or before their due date each and every time.  This will ensure your car loan works in your favour.

In the “old days” banks and other lenders looked for a regular savings pattern.  However, today, many of us just don’t save, so lenders have to look at your credit history such as car loan repayments to establish suitability for a larger loan such as mortgage.

Perhaps you already have a bad credit history, but you want to buy a car.  Did you know that getting a car loan, even if it is a second chance car loan, can help repair your credit history?  Lenders look at your car loan repayments favourably as long as you don’t miss or run late on a car loan payment.

Don’t be tempted to take out a credit card instead of a car loan.  Regular credit card repayments do not prove credit-worthiness or increase your chance of getting a loan whether car loan, mortgage or otherwise.  In fact a credit card even if it doesn’t have anything owing on it is seen as a liability by lenders.

Keep in mind when you are applying for credit, that lenders look at a number of different variables.  We can’t guarantee that good car loan repayment history will definitely get you a mortgage later on, but it can help.

360 Financial specialises in car loans and second chance car loans to help establish a good credit history.  Talk to a 360 Financial consultant about car loans today.

Help! Can I afford a car loan?

Needing a new car but not sure if you can afford the car loan repayments?  A car loan is a significant financial responsibility and both your car loan provider and your broker want to know that you can afford your car loan repayments.

So how can you be sure you can afford your car loan repayments?

Know thyself…
…your financial self, that is.  Write down all your income and all your expenses.  You will need to compile this information for your car loan application anyway.  Ask yourself whether you really have enough cashflow to cover a car loan repayment?  Perhaps there are some expenses you can cut to make way for a car loan repayment.  For example just cutting pay TV, a magazine subscription or eating out might be enough to cover a car loan repayment.

Try to get the best interest rate

Car loan interest rates vary, just as mortgage rates do.  Shop around for the best car loan rate.  Try to use a secured car loan as often this means cheaper rates.  A car loan broker can help find the best car loan interest rate for your individual circumstances.

Be sure you understand the car loan’s fees and charges

Find out if your car loan has other charges other than the interest rate.  Are there fees for repaying the car loan early for example?

Don’t just take the car loan offered by the dealer

Car dealers offer car loans so you can easily purchase the car “on the spot” enabling them to close the deal.  But car loans are not their primary business.  A better alternative is a car loan broker who can find the best car loan for your personal circumstances.  Dealer car loans might be easy, but you may end up with an expensive car loan with inflexible terms.

Don’t use a credit card as a car loan

There is an old adage in accounting circles that you fund long term assets with long term debt.   A credit card is best used for short term cash shortages to make use of the interest-free period to avoid their high interest rate.   To put such a large purchase as a car on a credit card means you will pay high rates for as long as it takes for you to repay the debt.  A car loan offers a much lower interest rate, so it will be more affordable over the life of the car loan.

Be honest in your car loan application

One of the biggest mistakes car loan applicants can make is to overstate their income or understate their expenses.  If you really can’t afford a car loan, it is better for all parties for you to be honest upfront rather than get into nasty financial, and possibly legal trouble when you can’t make your car loan repayments.  A better solution could be to take a smaller car loan and buy a slightly older car or a smaller car.

If you are still unsure whether you can afford a car loan, talk to a car loan broker.  A reputable company such as 360 Financial Services offers free car loan advice and can help find you the right car loan product that suits your financial situation. Contact one of their trained consultants today.

Tips for getting approval on a car loan

Fact: Car loan providers want to lend money!

Fact:  Car loan providers want to make sure you can make your car loan repayments consistently for the life of the loan.

Yes, it is a fact of life that lenders are happy to lend money but only on the proviso that you actually give it back!  So the key to getting approval on any finance including a car loan, is making it easy for the lender to see you will be a reliable payer.

When you are applying for a car loan, this means documentation!

Make sure you are thoroughly prepared when you apply for your car loan.  Have at hand documents like pay slips, rental statements, mortgage documentation, tax returns, identification etc.  If you are a business owner have your balance sheet and your profit and loss statements ready. This will speed up the car loan process. 

Do not stretch the truth in your car loan application.  Your car loan broker will only recommend car loans that suit your circumstances, so you should be upfront with your financial situation.  Stretching the truth when applying for a car loan could result in getting a car loan that you can’t afford to pay back, or worse, it could be seen as fraud.

Keep a positive attitude when you are applying for a car loan.  This will make your dealings with your car loan broker much more pleasant so they can focus on the task at hand – getting you an approved car loan!

Don’t make multiple car loan applications.  Car loan providers may be able to find out that you have applied for other car loans when they check into your credit history and this may negatively impact your application.

Remember that the first car loan can be the hardest to get.  If you have fallen on hard times and are finding a car loan hard to get, your car loan broker can help you get a second chance car loan to help you establish a repayment pattern.  This may enable you to then move into a cheaper car loan later.  

Simply put, you need as much documentation as possible to prove that you are capable of repaying the car loan. Be truthful, provide comprehensive financial information and keep positive.  Then just leave the rest to your car loan broker.

A 360 Financial Services car loan specialist can help you get approval on a car loan with the minimum of fuss.  Contact ourfriendly consultants about your car finance needs today.
 

CASE STUDY: Sourcing finance through a car loan broker

Brett and Shane are electricians who had been working for a large firm of contract electricians, but are now looking to start their own business. 

To get set up in their new business a car was their first essential purchase, as both had previously driven their employer’s vans.  Shane wanted a ute and Brett wanted a 4WD that could accommodate his family on weekends, so they went looking for a car loan.

Brett went to see his bank about a car loan, but because he had left his employer, the bank made it clear it would be difficult to get approval.  Shane contacted a car loan broker.  The broker firstly asked questions about Shane’s financial position and needs.  He then discussed a number of finance options including a personal car loan and leasing options as an alternative to traditional car loans. The car loan broker quickly sourced a car loan for Shane’s ute.  Within 24 hours, Shane had approval for his purchase.

When Shane mentioned how easy it was to find a car loan using a broker, Brett decided to talk to the same car loan broker. Brett found that unlike his bank, the car loan broker had access to a huge number of car loans and other finance options.  The car loan for Brett’s 4WD was approved by the following day.

Using a car loan broker

Since the 1990’s, Australians have become used to the concept of a mortgage broker, to the point that most home loans are now purchased through mortgage brokers.  However, many people are unaware of the services offered by car loan brokers. Just like a mortgage broker, a car loan broker has access to a number of different car loan alternatives - from unsecured loans to secured car loans and other car finance alternatives such as car leasing etc.  Car loan brokers offer their expertise for free because they are paid by the car loan provider, just like a mortgage broker. 

With so many different car loans and lenders in the car loan market, using a car loan broker to do the legwork can save time in evaluating car loans and save you money on the car loan interest rate.  A car loan broker can help you compile your information through their fast and simple car loan submission process to ensure a car loan approval in the fastest possible time.

Benefits of a car loan broker

• A car loan broker can find the right car loan for your situation.
• Car loan brokers source car loans from a large number of lenders.
• A broker can find the cheapest interest rate.
• Car loan brokers save you time by evaluating car loan alternatives for you.
• Car loan brokers deal in all types of car finance including leasing, hire purchase as well as car loans.
• Even with a bad credit history, you can get an approval on a car loan when you use a car loan broker.
• A broker can find you a car loan for business vehicles as well as cars for individuals.
• Expert car loan advice is provided for free when you use a broker.
• Some car loan brokers offer value-added services such as a car-finder service.

360 Financial services offer a car loan brokerage service.  Contact our friendly consultants about car finance alternatives today.