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What Do I Need To Do To Get A Car Loan?

Getting a car loan does not have to be difficult, as long as you tick all the boxes for the financier’s criteria.

General Criteria

To get a car loan you would need to be over the age of 18, have a valid driver’s licence and be earning enough income to afford a loan as per the lender’s criteria. In pretty much most cases, that income would have to come from some kind of paid or self-employed income.

Documentation

You may be required to provide proof of income, such as pay slips, employment letter, bank statements showing regular income deposits, tax returns or financial statements. This may not be in all cases, so check with your car finance provider what they will require.

Other documentation that may require providing could include rates notice for proof of property ownership, rent receipt your identification, such as drivers licence or passport and depending on your visa status, you may require having to provide your visa too.

These are not mandatory for every loan application and are on a case by case basis. You may only need one or two of these items depending on the lender and their requirements.

Do I Have To Have Found A Car First?

You can obtain a car loan pre-approval prior to searching for your next car, which may not be a bad idea, as it would be disappointing if you spent your time searching for a car and you were unable to obtain finance for it.

As long as you have some sort of idea of a range of cars you are looking for, your pre-approval can be based on this and would be subject to the final vehicle meeting the lender’s criteria.

Of course if you have already found the car you want, your approval can be formally approved, without the condition of the vehicle meeting lender’s criteria.

Settlement

You would also require proof of motor vehicle insurance as a condition of your car loan approval. As the vehicle is being used as security over the loan, it is mandatory at all times whilst the loan is active to have valid motor vehicle insurance and this would be required as proof at settlement.

The only other documentation at settlement would be the signed loan contracts and any other additional documents that may have been requested by the lender.