If you’ve recently passed your driving test, we congratulate you! If you’ve come across our page, it also means you are a first time driving looking for car finance! Getting car finance for first time drivers is a simple and easy process with UK Car Finance! We understand you may have your reservations and we want to help you make an informed decision whether car finance is actually for you. Read our full guide below on first time driver car finance!
Why choose car finance?
Financing your first car means you can spread the cost of getting a car into monthly instalments. Instead of forking out for one lump sum payment and buying the car with cash, you instead ask a lender to loan you the money to buy a car and pay the lender back. Your payments can be tailored to your monthly budget and usually, deals are taken over 3-5 years. We have many no-deposit options available to customers but you can choose to put a deposit down if you wish. Depending on the type of car finance you choose, you can either hand the car back to the dealer, keep the car or part exchange your car on finance.
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Find out more about how UK car finance works and the finance agreements we offer.
Is car finance right for you?
Before you make any financial decision, you should weigh up the pros and cons and see if it’s right for you. Car finance can be a great way to get a car and split the cost into affordable payments. However, missing your finance deal or not paying it back on time can have a detrimental effect on your credit score and your financial situation.
Affordability.
When we talk about affordability for car finance, we simply mean whether you can afford to get a car on finance or not. When you apply for first time finance with us, we will ask you about your monthly income and employment status. This helps the lenders on our panel to assess whether you can afford to borrow money and pay it back. If you have low income, you may struggle to keep on top of your payments, and it may even see your finance deal be declined.
Use our car finance calculator to see how much you could borrow.
Credit score.
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Credit scores are really important when it comes to financing a car for the first time. We will run a soft search credit check on you when you apply for finance with us. This won’t impact your current credit score and allows us to see what your current credit situation is like. The lenders on our panel prefer to give finance to people with higher credit scores as they are less of a risk. You may have a low credit score due to missed payments in the past, high levels of debt or a lack of credit history. All of which can put potential lenders off. A free car finance checker can be used to see where you fall on the credit scale before you apply.
Types of car finance:
Car finance isn’t just one form of agreement and the most popular ways to finance a car are through Hire Purchase and Personal Contract Purchase. We have lenders on our panel who can offer both HP and PCP car finance to our customers (subject to status).
Hire Purchase:
Hire Purchase is a straightforward way to get a car. If a lender accepts you for HP finance, they buy your chosen car from the dealer on your behalf, and this is known as a secured loan. You’ll be responsible for looking after the car and making your monthly payments back to the lender, on time and in full. Once all payments have been made, there’s a small option to purchase fee to pay and the car is yours to own. If you fail to repay at any time during the agreement, the lender has the right to take the car from you.
Personal Contract Purchase:
Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) is actually a form of hire purchase and it’s a secured loan too. However, its structure is very different. In HP, the cost of the car and any fees are split into monthly payments but in PCP, a lot of the value of the loan is differed until a final balloon payment. This means you’ll be able to pay lower monthly payments but you will have to pay or refinance the balloon payment if you wish to keep the car at the end of the deal. Alternatively, you can choose to hand the car back to the dealer or use the value towards a new car on another PCP deal.
Personal details.
When you make an application for finance, you may feel like we asked a lot of questions! However, lenders need to do all they can to avoid any fraudulent applications or offer finance to anyone who isn’t suitable. We’ll usually ask for your contact information, employment status, monthly income, current and previous addresses, and your marital status. This helps us to speed up the process and send you straight to our lenders to see if anyone would like to offer you finance.
Best cars for beginners.
If you’ve just passed your driving test or are in the market for your first car, we can help!
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What you need to know about first time car finance:
- You will need to be 18+ years old. In the UK, you can learn how to drive from the age of 17 years old. However, car finance is a legal agreement between you, the lender, and the dealer so you will need to be at least 18 years old to be considered for finance.
- You may have low credit. If you’re a young driver applying for first time car finance, you may find yourself with a low credit score. If you have a lack of credit history because you’ve never had the opportunity to get finance previously, it can be a good idea to build a small credit history first. This can be as easy as taking out a mobile phone contract in your name and setting up a direct debit to meet the repayment each month.
- You are more likely to have a road accident. One of the main reasons why first time drivers have high insurance rates and opt for a black box car insurance deal is because you are more likely to have a road accident. Due to a lack of driving experience, finance lenders may be wary of you. Secured loans like HP and PCP mean the lender owns the car and you are a higher risk as a young driver.
- Income could hold you back. Not all first time drivers are young drivers but it is very common. When you’re younger, you may not have as much disposable income as older drivers, and it can mean your budget is restricted.
What is a car finance broker?
When taking out a mortgage, you wouldn’t apply directly with multiple lenders at once. Instead, you find a mortgage broker to do the leg work on your behalf. Its work the exact same way for car finance and we are one of the UK’s leading car finance brokers! We have a number of trusted UK lenders on our panel and when you apply with us, we help you find the best and lowest interest-rate car finance deal. Once we’ve helped secure you an affordable car finance deal, it’s time for the fun part! You can buy a car with your budget from any reputable dealer in the UK! We even contact your chosen dealer on your behalf and make sure the whole process runs smoothly.
Car finance for first time drivers is a click away!
Make a free, no-obligation application with us today and we’ll be in touch with a finance decision for you! If you’re approved, you then have the freedom to get the car you want from any FCA-approved dealer across the UK!