Olivia Collins
Olivia Collins, Underwriting Manager at bad credit car finance lender, Go Car Credit, has put together her top tips on how consumers can get approved for car finance if they have bad credit.
1. Check your credit score
If you are unaware of your credit score then it may be that it is better or worse than expected. If your credit score isn’t what you thought, maybe due to previously missed payments or previous financial difficulty, then there are still ways that you can finance a car.
2. Save for a deposit
Typically, the bigger the deposit that you have towards a car, the less money that you will need to borrow. Whilst you may have bad or adverse credit, by saving money to contribute as a down payment, you are showing that you are serious about the purchase. It also means that you could pay less in monthly payments, but this depends on how much money you intend to put down.
3. Research alternative lenders
The likelihood is that if you have bad credit then you could struggle to get finance from traditional lenders. Where I work at Go Car Credit, we look further than just a credit score as we appreciate that people suffer credit adversity for many reasons, sometimes potentially out of their control. Make sure that you can speak with an advisor and they look at things like affordability with you. You should never feel forced into taking a deal.
4. Make payments on time
Although it may sound obvious, making payments on time, and keeping up with your current credit obligations will positively help your credit. Another helpful credit tip is just to make sure you don’t open lots of accounts all at once as this will negatively affect your credit rating.
5. Don’t fall for a car finance scam
Using social media, scammers are advertising (a lot of the time targeting those who have a poor credit history) deals with no credit check. To adhere to FCA rules, we must carry out credit checks, so if you see a deal that offers you ‘no credit check’ then it’s likely a scam. They can look tempting but could leave you out of pocket.
Olivia says, “It can feel disheartening when you get rejected for a car finance loan. This can feel especially painful if you’ve found out it’s because your credit isn’t as strong as you maybe thought it was. If you already know you have bad credit, because you’ve previously struggled with debt, then you may think that you can’t get a loan for car finance. That isn’t true, you will just need to use a specialist lender that specialise in bad credit car finance.”
Go Car Credit wants to put its customers first, making sure they offer a fair loan based on their circumstances and their personal credit record whilst making sure they are looking at affordability for its customers.
