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Comparing car finance with us is simple and speedy. Just answer a few questions and you can start comparing
Find the right financing deal for your car
Compare car finance deals with our partner Motiv
MoneySuperMarket is a credit broker not a lender. You must be 18 or over and a UK resident.
Our partner Motiv works with a wide range of providers, including the big car finance brands, to help you borrow the money you need
We’ve partnered with Motiv to bring you top car finance deals from across the UK market
Comparing car finance with us is simple and speedy. Just answer a few questions and you can start comparing
We have a variety of car finance options available, from hire purchase, personal contract purchase to a personal loan
Just tell us a bit about your finances and then we can show you car finance deals you’re likely to be approved for
Car finance is an umbrella term for the ways of purchasing or leasing a new or pre-owned vehicle where you borrow the funds to pay for the car and repay it in instalments.
Common options include personal contract purchase, hire purchase, car loans or leases.
Here’s what to expect with car financing:
You’ll have to agree on how long you want to pay for the car. You’ll also agree to certain conditions, such as annual mileage.
You’ll borrow money from the lender to cover the cost of the car. You will pay an initial deposit to begin with and then make regular payments.
Once the contract is over and depending on the type of car finance, you own the car, hand it back to the dealership or start a new car finance deal.
There are different types of car finance available to suit your financial situation, including:
Borrow to purchase the car outright and then pay off the personal loan in fixed monthly repayments.
Pay a deposit and monthly payments to a finance company. You own the car after the final payment.
Pay a deposit and instalments to cover depreciation. Make a final larger payment to keep the car or return it.
Lease a brand-new car by paying regular monthly instalments and return it at the end of the contract.
When deciding on the best financing option – whether you opt for a personal loan or car finance – assess its affordability plus any terms and conditions that come with the different types of loan or contract.
Think about how much you can afford to borrow, how long you want the car for and how you intend to use it. These factors should help you decide on the best car financing option for your needs.
If you’re after lower monthly repayments, you might prefer PCP whereas if you want to own the car once the deal is finished, a hire purchase (HP) plan may suit you best. Another option to consider might be leasing, also known as personal contract hire.
Personal loan | HP (Hire Purchase) | Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) | |
|---|---|---|---|
Deposit needed | No | Likely | Likely |
You own the car straight away | Yes | No | No |
You’ll own the car at the end of the deal | Yes | Yes | No (unless you pay off the remaining balance – but this is likely to be a large final payment) |
Secured (against the car) | No | Yes | Yes |
Excess mileage charges | No | Yes | Yes |
Monthly payments | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Available with bad credit | Yes, but expect high rates | Likely | Likely |
How much your new wheels will cost you will depend on the type of car finance you choose, how long you’ll be paying it back and any interest added. With PCP, if you choose to keep the car at the end of the deal, you’ll need to make a final (or balloon) payment. While PCP offers lower monthly repayments, it can be more expensive in the long run as you’re likely to pay more interest than on an HP deal.
We’ve put a table together to compare the different types of car finance (PCP, HP and taking out a personal loan) factoring in the deposit and interest rate applied or APR.
Our car finance calculator can also help you work out expected costs.
REPRESENTATIVE EXAMPLE | HP | PCP | Personal loan |
|---|---|---|---|
Car price | £15,000 | £15,000 | £15,000 |
Deposit | £1,000 | £1,000 | £1,000 |
Total borrowing price (car price - borrowing) | £14,000 | £14,000 | £14,000 |
Representative APR* | 8.9% APR | 8.9% APR | 4.4% APR |
Monthly cost (3yr term) | £436 | £269 | £445 |
Total cost*** | £15,700 | £9,684 | £16,018 |
GMFV****/final payment | N/A | £6,750** | N/A |
*With a perfect credit score
**Assumes 45% of car price
***Based on fixed-rate APRs
**** GMFV = Guaranteed minimum future value
If you’ve struggled to keep up with repayments in the past or you don’t have a credit history, it may still be possible to get car finance.
We work with specialists in car finance for bad credit, and we might be able to match you with a car loan that works for you.
Representative 29.9% APR
"If you’re in the market for a new set of wheels, you have various options about how to pay for it. If you want to upgrade your car regularly, a personal contract purchase (PCP) deal might be for you. Hire purchase (HP) is suitable if you have poor credit but can afford a monthly payment and want to eventually own the vehicle – but a car loan can work out cheaper if you’re eligible for a competitive interest rate.
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Find the right car finance option for you and see which rates you’ll be guaranteed to get
Decide which car finance option is right for you, from PCP or HP to taking out a personal loan
Just tell us a little about you, your finances and what you’re looking for
You’ll be able to sort car finance options by overall cost and the likelihood you’ll be accepted
You generally have to be over 18 to get a car loan, and lenders will often have their own specific requirements. You can find out more by looking at their website or contacting them directly, by phone, email, or post.
Car refinancing involves moving onto a new car finance deal, and using this to pay off your existing agreement, usually to benefit from lower interest rates or lower monthly payments.
To apply for a loan you’ll need your address, contact details, details about your income, expenditure and employment. You’ll also need to mention how much you want to borrow, and for how long.
This depends on the lender. Some loan providers will charge you extra fees if you start making higher repayments than have been agreed, but others may allow it. There may be an early repayment penalty charge if you want to clear the loan in full before the end of the term.
A soft-search or soft-application is a way of finding out where you stand in terms of getting a loan without leaving a footprint on your credit report. This is important because credit searches and applications can temporarily lower your credit score in some cases. Using a soft search is a way of finding a loan you’ll be eligible for without harming your credit score and your chances of being accepted. MoneySuperMarket’s loan Eligibility Checker uses a soft search.
Missing repayments could have several negative effects so always speak to your lender as soon as possible if you are experiencing difficulties. The lender should be able to offer options to help you mitigate the problem. A missed debt payment could harm your credit score and result in a County Court Judgement against you. Any assets secured against the loan could eventually be repossessed. Try to avoid missing repayments as it is likely to make borrowing more difficult and more expensive in future.
APR, or your Annual Percentage Rate, is the interest rate at which you pay back money you’ve borrowed. It takes into account the actual interest rate you pay, plus any other fees or charges involved in the deal, to give you a more complete picture of what your loan will cost.
When you see a rate advertised as the representative APR, this means the lender is required to offer this rate to at least 51% of applicants – however it doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to receive this interest rate yourself.
When looking to finance your new car consider what is most affordable for your circumstances, not what is necessarily the cheapest. If you can’t afford to pay for your car upfront with cash (which will usually be the cheapest way to buy a car), taking out a personal loan could be a way to spread the cost of the purchase over a number of years to make it more affordable. When deciding what is the best way to finance a car, you’ll need to consider the interest and any charges added to the finance plan you take out, and the size of your monthly repayments.
It can take a few minutes to a few days to get approved for a car loan, depending on what type of lender it is, the type of loan you’ve applied for and the type of car you’re looking to buy.
If your car is still on finance, you can’t sell it until you’ve paid off the finance in full as you don’t legally own it yet. Once you’ve paid off your car finance in full, you’ll own your car outright so should be able to sell it if you choose to.
Yes, you can get finance for a used car. The amount of choice and the terms will depend on the company you use to take out the financing agreement. Usually the value of a used car will be lower than if it were brand new, so you may find you can also secure cheaper monthly payments.
Whether it’s better to choose ahire purchase or personal contract purchase (PCP) contract will depend on a range of factors, including costs and what you want out of the deal. PCP can offer cheaper monthly payments but you won't own the car at the end of the contract term unless you can make the large final ‘balloon’ payment. With hire purchase you know that once you’ve paid the final instalment the car is yours to keep. It is also worth comparing any conditions, such as maximum annual mileage, which might influence your decision as to the best type of finance for you.
Our handy car finance calculator can help you work out how much a car will cost you with different types of car finance – from personal contract purchase plans to hire purchase and car loans.
We’ll ask you a few questions about your borrowing needs and our calculator will show you how much it’s going to cost so you can see which finance option is most suitable for you.
Yes, it is possible to finance both manual and automatic cars when taking out a car finance deal.
Yes, this is possible, and a good idea if you don't have the initial funds to put up a deposit. You can compare no deposit car finance deals through MoneySuperMarket
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You might be wondering if we work with all the companies in the market, or if our commercial relationships with our partners might make us feature one company above another. We’ve got nothing to hide, and we want to give you clear answers when it comes to questions like these, so we’ve pulled together everything you need to know on this page.