If you have decided to buy a new car and are planning on going down the route of using used car finance to purchase your new vehicle there are lots of things that you will need to do before heading to the car dealership.
For instance, you will always need to know exactly how much you have to spend. Although you will be buying your car on finance, you will still need to know how much you will be able to afford to put towards car repayments each month. Every used car on the market is worth a different amount, and there are some car dealerships out there that will be able to set out a finance repayment plan that is specifically tailored to your needs, so going to the showroom with this information is advisable.
If you already own a car you may be able to trade it in as a part exchange at the used car dealership. This could save you some money on your finance plan and will also remove the difficulty of scrapping your old car.
Once you have figured out how much money you have to work with you can go online and find a second hand car dealership to apply for finance. When filling out the application you will need to input your personal details, such as your name, date of birth, a three year address history, a telephone number and email address. You will also need to satisfy a number of criteria, such as living in the UK, being employed for more than a certain number of hours a week and earning over a set amount per year. You will also need to have a full UK driver’s licence and the bank account that you want any repayments to be taken from must be in your name.
Once you have submitted your application the car company will run a credit check. This will show them your full credit history and will give them an idea as to whether you would be a responsible candidate for a loan. It can be a good idea to check your credit report for yourself, which you can do with some companies free of charge, or for a small fee with others, reputable companies you could use are: Callcredit, Equifax or Experian.
If your application is approved you can then go down to the used car showroom and pick your car, and you could even drive away on the same day.
