Common car loan vehicle restrictions

If you’re thinking about taking out car finance, you probably have a particular vehicle in mind that you would like to purchase. But will you be able to get the car you’ve got your eye on? Will it qualify for car finance?

Age of the vehicle

Not all cars will be deemed as suitable security for lenders to allow a secured car loan. The most common restriction is the age of the vehicle, most financiers require a used car loan vehicles to be no older than 12 years of age at the end of the proposed finance term.

That means if you wanted to apply for a 5 year loan, the car can be no older than 7 years old at the time of purchase.

Type of vehicle

As these restrictions are “guidelines”, lenders may be more lenient on those conditions based on the applicants profile and also on the type of vehicle, as often some lenders would finance old classic cars, older ‘exotic’ or prestige vehicles for longer terms, if the applicant’s profile is strong.

This is on a case by case basis and would need to be discussed in detail with a professional such as a car finance broker to determine this.

Imported vehicles

You may also find it difficult to purchase imported vehicles, as most of their history is not registered in Australia and the lender could find they may be financing repairable write-offs imported from overseas.

There are also lender guidelines in regards to these proposals which can be stretched on a case by case basis, if it is an import and being sold by a private car seller, this makes things even more difficult, but may be still possible for the right client.

Repairable write-offs

Any vehicle that has been declared a repairable write-off in most cases would not be able to be used as security for car loans. Most lenders would also not allow vehicles being used for motor sports, etc. to be used as security, as there is too much risk of the vehicle being involved in an accident.

How lenders assess cars for finance

Basically the lender is weighing up the risk involved with any application, as they need to look at things as a worst case scenario, so if they had to repossess the vehicle and sell it, how easy would it be to sell and how much would they lose from the financed amount in comparison to the wholesale price they would off load it for a quick sale?

Any good qualified professional broker should be able to determine whether your proposal outside the restrictions is feasible in regards to your own situation, so it may be worthwhile discussing this prior to