As far as car finance bad credit arrangements are concerned, what are your options? It's absolutely vital that you stop for a moment and realise that you do in fact have options. It's very easy to think that if you have bad credit, car finance is not an option, or at best, you're limited to accepting whatever you're offered, even if it's not what you'd ideally choose.
Certainly if you have bad credit it's likely that you've given up on the idea of cheap car finance, and that you'll be paying through the nose for your car loan, but is this really true? What options do you have, how can you spot a car finance option that's not a good deal, and is there any good news as far as getting car credit finance is concerned if your credit history has more negative numbers than positive ones, and a generous helping of arrears, defaults and perhaps even CCJs?
Alternatively, you may be looking for car finance but not have bad credit - but no credit history at all. After all, we all had to start somewhere with getting credit, and if you've never had any form of credit before, many lending institutions won't touch you because you're an unknown risk. Perhaps a few years ago you'd have been all right, but thanks to the recession making life somewhat uncomfortable, the majority of banks and credit companies are now much less willing to take risks on people with poor credit, and an unknown risk is simply not acceptable anymore.
So whether your credit history is poor, or empty, you may be looking to get cars on finance, but feel you've run out of options. Let's consider those options people tend to think about, what the risks are, what the benefits might be, and what is the best course of action both in terms of getting a new car, and helping to boost your credit profile in the future.
The first option for many people is to approach the bank for a car loan, but this is rarely successful. Banks rely solely on your credit rating, and they tend to be fairly conservative when it comes to parting with money.
If you have a weak credit rating you may find this very hard, and this may have been the first step towards being convinced that getting car finance is not possible. However, what you must realise is that banks lend cash, and don't arrange car finance agreements - and here's the crucial difference.
Yes, banks might have a lower rate of interest compared to some lending institutions, but what's the point of a low interest rate if you can't get the car loan in the first place?
So you may next try a garage or car salesroom which offers cars on finance. These were often a good bet, but unfortunately many have suffered badly throughout the recession.
The fact that cars tend to lose their value quite quickly once they leave the forecourt, coupled with the fact that many people have experienced problems with keeping up repayments through the recession, many car dealers have hung up their keys for good, with the rest now offering either much higher rates of interest or car credit finance only to those with great credit records.
Where does this leave you if you have no credit record, or a very weak one? Either paying extortionate rates of interest or taking the bus.
The next option you may consider is a guaranteed car finance package, and these can certainly be great news. Having a guaranteed car finance package can not only give you the chance to own a car again, but as long as you keep up on the repayments you'll be boosting your credit rating every month.
However - a word of warning, because not all guarantee car finance packages are the same. Some won't be anything close to a cheap car finance package, offering only high levels of interest, whilst some others may seem a good deal, but have a hidden catch.
You could find yourself being offered a very generous car loan only to find that you're only allowed to use it to buy one of the overpriced cars owned by the car finance company itself.
This takes away any real choice, and forces you into overpaying for the vehicle. However, don't give up, because there are some companies who not only offer guaranteed car finance deals, but at rates of interest that won't break the bank, and what's more, you'll be free to use the cash to buy any car you like from any dealer you like anywhere in the UK.
Have a look at the links at the bottom of this article for more information about a guaranteed car finance package which could help you say goodbye to the bus!