How Do I Apply For A Car Loan?
How do I apply for a car loan? Here are the steps you'll take:
- Complete your online financial profile and upload income verification.
- Get a car loan quote.
- Select a specific lender and loan product.
- Submit the application.
- Get your pre-approval and shop for your new car.
When a full car loan application is submitted, you can get a car loan approval on the same day that you apply for the loan, depending on the lender that you've selected.
You can take control of your car loan application to ensure that you get a fast car loan approval. When you apply for your car loan with Positive Lending Solutions, you'll be taken through the Positive Process from your initial inquiry to the settlement of your car loan.
You can speed up the process of any car loan application by providing all of the information that's need by the lender to approve your loan.
How to apply for a car loan:
You can apply for a car loan using an online application form, or over the phone. You'll need to complete the application form, which will ask you for personal contact information, references and proof of your income.
The online finance profile will take 10-15 minutes to complete.
If you're applying for your car loan with a car loan broker, then your lending specialist will ensure that your information is complete before they submit your application to the lender, making the process as quick as possible.
Information you need to provide
To get a fast car loan pre-approval, you'll need to provide some documentation in your application so the lender can quickly assess your finance profile.
This information includes:
- Personal contact information
- Proof of identity and address
- Proof of income & employment
- Personal reference
- Financial information including current assets and liabilities.
You'll also need to indicate how much you want to borrow, and roughly what type of vehicle you are intending to purchase.
If there's any further information required, the lender or your lending specialist will request this from you when they assess your application.
Providing bank statements and ID
When you apply for a loan with Positive Lending Solutions, you can provide your documentation electronically using clear photographs taken on your phone. You can either email or SMS these directly to your customer service representative.
If you have online banking set up, you'll be provided with an app that you can log into using your online banking details. This app will automatically send three months recent bank statements through to your customer service rep and keeps your login information secure.
If you receive social security payments, this portal can also be used to provide payment statements from your MyGov account.
Permission to access your credit file
When you submit an application for a car loan, you'll need to sign a Privacy and Consent form that outlines how the information collected by the car loan broker or lender will be used to approve your car loan.
This will usually give the lending specialist and lender permission to access your credit file to assess your loan application too.
What happens next?
Once you've submitted this information to your lending specialist or lender and they have made a full assessment of your financial profile, you'll be given an offer for a car loan product.
You may be given a single offer for a loan or some options to choose between. At this stage, you aren't obliged to accept the loan offer. You can read through the credit proposal and loan contract for the loan product you've been offered and decide if it is a good fit for your needs.
Your car loan pre-approval
Your car loan pre-approval will contain the maximum amount that the lender will loan you. The car loan pre-approval may have some conditions attached to it that will need to be met before the loan can proceed to settlement.
Approval conditions will usually include:
- A tax invoice, registration and VIN for the car
- Evidence of a comprehensive car insurance policy for the vehicle being purchased.
Accepting the loan offer
Once you've found the car that you want to buy, you will be emailed your loan contract immediately. The loan contract will include the final loan amount and the terms and conditions of the loan.
If you're happy with the terms and conditions of the loan contract, you can sign and return the loan contract via email. Once your lending specialist has the signed loan contract and other documents requested, your loan will be sent through for final settlement.
Settlement of your car loan
Once the final documentation and evidence of comprehensive car insurance are sent through to the lender, they will approve your loan and release the funds either to your bank account or directly to the seller.
This can happen on the same day you return your loan contract, or it could be the next business day depending on the lender and the time of day that your loan application is sent for settlement.
Collecting your car
The final step in the car loan application process is collecting your car.
Now you can find out what your car loan options are by starting an application for a car loan, knowing exactly what steps are involved to get the car finance that you need.
Tom Caesar is the Managing Director of The Positive Group, a group of Australian financial services companies offering a broad range of finance to clients Australia wide. The Positive Group assist clients in the areas of car finance, mortgages, insurance & wealth management. Tom has been in car & asset finance for over 10 years. Tom regularly contributes articles on car finance, insurance, technology and business growth, drawing on his experience of starting his own brokerage in 2009.