If you have failed a car finance eligibility check with one lender, it does not mean another will reject you.

Each company has their own lending criteria. For example, we’re a bad credit car finance company, which means we specialise in helping people with a poor credit history get on the road.

If you’ve missed payments, are self-employed, or have been rejected by other companies, we could help. To see if you could be accepted, get a quote from our bad credit car finance eligibility checker.

When you get a quote for car finance, we use a soft credit search. This doesn’t affect your credit score but helps us understand your eligibility and see if we can help you. We only use a hard search when contracts are drawn up for you to sign.

Some car finance companies use a hard search at the point of application. This will affect your credit score, so make sure you ask whether they use a soft or hard search. Too many hard searches in a short time will affect your credit score.

It’s important to know that a responsible lender will use a hard credit check at some point during the application process. There is no such thing as car finance with no credit check.

Lenders can only provide finance if it is affordable and suitable for your circumstances. The key thing to know is whether they use a soft or hard credit check.

Yes. When you get a quote, we run a soft search to understand your eligibility for car finance. You’ll then get 1 of 3 instant decisions:

• Approved
• Approved in principle
• Declined

If you’re approved in principle, it’s because we need a few more details from you.

If this happens, an expert from our team will contact you to guide you through the process.

Once you’ve found the right car and contracts are drawn up, we will make a hard search.

A soft credit check is done so finance companies can decide if your application would be successful without doing a hard credit check. This doesn’t show up on your credit report.

A hard credit check is a deep search of your credit report. Lenders will do a hard search when you decide you want finance or a loan. Every hard check is recorded on your report and usually lasts for 12 months.

Our ‘Soft search vs. hard search credit check‘ guide explains the differences in more detail.

Yes, car finance can be approved with just a soft search. This doesn’t impact your credit score, but it will let you know if you’re eligible for car finance.

If you’re approved and want to enter into an agreement with us, we use a hard search only when contracts are drawn up for you to sign.

A lender can only do a hard credit check with your permission, so make sure you check what kind of search is done before you submit any credit application.

If you are approved, we’ll show you how much you could borrow, your personal APR, and what your monthly payments might look like. From there, you can use our vehicle finder tool to search for a car that fits your budget.

An expert from our team will contact you to help you find the right car. Once you’re happy with the quote, contracts will be drawn up for you to sign. After that, we’ll pay the dealership, and you can drive away in your new car!

Find out more about our application process, which includes a handy diagram that breaks down each step.

No, guaranteed car finance is a myth and does not exist. Whether a lender uses a soft or hard check, they cannot say that finance is guaranteed. It’s a widely promoted claim in the industry, but if someone advertises this, you should be cautious.

Everyone is different, as are our financial situations and the types of cars we want. Because of this, no responsible lender can guarantee car finance.

A soft credit check lets lenders see if you have any negative credit history, such as missed payments, defaults, CCJs, or IVAs. They use this information to understand your eligibility for car finance.

Everyone’s eligibility for car finance is different, but there are some things you can do to help your chances. You could check to see if you have good credit, as this is one of the factors lenders use to decide whether to approve your application.

We specialise in helping people with less-than-perfect credit who have been turned down by mainstream lenders. Get a quote in less than 5 minutes and see if we can help you.

If you’d like to learn more, we have written a guide on how you might increase your chances of getting car finance.