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 to 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 space of time will affect your credit score.

It’s important to know that a responsible lender will use a credit check. 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 one of three instant decisions:

• Approved
• Approved in principle
• Declined.

If you’re approved in principle, it’s because we need a few more details from you. In that case, an expert from our team will get in touch to help guide you through that process.

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

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

If you’re approved and would like 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 within your budget.

An expert from our team will be in touch to help find the right car for you. 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’ll be able to drive away in your new car!

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

No, guaranteed car finance is a myth and does not exist. Whether a lender uses a soft check, or a 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.

Think of it this way – everyone is different, everyone’s circumstances are different, and everyone wants a different type of car. No responsible lender can guarantee you car finance because of this.

A soft credit check allows lenders to 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 who have less-than-perfect credit and have been turned down by mainstream lenders. Get a quote in less than 5 minutes and see if we could 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.