Bad Credit Car Loans
Need a second chance? Get Savvy on your side and get approved.
Last updated on April 21st, 2022 at 03:17 pm by Thomas Perrotta
Need a second chance car loan? We can help
Bad credit is OK
Do you have a bad credit rating? Have you been rejected for car loans? You deserve a second chance! At Savvy, we can help you achieve your dream of owning a new or second hand car, even if you have bad credit.
Our car loan consultants are experts at getting those tricky deals approved. We can also advise you on steps to take to improve your credit rating and have you on your way to owning your car in no time.
Trusted brand
Savvy has helped thousands from across the country secure financing when banks and other financiers were unable to. Savvy partners with a range of specialist lenders that are prepared to look ‘outside the box’ for the right customer.
Our consultants have many years of experience, they take the time to understand all the details of your profile in order to deliver high approval rates.

The features and benefits of bad credit car loans
Finance up to 100% of your car’s value
You’re not required to put forward a sizeable deposit towards your car loan, with lenders able to approve financing for up to 100% of its cost (and sometimes more).
Flexible lenders who understand your situation
We’re partnered with specialist lenders who can work with you, even if you’ve struggled with credit in the past; it shouldn’t be a barrier to buying your new car.
Repay at your own pace
You can choose the length of time you take to repay your car loan, with terms available as short as one year up to several giving you the option to repay your loan on your terms.
Fixed interest rates
Car loans come with fixed interest rates, so you’re not only protected from rates rising but also can take advantage of the certainty and stability fixed repayments bring.
Buy brand-new or used privately
You’re not restricted to brand-new vehicles at the dealership, with used cars bought either from a car yard or private seller across the country able to be financed by your lender.
Diverse income accepted
You can count multiple income sources towards your car loan payments, whether you work full-time or a combination of part-time, casually or run your own business.
Why more bad credit customers trust Savvy
Over 10 + years of experience
Bad credit consultants
Obligation free application
All our car loan applications are obligation free so you don’t have to worry if you aren’t ready yet.
Who can we help?
Customers with defaults
Defaults on your credit file can cut off finance options from many of the bigger banks and can be difficult to overcome, as they stay imprinted in your history for five years. However, we partner with lenders who are willing and able to work with your situation. Our consultants know the product market, so we can help you find the right deal to fit with your profile.
Customers who want an older/used car
Because most car finance requires your car to be used as security to back up the loan, lenders can be picky when it comes to the types of cars they accept as collateral. Many major lenders will refuse to finance cars older than ten years. Our lenders are flexible, with some offering finance on vehicles up to 20 to 25 years old and others not capping their car age limit at all.
Customers with little to no borrowing history
To a lender, no credit history is about as good as having a bad one. Because they have no indication of how reliable you are as a borrower, most will swiftly reject your application. However, even if you haven’t borrowed before, our lenders can approve your car finance application if you can show us that your income is sufficient to comfortably handle repayments.
Customers who earn income via Centrelink
Borrowers whose Centrelink benefits make up a more substantial percentage of their income also struggle when it comes to getting approved for car finance. Our lenders are willing to work with customers who have alternative forms of income like Centrelink, especially those who derive up to, or more than, half of their income through benefit payments.
Casual employees and those under short-term employment
Most mainstream lenders will require applicants who work casually to have worked with the same employer for at least 12 months consistently, which isn’t always the case. Specialist lenders don’t impose the same restrictions on employment and are more open to accepting shorter-term employment in their car loan applications.
Self-employed customers
While part of conventional car loan application requirements typically involves supplying employment contracts and payslips, our specialist lenders can assist self-employed applicants, who may not have their financials up to date, explore their low doc finance options.
Customers who are ex-bankrupt or in a Part IX
Discharged bankrupts and those under a Part IX debt agreement face an uphill battle to access any sort of finance, including car loans. Our lenders are generally more interested in your current ability to service a loan than your past, so one of our consultants will lead you through the process and find the right finance deal to help you buy your car.
What factors increase your chances of approval?
Income and employment
These factors are perhaps the most important in determining how suited you are to repaying the loan. Lenders will look for applicants whose income will comfortably cover the loan’s repayment requirements. As part of this, they’ll want to see that you’re able to maintain consistency in your employment and aren’t at major risk of finding yourself out of a job. They won’t approve a loan for a customer whose monthly income is eaten away substantially by their car loan repayments, for instance.
Residential history
Lenders will also look to your residential history as an indicator of the strength of your application. This is because they want to see that your living arrangements are stable and unlikely to change or deviate too much into the future. Changes in these arrangements often lead to changes in costs like rent and lenders want to ensure that the loan can be financed no matter what.
Loan amount
Not all cars can be feasibly financed if you have a bad credit score. A lender will want to see a realistic loan amount in the applications that they consider: the lower the amount, the lower the risk. For example, no lenders will accept a $75,000 loan application for a bad credit customer, as they likely won’t be able to service the loan with interest on top of principal repayments.
Keep your spending in check
Your cost-of-living expenses and how much of a burden they place on you will inform your lender’s decision also. As mentioned previously, they’ll want to see that paying off your loan won’t make your life overall significantly more difficult. Also, if you can prove yourself to be relatively responsible with your money, it can go a long way towards helping your chances of approval.
Seek help
As part of your application, lenders will assess your credit report to determine whether there are recent default issues that may indicate further issues repaying debt. This will be particularly relevant if these defaults are of a similar nature to a car loan, which will be more likely to lead a lender to reject your application.
What our customers say about their finance experience
Savvy is rated 4.8 for customer satisfaction by 2838 customers.
Further bad credit car loan questions answered
If lenders and car loan brokers have deemed you to have bad credit or as a high risk, you may still have access to car finance. Unfortunately, these interest rates are noticeably higher than the usual market rates on offer to those who are in a prime borrowing position.
The best way to apply for your bad credit car loan is through submitting an enquiry with Savvy. From there, we can handle your application and ensure that you receive the best loan deal that works for you.
It can vary, but your consultant can get approval for you within the same day.
If you got a bad credit car loan and have been keeping up with repayments and obligations, you can look around to refinance your car loan with other lenders. You will need to prove you’re in a better financial position than before to a new lender. One other way is to trade in your current vehicle and pay out the bad credit car loan in full.
A Part IX Debt agreement is a formalised, legally-binding agreement between yourself and your creditors to pay back debts.
Yes – we can give you finance pre-approval so you know exactly how much you can spend on a car, and gain leverage over negotiating dealers.
Yes. However, you may run the risk of a higher interest rate due to the low residual value of your car. Ask your consultant for more details.
Yes, however we recommend you apply for a chattel mortgage or hire purchase. These are commercial finance packages designed specifically for business, and can save you on tax.
No – our consultants will help as much as possible to find a lender that will approve finance, even with defaults on your credit history. Of course, you must be prepared to accept higher than average interest rates.
No – you won’t be able to obtain proper financing solutions from a car dealership in the same way that you would from a broker. Savvy is a broker who can offer you solutions to your bad credit car financing needs and find the perfect deal for you.
No – each lender will assess your application differently, so there isn’t any way to guarantee you’ll be approved. All you can do is try to make yourself as appealing an applicant as possible, which will go a long way towards helping you get approved.
No, all lenders will conduct a credit check, there are some rent to own organisations that don’t but all financiers will. You shouldn’t be to concerned about a credit check when you look at a bad credit car loan, although there are limits to what lenders will accept there are many lenders that are very flexible when reviewing ones credit file. When you speak with Savvy, they will review your file to make sure that you application is sent to the right financier.
Yes they can be an instrument to repair your credit. Demonstrating you are responsible with your finances, your credit history will improve over time. It may take years – as much as seven years – but paying off a loan on time and in full will show other lenders you are a lower risk. In some cases, your risk profile may go down enough that you can refinance your car loan at a more favourable rate.