Car Loans For Doctors
Get a lower interest rate when you compare car loans for doctors with Savvy. 100% online applications, faster results.
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Savvy Editorial TeamFact checked
Are you a doctor looking for cost-effective car loan options? It’s important to find the best finance option to suit your needs, with a wide range of lenders on the market able to help.
Let Savvy help you with car finance solutions tailored to medical professionals. Get a quick quote for your car loan and get approved today.
Competitive interest
12 months to seven-year loan terms
Flexible repayments
No early termination fees
Fixed interest rates
New and used cars approved
No deposit required
Balloon payment options
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Car loans for doctors explained further
What are my car loan options as a doctor?
Doctors have several car finance options.
Personal car loan
Firstly, you can use a standard doctor’s car loan, on which self-employed doctors can still claim the interest on the business portion of repayments. The most significant advantage of doing this is that there’s no limit on usage. With commercial car loan products, you’ll need to use the car for work at least 50% of the time, which might not be the best solution if you use the car for driving the kids around more than you do for business, for instance.
Chattel mortgage
Secondly, self-employed doctors can consider using a chattel mortgage to buy a car. That’s a commercial vehicle finance option that works in much the same way as a secured car loan, but you get some additional tax and GST positives. You can claim for depreciation on your new car and all of the interest on repayments for the business portion of use, as well as also claim back all the GST on the purchase price the next time you file a business activity statement for your practice.
Chattel mortgage car finance also runs for anything between 24 and 60 months, but some lenders allow a seven-year repayment period. Like a secured car loan, you can choose to use a deposit or borrow the entire cost of your new car. A chattel mortgage is suitable for companies, partnerships and sole traders – making it an excellent choice for many medical professionals and practices.
Car lease
Car leases work in a slightly different way to chattel mortgages and vehicle loans. Borrowers never take ownership of the car during the term, but can claim the entire amount of repayments as an expense when it comes to tax time. Lenders offer fully-maintained car lease options, where you can bundle the cost of fuel, insurance, maintenance and servicing into your regular payments.
Which finance you decide to use will come down to how much private work you do and the proportion of your work that’s salaried.
How do car loans for doctors work and how are they different?
Most car loans follow a pretty standard structure, meaning you won’t receive a wholly different product for medical professionals such as doctor or a nurse. You use your car as security, which means interest rates tend to be lower than for products like unsecured personal loans. You can repay a doctor’s car loan over anything between one and seven years, and you can choose to use a deposit or borrow 100% of the value of your new vehicle.
If you speak with one of Savvy’s consultants, they’ll instantly compare the best options out there based on a couple of different factors – which differ between loan providers. We’ll match you with the product and lender that works best for your specific requirements and circumstances. Here’s how that works:
- The primary components determining the cost of a car loan for doctors are the interest rate and fees. Lenders set the rate according to your profile, examining your income, spending, and borrowing history. As such, car loans for doctors tend to offer favourable interest terms due to employment stability and higher income.
- Additional charges come in two main forms: an establishment fee and regular account fees. The former is a one-time sum that gets added to your loan amount, while the latter typically gets charged on a monthly basis along with your repayment. These fees vary substantially between lenders: establishment fees can be as low as $100 and as high as $700, while monthly account fees range between $10 and $40. These are also likely to be lower for doctors for the same reason as interest rates.
Car loan document requirements for doctors
ID and proof of address
For this type of documentation, you’ll need photo ID – such as a driver’s licence or passport – and a recent phone or utility bill.
Bank statements
Lenders examine your last 90 days’ worth of bank statements to estimate your disposable income. You can allow secure third-party access via an app on the lender’s website. It’s read-only, so your information is safe at all times.
Borrowing
Lenders use a combination of your bank statements and credit report to check your current and past borrowing. They’ll also need to see copies of mortgage statements, credit card statements, and details of any other loans you currently hold.
Assets
Lenders will require details of your superannuation, any shares you own, as well as other tangible assets like vehicles, boats, and commercial property. You can use insurance documents by way of demonstrating the value of physical assets if necessary.
Payslips and financials
If you’re employed, lenders will need to see payslips covering the last few months. Self-employed doctors can apply for a car loan by uploading accounts and tax statements for the previous two financial years. Some lenders even allow you to do that via cloud-based accounting software.
Your vehicle
Both chattel mortgages and car loans for doctors use your vehicle as security, so you’ll need to provide details about the car you’re buying – plus, fully comprehensive insurance certificate. Before settlement, the lender will need to see a purchase invoice for the vehicle too.
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Answers to your frequently asked car loan questions
Yes – doctors can find a car loan when they’re on a non-resident visa. You may be asked to provide a deposit, and the loan term must finish at least a few months before your visa expires. You’ll need to be in solid employment and have an excellent financial record during your time in Australia. Lenders reserve the right to offer a shorter car loan for temporary visa holders.
Residual amounts are also called balloon payments. It’s when you choose to repay a percentage of your car loan or chattel mortgage at the end of your loan term instead of with regular repayments throughout the term. When the loan period ends, the residual becomes due. At that point, you can choose to trade up your car for a new model and use the remaining value of the vehicle to pay the residual, pay in cash or refinance the balloon payment and effectively extend the term. The primary advantage of an optional residual is your regular repayments will be lower.
Whether you use a car loan or a chattel mortgage, you own the car during the term. With a car lease, the lender assumes all the ownership risks. You do get a chance to make an offer and buy the car, but you don’t own the vehicle during the finance term.
Absolutely. Also known as self-declaration loans, these products are intended for situations where your practice financials may not meet traditional requirements. They use the chattel mortgage structure, with identical tax and GST benefits to a standard-document application. Lenders prefer asset-backed low doc car finance borrowers and will likely insist on a 20% deposit if that’s not the case.
You can. If you’re doing unsociable shifts, you can sit down and upload documents plus fill in forms any time of the day or night, seven days a week. If you’re really busy and can only snatch a few minutes here and there, you can save and return to online applications, too. Lender assess applications during business hours and the majority get processed in one or two working days.
Yes. Whether you’re upgrading a business vehicle or using a secured car loan, you can still use a trade-in at the dealership.