Secured Car Finance

Posted by | Posted in finance | Posted on 11-05-2009

What is the real difference in cost and conditions between car loans that are secured or a unsecured personal loan and how that difference affects your finance and their repayments. The difference can vary depending on the bank or finance company, but is superior when the true cost of each is taken into account.

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of car loans packages , let’s first have a look at the different components that determine the cost of your credit and of your monthly repayments. The cost of the car finance package is the total you repay less the sum borrowed. Hence, let’s say you are repaying $20,000 at 12% interest rate over 36 months; you will repay at the rate of $664.29 per month. That would total a repayment of $23,914.44, and the cost of the loan would be $3,914.44 plus any set-up or administration fees. A car loan calculator will helps you calculate car finance online.

An other to a loan package would be car hire purchase (HP), where you hire the car over the repayment period and obtain the title to the motor car with your final payment. Until then the motor car belongs to the HP company.

However, most loans are either secured or unsecured, and not all financiers offer unsecured car loans so let’s look at secured car finance first. Secured car loans is one whereby the lender offers the loan with the car as security. If you fail to make payments, the lender can sell the car to recoup their money. It could be probable to get a secured car loanon older motor vehicles, often 7 years, but the finance term could be shorter than 5 yearsor not at all by using your home or some other form of security. These are not exactly classed as car financing. normally the car is used as security over the loan.

Secured car loans can include on-road expenses such as the registration, loan insurance and comprehensive car insurance as part of the financing deal. Loan insurance makes sure that the finance is paid off in the event of your death during the loan period, and comprehensive car insurance is required to make sure that the van is in fine condition should it be needed to repay the loan in the event of you defaulting on your payments.

This might all sound like doom and gloom, but these are standard conditions for any secured loan, not only car loans. Secured car loans terms are from 1-7years, and the interest rate will be lesser than that for an unsecured car finance where the loan company charges extra to compensate for their added risk. If you put deposit or trade amount off the finance this will lower the repayments, or a shorter term, whichever you prefer.

To reduce payments a balloon might be a valid option, which is an amount borrowed where you pay interest only and finalised the principle when finalising the loan. This is well-liked by those whose income will increase over the period, and they will be in a advance financial view to pay a lump sum in 3 - 5 years time. This too results in either a cheaper repayment per monthor a shorter repayment duration.

If you are looking to purchase a used car, your loan will be priced differently according to the lender and the age of your car. Many will charge higher car finance interest rates, and the current credit crisis has changed the outlook of scores of lenders to unsecured car finance in particular. Many no longer offer unsecured loans due to the increased risk in the current financial climate.

However, they are still accessible, and some car loan brokers can assist in getting you a good low rate unsecured car loan. In addition to the car finance rates, you should also compare the fees charged, since they can involve a extensive outlay for you before you get the loan.

The major differences between secured and unsecured car loans, therefore, can be summed up as:

Secured finance are cheaper to repay, with normally lower rates.

Secured loans demand fully comprehensive car insurance, while unsecured financing will not.

Both finance packages could require life insurance cover for the loan, but secured car loans are more likely to.

You can sometimes include insurance, registration and other costs in the secured loan, but with an unsecured car loan you must take account of the the costs on top of the amount borrowed.

Fees for unsecured auto loans can be significantly higher than for secured finance.

Not all finance companies will put forward unsecured car loans.

There few doubts that if your car is young enough to be given a loan with the motor car as security, then that should be your option. You might be able to arrange a secured loan for an older car with your dwelling as security, but you will have to make sure to maintain the loan repayments since lenders are becoming unsympathetic in the current economic down turn.