Car finance for bad credit.

When we search for car finance options for you, we’ll perform a check on your credit profile. This is so we can try and match you with the most appropriate lender and best option available from our lending panel.

We’ll then contact the lender we think can offer the best finance option for your circumstances. They may choose to perform a full credit search, which will be noted on your credit history and can affect your credit profile. Or they may only perform a soft search, which can only be seen by you, not other lenders.

Which they decide will depend on individual circumstances. If you’re worried about getting credit, we’d recommend you have a look at your credit report before applying and see if there are any changes you can make to improve your credit score. You can access your credit report for free through one of our partners, Clear Score, click here.

Unlike other online brokers, Zuto will not charge any fees for checking vehicle history or helping arrange finance.

If you’re in need of a vehicle quickly, we do offer an express purchase service for some lenders. This guarantees payment for the vehicle within 24 hours and there’s a charge of £40 for this service, but it’s entirely optional.

In some cases, car dealers or lenders may charge an administration fee, but if this is the case, we’ll let you know.

Approval for car finance always depends on your personal circumstances and your ability to repay the loan. So, if you can show that you’re able to make the monthly payments, we’ll match you with a lender who’s happy to offer you the car finance you need.

Zuto may be able to help regardless of your credit rating. We have helped thousands of people who have experienced credit problems in the past.

If your bankruptcy has ended and you’ve been discharged, you can apply for finance again. Your bankruptcy usually lasts one year, and when it’s finished you’ll receive a letter which states that you are now ‘a discharged bankrupt’.

You may wish to wait a few months to try and rebuild your credit score before you start to apply for credit again, as it may be seen as negative if you start trying to get credit straight away. It’s also worth bearing in mind that if you’ve been made bankrupt, your credit score will have been severely damaged. This usually means you’ll be excluded from the best rates available, so your finance will cost more in the long run.

If you are still bankrupt, unfortunately we won’t be able to help you. This is not because we don’t want to, it’s because taking further credit at the level you’d need to buy a car, when you’re bankrupt, is legally not allowed.

Zuto does have lenders who are willing to lend to people who are currently in an IVA, for example, if you have entered into an IVA and have to sell your vehicle to get a cheaper one. This can usually be arranged when the car you’re looking to sell is worth more than £5,000.

Being in an IVA will have damaged your credit score, and having a damaged credit score will affect the rate of interest you are offered on any finance options available to you and you are not likely to be offered the best rates.

When you’re in a DMP, you are still eligible to apply for finance. However, again you will find that the rates you are offered will be less attractive than those for people with good to perfect credit histories.

You may still be able to secure finance through Zuto if you have incurred a CCJ. If you paid the full amount of a CCJ within a month you can get the judgment removed from the register. Meanwhile, if you paid after a month, you can get the record marked as ‘satisfied’ in the register. You need to contact the court to and prove payment to get the record changed and an administration fee will apply, typically £15.

The longer ago you had the CCJ was, the less likely lenders are to take account of it. We’d recommend you look at any judgments against you on the register of judgments. This will cost £4. If the information on the register is wrong, you can contact Trust Online, who will check the details with the court.

You can do this in a number of ways. For example, set up direct debits for your household bills to ensure you don’t miss any payments. Over a few months, this will indicate to a potential lender that you are up-to-date with your on-going monthly overheads. In addition, you could get a prepaid credit card where you preload money onto a card before using it to pay for things. These cards help you to build up a credit history but don't require any credit checks or proof of income to apply.

If you’ve simply missed a payment, you can help your chances of approval when applying for new credit by adding a ‘notice of correction’, to your credit file. This is a statement of up to 200 words in which you can offer an explanation as to why you missed a repayment. Lenders may review this in determining whether to accept your credit application.

If you’re worried about your current credit score, we’d recommend gaining access to your file. Our partner, ClearScore, lets you access your credit file for free.