Start with the basics
- Car finance explainedHow car finance works, the main types, and what lenders check before they lend.
- Hire purchase (HP)Fixed monthly payments, no mileage limit, and the car is yours at the end.
- Personal contract purchase (PCP)Lower monthly payments, an optional final payment, and three choices at the end.
- Balloon hire purchaseHP with a larger final payment, and how to plan for it.
If your credit history isn’t perfect
Approval is never certain, but it can still be possible. These guides explain the costs and what lenders look for.
- Bad credit car financeWhat counts as bad credit, what it can cost, and how to improve your chances.
- Car finance with an IVAWhy you usually need your supervisor's consent first.
- Car finance on Universal CreditHow lenders look at Universal Credit, and whether a car affects your claim.
- Car finance on PIPWhether lenders count PIP as income, and how finance compares with Motability.
- Car finance on benefitsWhich benefits lenders may consider, and what evidence they need.
How we write our guides
Every guide is researched against official sources such as GOV.UK, the Financial Conduct Authority and MoneyHelper, and shows the date it was last checked. We give the costs and risks as clearly as the benefits, and we never claim that anyone is certain to be approved. Read more about how we work.