Westpac Car Loans
Westpac issues car loans for both new and used cars. Loans can be up to $100,000 for terms of up to seven years. Weekly, fortnightly and monthly repayments are available. Fees may apply if you repay your car loan early. Westpac also offers bank accounts, home loans, credit cards, personal loans, insurance, superannuation, financial planning and investment services. Westpac is Australia’s first and oldest bank, having begun life in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales. In 1982, it changed its name to Westpac Banking Corporation following the acquisition of the Commercial Bank of Australia.
About Westpac car loans
Westpac is one of Australia’s leading banks, offering a diverse array of financial services to customers and clients, not only under its own name, but through the St.George, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA and RAMS brands.
Car loans and personal loans are among Westpac’s services, along with transaction and savings accounts, credit cards and home loans. The low fixed interest rate means you can be confident that your car loan repayments will remain consistent and affordable for the full length of the loan term.
Westpac operates branches across Australia, and can also be contacted online via internet banking, or by phone. Additional car loan offers are also available from the other brands in the Westpac Group.
Features of a Westpac car loan
A Westpac car loan offers you a choice of repayment frequency options, depending on whether it would be simpler and easier for you to make payments towards your car loan weekly, fortnightly or monthly. You can borrow between $10,000 and $100,000 to buy a new or used car, and pay it off over a term of 1 to 7 years.
The option is also available to make extra repayments and get your car loan paid off early, with early exit fees only applying if a car loan with a term greater than two years is paid off in less than two years.
Customer service
- Customer service centre (phone)
- Mobile app
- Online banking
- Live Chat
- Branch
Pros:
- No early exit penalty (except for 2+ year loans paid out in
- Can apply online
- Can apply in branch
- Available for 457 visa holders
Cons:
- Monthly fee charged
- Application fee charged
- Requires security to be held (secured car loan only)
- Limited to new cars (unsecured personal loan only)
What RateCity says:
By securing your Westpac car loan against the value of your vehicle, you get to enjoy an interest rate that’s below the market average. However, the establishment fee is higher than average, and there are also ongoing monthly charges to consider.
The option to adjust the frequency of your repayments can make budgeting simpler, as you can match your car loan repayments to your employer’s payday schedule.
The option to make extra repayments and to pay off your car loan ahead of schedule with minimal penalties can mean saving a significant sum in interest charges. Even if you’re charged Westpac’s early exit fee for finishing a longer-term car loan in less than two years, this is a fixed fee, rather than being based on the remaining interest payments, so it’s possible you may come out still ahead financially.
Applying/eligibility
To apply for a Westpac car loan, you’ll need:
- to be 18 or over
- permanent regular income
- permanent Australian residency or an acceptable visa
- personal identification
- details of your current financial situation
You can apply online, over the phone, or at your nearest Westpac branch.
Westpac car loan repayment calculator
Total interest paid
$8,245
Total amount to pay
$38,245
Westpac car loans rates
Product | Advertised Rate | Comparison Rate* | Company | Monthly repayment | Upfront Fee | Loan amount | Total repayments | Go to site | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
7.49% Fixed | 8.68% | Car Loan | $601 | $250 | $10k to $100k | $36,060 | More details |
- Loan maximum of $100,000
- Repayments can be weekly, fortnightly or monthly
- Extra repayments allowed
- Loan minimum of $10,000
- Establishment fee charged
- Monthly fee charged
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FAQs
You don’t need good credit to get a car loan, although the worse your credit history, the harder and more expensive it’s likely to be.
Some lenders will do business only with borrowers who have good credit. However, there are other lenders that are willing to offer car loans to borrowers who don’t have good credit. The catch, though, is that they may charge higher interest rates and fees, and also require more paperwork.
If you don’t have good credit and want a car loan immediately, you can search for lenders that work with bad credit borrowers. If you are able to wait, you can work to improve your credit score and then apply for a car loan once you have good credit.
You may be able to get a no credit check car loan in certain circumstances, although it’s important to weigh up your options before doing so.
Most lenders refuse to provide no credit check car loans, because they don’t want to give loans to borrowers without first confirming that they have a track record of repaying debts. So any lenders that do provide no credit check car loans would take measures to protect themselves against the risk of default.
That’s why no credit check car loans have higher interest rates than other car loans. Also, borrowers often have to provide security and put down a larger deposit.
There are companies that claim to offer no credit check car loans. However, you may find that companies that offer no credit check car loans have high fees and high interest rates.
You might be better off finding a specialist lender who will look at your credit history and income, who will decide whether or not you are able to responsibility pay back the loan. Alternatively, you could contact a car finance broker.
Being a student is tough enough, and while you might find the odd student discount on movies and technology, the same can’t be said about car loans, as you can’t really get a discounted student car loan.
Lenders make money on the interest and fees that they charge with loans, and the lowest interest and fees are given to the most reliable credit holders: people with excellent credit history.
As a student, you are unlikely to have enough on your credit report to warrant an excellent history. There are however, ways of getting a lower interest car loan if you can’t get an interest-free loan from the bank of mum and dad. One way of doing this may be through getting a guarantor car loan, which can get you a secured car loan by setting your parents up as guarantors.
Poor credit doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to get finance for your car purchase, though your options aren’t likely to be the same as someone with good credit.
In fact, a number of specialist lenders exist offering car finance for customers with poor credit, able to provide access to bad credit car loans.
However having a history of poor credit will likely mark you as a potential risk to lenders, so your car financing needs could see higher fees and interest rates. Alternatively, consider a secured car loan, which is a type of loan that uses the car you purchase as collateral, reducing the risk.
Other options include getting someone close to act as a guarantor for your car loan, or to talk to a broker about a personalised rate specific to your circumstances.
A guarantor on a car loan is a third party, usually a relative or friend, who guarantees to meet the repayments of a loan for the purchase of a car, if the borrower/owner of the car defaults on the loan.
Guarantor car loans can be useful for people who would otherwise struggle in being accepted for credit to purchase a vehicle. These may include people with bad credit, students and young people who may have no credit history, as well as some pensioners.
Many lenders offer guarantor car loans, guarantor personal loans and guarantor home loans, because of the significantly reduced risk to the lender.
Yes, you can get a car loan with bad credit, although you’ll probably find the process trickier and dearer than that experienced by people who have good credit histories.
You can find a number of lenders that specialise in bad credit car loans. However, make sure you compare bad credit car loans before you sign on the dotted line, because not all car loans are alike and having bad credit may mean you are more likely to be hit with higher fees and interest rates.
If you have bad credit, it’s important not to take out a car loan unless you can afford the repayments because a default could further damage your credit rating. Conversely, if you make all the repayments and repay the loan successfully, your credit rating might improve.
While it’s not necessarily a guarantee, having a guarantor on your car loan will improve your chances of having your application accepted, and may mean that you are able to attain a lower interest rate loan.
Having a guarantor with excellent credit history and/or is a property owner reduces the risk to the lender because the payments are guaranteed by someone who is considered to be financially secure and reliable.
As such, even if your credit history isn’t perfect, a guarantor may be able to help you secure a lower rate from some lenders.
Student car loans are not a necessarily a product in and of themselves, but what you may be looking for is a guarantor car loan.
A guarantor car loan has a third-party act as a form of guarantee for your loan application, telling the bank or lender that if you default on your loan, someone will pay the loan repayments.
Going guarantor on a car loan is no new thing, and before internet-based credit scores, guarantor car loan applicants would apply for loans with a guarantor or property owner who could vouch for the person borrowing the loan.
To get a guarantor car loan, you’ll need someone willing to act as a guarantor for your car loan.
It’s up to individual car dealers to decide whether to promise to hold on to cars in exchange for deposits.
Some car dealers will request a deposit and promise, in return, to hold on to the car for a certain period of time. Others will request a deposit but make no guarantees, other than to return the deposit if they end up selling the car to someone else.
Some car dealers ask for deposits; others don’t. If you get asked for a deposit and you decide to pay it, make sure the dealer gives you signed paperwork before you make the payment and a receipt after you’ve made the payment.