Santander Car Loan

Features include:

Whether you’re buying your first car or upgrading to a newer model Santander car loan gives you the freedom to purchase your car exactly where you want to.

• Borrow from £1,000 to £25,000. Please note, you must be an existing Santander customer to apply for loans above £20,000
• Loans are not secured against the car you buy
• No limit to how many miles you do in your car, unlike some car finance
• No upfront payment – your first repayment is 30 days after the loan is agreed
• No administration fee

Different providers may offer consumers different ways with which they could potentially purchase a car, for instance depending on how much the individual wants to borrow they may be able to take out a personal or homeowner loan, which they could use to facilitate the purchase of a car, some lenders or vehicle dealers might also offer hire purchase or car leasing schemes.

Personal loan

Personal loans are generally offered up to a maximum of £25,000. The borrower is usually able to select the duration of the repayment period, durations are usually available for periods of between one and seven years; however, this will vary depending on the lender. It is important to remember that extending the time period over which you repay the loan will also increase the amount of money pay overall. This type of loan is also referred to an ‘unsecured loan’ as the borrower is not required to put up any assets as security on the loan.

Homeowner Loans

Also referred to as ‘secured loans’, as the borrower is required to use an asset, such as the equity in their home as security on the loan. This means that failure to keep up with repayments could result in their home being repossessed.  Secured loans are generally available for amounts greater than £25,000.

Hire Purchase

Some providers may offer Hire-purchase schemes, how they work can vary depending by plan and provider. Often the borrower is required to put down a deposit of around 10% of the car’s value, they then pay the rest of the value of the car in installments over a time period of up to five years. The borrower is essentially renting the vehicle until the point at which they make the final payment, after which it belongs to them. This type of loan is secured against the vehicle.

Car Leasing

This method more like renting a car on a long-term basis. Unlike with hire purchase you do not own the car after your final monthly payment. Schemes referred to as ‘Personal contract purchase’ may grant the option to purchase the car at the end of the contract by paying a ‘balloon payment’.  Under a ‘personal contract hire’ you never own the vehicle and have to give it back at the end of the contract.  These types of scheme also impose mileage restrictions on the vehicle.

Before taking out car finance

As with any kind of loan or finance, when using one of these methods to purchase a car it is important that you make sure you understand all of the terms and conditions of the contract before taking one out.

You may also want to consider other purchase methods, for instance if you do have the required cash in savings it may be better to use this, as the interest that accrues on your savings may be less than the interest you would be required to pay on a loan of the same size.

When thinking about getting a new car there are a range of options, people can use to pay if they don’t have the required savings, such as hire purchase, car leasing or taking out a loan. As such you might be wondering if a Santander loan is the right choice for you.

When looking for a loan it’s a good idea to shop around to find the best deal available to you, for the type of loan you want. You can use the tables on this website to view a selection of loans from different providers and follow the links to find out more.