Refused Car Finance
What’s your monthly budget?
Rates from 9.9% APR. Representative APR 13.9%. We are a credit broker, not a lender.
Representative example: Borrowing £7,500 over 60 months with a representative APR of 13.9%, flat rate of 7.25% and deposit of £0.00, the amount payable is £170.98 per month, with a total cost of £2758.68 and a total amount payable of £10,258.80.
Refused car finance? You can always try again
Being refused car finance doesn’t always mean the end of the road. We specialise in helping people with bad credit find accessible, affordable finance deals.
Can I still get car finance if I’ve been refused before?
Being refused car finance before doesn’t mean you won’t find a deal elsewhere. There are all sorts of reasons that you might’ve had your application rejected in the past – many of which can be rectified or improved to increase your chances of approval if you were to apply again.
We can’t guarantee we’ll be able to help you get car finance, but we can guarantee our expertise in helping thousands of people who’ve been in your position find a deal that works on a car they love. Between our experience in bad credit finance and our network of specialised lenders, we’re in a great position to give you the best chance to find the finance deal you’ve been looking for.
Why have I been refused car finance?
- Poor credit history
Finance companies use your credit history as their main source of information when assessing how much risk you present to them as a borrower. If you have a bad credit score (which spans from poor financial behaviours like missing or not fulfilling payments with other lines of credit), you’ll be considered a high-risk applicant, which may lead to refusal. There’s no set line for what defines bad credit. Every lender has their own standards for approval and refusal. This is why it’s potentially beneficial to apply for finance with lenders who specialise in bad credit financing, as you may stand a better chance of approval.
- Affordability
Through your credit check, lenders will be able to work out if you can realistically afford the finance agreement you’ve applied for. Your credit check lets lenders know key numbers like your income and outgoings, so you’ll be refused the loan if you apply for a deal a lender considers too risky for your current financial situation.
- Employment status
Unemployed or self-employed people often struggle to get car finance because of limited or inconsistent income. In both instances, your would-be lender will be concerned you won’t be able to honour your payments for the duration of the deal.
- Other potential issues
You need to be 18 years old to get a finance deal in the UK, but even if you’re over 18, you might find some lenders don’t offer finance to applicants below a certain age. Finance companies also won’t accept provisional licences for most loan types, so make sure you’ve passed your test and have a full licence to show off before applying.
What to do if you’ve been refused car finance
Refusal can be disheartening, but it’s important to recognise that most issues that lead to rejection can be rectified immediately or over time. If you have been on the end of a refused application, here’s what you can do:
Find out why you were refused car finance
This should be the first thing you do after any finance refusal. Knowing the factors that contributed to your rejection will help you on two fronts: first, knowing what you need to change and, second, getting an idea of whether it’s worth reapplying (immediately or once you’ve made the changes you need to) or looking for an alternative solution.
Check your credit report for mistakes
You might find that your credit report has inaccurate information on it. Elements like income and whether you have a mortgage can make a massive difference to your credit score, so if things aren’t up to date, tell your credit reference agency so your current financial status is fairly reflected.
Check your eligibility with different lenders
As mentioned earlier, we’re bad credit specialists. That means we work with lenders more open to working with applicants with financial issues. You may find applying through us finds you a finance deal you didn’t have access to when you applied previously because our network is better suited to your application.
Look for a cheaper deal
If you’ve faced affordability issues, a simple solution is to look at cheaper options. This reduces the amount of money you’ll need to borrow and can potentially boost your affordability check – to the point where finance companies are willing to lend to you.
Take some time to improve your credit or affordability
If your eligibility is being affected by poor credit or a perceived lack of affordability, there’s nothing wrong with taking a step back to work on improving your credit score. Boosting your credit rating and chances of approval comes from showing positive financial behaviours like:
- Paying off your existing debts on time and in full.
- Generating a more consistent income.
- Saving up to offer a bigger deposit upfront.
- Offering to add a guarantor to your deal.
Improving your credit score is a good idea in general, but it’s up to you whether it’s worth waiting until things have improved to try again with a car finance deal.
How Hippo can help if you've been refused car finance
As bad credit and zero deposit specialists, we take pride in helping those that others won’t – and we’ve helped thousands of customers over the years who’ve previously been refused finance find an affordable finance deal.
Our panel of lenders has been handpicked to offer better chances of approval for people who’ve faced or are facing financial struggles. While we can’t guarantee approval for every customer, our expertise and network put us in a great position to help – and you might find you can get approved straight away because of the finance companies we work with.
Applying couldn’t be easier. If you want to know whether you’re likely to get finance with one or more of our lenders, our free soft credit check offers you a fast, free and no-impact way of finding out. It takes two minutes to fill out, won’t affect your credit score* and you’ll typically get a decision in around half an hour.**
We offer an end-to-end service with dedicated account managers to accompany you through every part of the car financing process. No matter your situation, we’re here to help five you the best chance of finding finance after a refusal.
Check your eligibility with us today
Our free soft credit check is the perfect place to start with finding out your chances of approval for car finance. Applying takes two minutes and, most importantly, won’t affect your credit score. We can usually let you know in under an hour if you’re pre-approved with one or more of the lenders we work with.
If you’d rather speak to us, we’re only a phone call away.
Refused car finance FAQs
Does being refused car finance affect your credit score?
Credit refusals aren’t logged on your credit report. So, a finance company can’t see the result of your application – but they can see the hard credit check carried out when you applied for that credit. Hard credit checks are performed every time you formally apply for finance (it’s the step after our soft credit check if you wish to continue), and doing too many of them in a short space of time can negatively impact your credit score.
Essentially, you don’t need to be worried about a big red-stamped rejection being on your credit report, but too many hard searches in a short period tend to offer a bad impression to lenders and may affect your chances of approval the next time around.