Car finance lets you borrow money to buy a new or used vehicle, repaying it through monthly instalments. There are various loan types; "car finance" refers to them all. To choose a deal, decide how much you need, the loan term (usually 1–5 years), and your deposit, which can lower the total amount borrowed. After approval, you'll repay the loan plus interest each month, and in some cases, the loan is secured against the car.

There are two main types of car finance: hire purchase (HP) and personal contract purchase (PCP).

Hire Purchase: The loan is secured against the car, which you own only after completing all payments and the ‘Option to Purchase’ fee. A deposit may be required, but there are usually no mileage restrictions.

Personal Contract Purchase: Loans are secured against the car, but ownership isn’t guaranteed at the end; you can return the car, use equity for a new deal, or pay a balloon payment to keep it. Monthly payments are often lower than HP, though mileage limits typically apply.

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The best car finance option depends on your needs, the vehicle you want, and your intended use. With HP finance, you'll own the car after the loan term but face higher monthly payments and can't sell or swap the car during the agreement. A personal loan gives you full ownership and flexibility, though payments may also be high. PCP typically has the lowest monthly payments but includes mileage limits and does not guarantee ownership at term end. Whatever you choose, Hawkstone Motor Finance will help find the most suitable lender from our panel.

The most cost-effective method to finance a car depends on factors such as loan type, loan term, and annual percentage rate (APR). It is important to note that a loan with the lowest monthly payment may not be the least expensive overall, as total interest paid throughout the term could be higher.

PCP car finance may result in lower monthly payments than HP or personal loans because you do not borrow the vehicle's full value. Instead, the amount financed reflects the difference between the current price and the estimated value at the end of the agreement, known as the Guaranteed Minimum Future Value (GMFV). However, ownership of the car at the end of the term requires an additional balloon payment.

When you apply with Hawkstone Motor Finance, we’ll perform a soft credit check to see if we can get you approved by a lender, which may appear on your credit report but won’t affect your score. A hard credit check, which can impact your score, only happens if we send you to specific lenders, or when you decide to proceed with the finance. We can perform a soft search only to attain a car finance quote if you would like us to do so.

Yes. You can use the car finance calculator to estimate your monthly payments based on your desired loan amount, term length, and credit score. Simply enter the registration and mileage of the car you’re interested in, and our car finance calculator will do the rest.

With Hawkstone Motor Finance, applicants typically receive a decision within minutes. After submitting an application, if an approval in principle is obtained, an account manager will contact you to confirm your details and discuss subsequent steps.

Fill out our online application form, one of our team will aim to get you an approval, then we will liaise with the supplying dealer to get an invoice, we will send you the agreement to sign, we will pay the supplying dealer, and you can arrange collection or delivery directly with them.

We will only work with reputable dealers. Our compliance team will complete our mandatory due diligence on the dealer and let you know as soon as possible if we can work with them. If we can’t work with them, we will help you find a similar vehicle at an alternative dealership.

Once you know your desired loan amount or have chosen a car, start your application with a quote. Fill out our online form with personal, employment, income, and vehicle details so we can seek approval in principle from our lenders.

We’re often able to help customers that have been refused elsewhere. If you’ve been refused car finance elsewhere, don’t worry. Some of our lenders specialise in helping people with bad credit, so we’ll work to find a suitable option for you.

Contact credit reference agencies to understand what is on your credit profile that has had a negative impact on your ability to get car finance. Equifax and Experian are usually a popular choice amongst consumers. Understanding why you can’t get finance, will give you an idea on how you can improve it in the future.

We will receive a commission payment from the lender when you enter into an agreement with them. Commission arrangements can be based on a percentage of the balance financed which means we will be paid a commission for introducing you to the lender. This will be a percentage of the amount that you borrow. This means the more you borrow, the more we will be paid. The commission will be the same no matter the interest rate that you pay. We will tell you in good time before the agreement is made the amount of any commission we will earn from the lender. Some lenders opt for a flat fee commission model. We will be paid a commission for introducing you to the lender. This will be a flat fee amount. This means the commission will be the same no matter how much you borrow or the interest rate that you pay. We will tell you in good time before the agreement is made the amount of commission we will earn from the lender. We will not charge you a processing/admin fee for our brokering services.

Hawkstone Farley Group Ltd trading as Hawkstone Motor Finance is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with firm reference number 987531, and we comply with all legislation set out by the Financial Conduct Authority.