Most people buying a used car will be taking out finance of some kind to pay for it, but there are plenty of options available in used car finance that make it worth shopping around rather than taking whatever a car dealer offers you.
With interest rates soaring, it’s more important than ever to make sure that you’re getting the best deal available when you’re taking out car finance. If you’re buying a used car from a franchised main dealership, they will usually steer you towards the car manufacturer’s own finance company when offering you a finance quote. But that’s mainly because it’s better for them, rather than for you – always bear in mind that car dealers get sales commission for selling you car finance, as well as for selling you a car.
Very few people even question whether the dealer’s finance offer is competitive, and only start looking around for alternatives if they are turned down for finance at the dealership. But when it comes to used cars, the manufacturer finance companies don’t usually offer any significant advantage. So if you’re looking to buy a used car, it absolutely pays to shop around for the best finance offer you can find.
Many independent finance brokers also specialise in bed credit car finance, for customers who struggle to be accepted by the car manufacturers’ own finance companies.
When taking out finance on a used car, the interest rate you pay on the money you’re borrowing will depend on a number of factors, like how much you’re borrowing and over how long, but a key factor is your credit history. If you have an excellent credit history, you might only pay about 7% APR. But if your credit history is poor, you could easily be paying more than 20%.
The sites below all list a ‘Representative APR’ number, which is what they expect at least 51% of customers to be offered. A higher Representative APR on a site usually means they help a larger number of sub-prime (bad credit) car finance applications, while a lower Representative APR often means they concentrate more on prime (good credit) customers.
So here’s our current list of some of the best sites for used car finance. These are mostly credit brokers, rather than lenders, which means they will find you the best deal available from the lenders who actually lend you the money.
We Finance Any Car*
They say: “We finance cars and take the hard work out of the process for you.”
Essex-based We Finance Any Car is one of the best-known used car finance brokers around, catering for both hire purchase (HP) and personal contract purchase (PCP). It offers a ‘Beat the Dealer’ feature, as well as a car finance calculator. The calculator should be taken as a guide rather than gospel, but it does give you an idea of how your monthly payment changes depending on your credit rating, term or amount borrowed.
With a Trustpilot score of 4.9 based on more than 200 reviews, We Finance Any Car is highly rated by its customers.
Rates from 9.9% APR. Representative APR 23.9%.
Motorly*
They say: “Motorly makes car finance simple.”
Motorly has a clear and easy-to-read site that explains everything quite well. Our main criticism is that it has about 24 unnecessary duplicate pages for “Car Finance in [your region here]” that are all exactly the same apart from the name of the city (“Car Finance in Glasgow” is – unsurprisingly – exactly the same as “Car Finance in Birmingham” aprt from the names of the cities). This is 2022, guys, and Google doesn’t work like that anymore.
Like all the providers on this page, Motorly can find you a finance deal from its panel of lenders and offers a choice of HP, PCP and personal loans.
Rates from 8.9% APR. Representative APR 22.9%.
Blue Motor Finance*
They say: “Delivering innovative car financing solutions”
Blue Motor Finance is a fairly new player in the car finance sector, but has rapidly built out a large number of customers to be ranked as Europe’s fastest-growing companies by the Financial Times for three years running. Unlike most of the companies here, Blue is a lender rather than a broker acting on behalf of another lender.
Working both directly with consumers and through dealer partnerships, Blue Motor Finance uses technology and data analytics to make its service easier to use for customers. It has won several awards along the way for the quality of its operations.
Blue’s website doesn’t give a lot of explanation and information, unlike more consumer-focused sites, but the online application form is clear and easy to work through.
Quick Car Finance*
They say: “The easy way to finance your car”
Quick Car Finance is another finance broker that offers hire purchase finance to all sorts of car buyers, with particular attention to sub-prime customers.
The site is bold and easy to navigate, including a car finance calculator that allows you to get an idea of either how much you can borrow or what your monthly payments are likely to be, depending on your financial situation.
The company also offers finance for motorbike or van buyers, so it’s not just limited to family vehicles.
All you need to do is complete the application form and you’ll get a list of offers, so you can select the best deal for your needs.
Rates from 8.9% APR. Representative APR 19.8%.
Zuto
They say: “We’re passionate about matching people to a finance package that’s right for them.”
You might have seen the familiar Zuto logo on Auto Trader, which is because it’s the site’s preferred finance partner. It also has a Trustpilot customer review score of 4.6 from more than 11,000 reviews, which suggests that the vast majority of customers are happy with the service they receive.
Zuto’s site has plenty of good explanatory content that explains the different requirements for differing circumstances. The site is quite clear that it only works with what it calls ‘verified dealers’ that meet its requirements. That may limit your choice of car somewhat, but it increases the chances of the whole experience running smoothly and without any drams berfore, during or after your car purchase.
Rates from 7.9% APR. Representative APR 19.3%.
Oodle
They say: “We’re the fastest growing motor finance company in the UK”
Founded in 2016, Oodle claims to have helped more than 150,000 customers buy a car. It works with more than 300 dealers across the UK, and has a digital wallet set-up called OodlePay. So once you’ve been approved for finance, you can visit one of those 300 dealers and buy a car on the spot. Oodle owns Carsnip, a used car search engine, so if you’re using Carsnip to search for your next used car then you’ll be looking at vehicles from approved Oodle dealers.
If you want a particular car that’s from a dealer outside the company’s network, you can get in touch and they’ll give the dealer a once-over to make sure they’re legitimate. Assuming that’s all good, you can then proceed.
Unlike most other used car finance sites, Oodle doesn’t promote bad credit car finance or “Rates from x%”. Their relatively low Representative APR of 15% also suggests that they don’t work with as many sub-prime customers as other sites on this list.
Representative APR 15%.
Car Finance 247
They say: “We’re here to help people improve their everyday lives.”
CarFinance 247 claims to be the largest online car finance broker site in the UK based on visitor numbers. It offers HP, PCP and personal loans, with additional emphasis on bad credit car finance. The site has lots of information about bad credit eligibility and different situations to help you understand whether you’re likely to be accepted for a loan.
The site talks a lot about ‘shaking up the system’ and ‘turning the traditional car finance process on its head’, but it’s the same process that all the other sites here use. And, like those other sites, it offers plenty of positive Trustpilot reviews from happy customers.
Rates from 9.9%. Representative APR 19.9%.
My Car Credit
They say: “Our award-winning technology combined with our broad lender panel improves your chances of being accepted for car finance.”
My Car Credit is part of Evolution Funding, which claims to be the UK’s largest motor finance credit broker. The Representative APR is the lowest on this list – that doesn’t mean you’re likely to be offered a lower interest rate on your loan, but it suggests that My Car Credit doesn’t do a lot of bad credit car finance.
The loan calculator on the site gives a clear indication of a typical interest rate for different credit ratings, from 6.9% APR for ‘excellent’ to 29.9% APR for ‘bad’. As always, this is just an indication and you may be offered a rate that is higher or lower depending on your specific circumstances.
Representative APR 10.9%.
MatchMe
They say: “We match car finance to you”
Match Me Car Finance has a very clean and simple website with all the relevant information clearly visible on the front page. Like most sites here, there is a page of largely pointless blog articles that have nothing to do with car finance, but at least they’re hidden away out of sight…
The Representative APR information is clearly stated up front, which is nice. There’s not a lot of explanation of different finance products or options, with only a minor mention of hire purchase.
Rates from 6.9% APR. Representative APR 21.9%.
Choose My Car
They say: “Going the extra mile to get the car and finance you deserve.”
Like Fairsquare, Choose My Car shows you a range of cars from their affiliated dealerships that fit into your monthly budget. The site’s homepage is well laid out, but unfortunately the explanations are basically word salad as they try to fit as many car finance keywords into each paragraph in an attempt to grab Google’s attention.
However, there is a nice table that clearly shows the different finance products they offer and the features of each so you can compare. There’s also a good FAQ section with helpful information, but unfortunately both of these features are hidden away in a sub-menu rather then being presented up front where they would be more useful.
Rates from 7.9% APR. Representative APR 21.4%.
Carvine
They say: “We deliver the best vehicle finance deals for all of our customers regardless of their circumstances.”
Carvine puts equal weighting on its van financing and its car financing. There’s a particular emphasis on bad credit car finance for people who have been turned down by car dealer finance providers or banks. On that theme, there are some helpful links to consumer advice services like StepChange and the Money Advice Service, among others.
The site is simple and clear, although some of the descriptions could be clearer. There’s also the usual collection of pointless blogs about ‘the best car-inspired baby names’ and other nonsense. That probably won’t help you with your car finance application, although it may explain how you came to be called Edsel or Mercedes or 911 Carrera…
Rates from 6.9% APR. Representative APR 24.9%.
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This article was originally published in March 2022. Last updated June 2023.
The Car Expert has commercial partnerships with Blue Motor Finance, Motorly, Quick Car Finance, Specialist Car Finance and We Finance Any Car. If you click through to their websites, we may receive a small contribution.
