Car loans by type.

The maths of a car loan does not care what kind of borrower you are. A $20,000 loan at 9% over 5 years runs at roughly $102 a week whether it is your first loan or your fifth, whether you are employed or self-employed, whether the car is an EV or a diesel ute. What changes by loan type is the rate you are offered, the documentation the lender asks for, and the parts of the conversation that matter most.

A first-car loan runs off a thin or empty credit file, so rates are higher (9 to 14%) and a guarantor or deposit is often the deciding factor. A bad-credit loan is assessed under CCCFA responsible-lending obligations that ask for more paperwork at this tier, not less, and the practical goal is usually a 12-month stepping stone before refinancing to a mainstream lender. A self-employed loan requires two years of IR3 returns or an accountant's letter, and for heavy business-use vehicles a chattel mortgage may be a cleaner structure than a consumer car loan. An EV loan has to account for battery state-of-health on used examples and sometimes unlocks green-loan pricing on new ones. A used-car loan tightens up with age and kilometre caps, and a refinance only pays off once you have subtracted any break fee and modelled the remaining-term interest savings.

Each loan-type page below covers the realistic rate band, the documentation you will be asked for, and the specific pitfalls that catch out borrowers in that category. Pick the one that matches your situation; the underlying calculator stays the same.