The distinct difference between a personal loan and a car loan (or sometimes known as a secured loan) is the car loan has some sort of security (usually the car you are buying) lodged against it. The security is used as a surety that the money will be paid back, and if it isn’t the car can be taken back to recoup the funds. Personal loans are unsecured, meaning there is nothing the finance company can recoup to sell and pay off the loan. Personal loans can be used to purchase cars, motorbikes, boats and equipment still, but as they are more ‘risky’ to a lender, they usually attract a higher interest rate and are harder to obtain.

People who are casually employed find it difficult to get a loan when they have only been in the same job for less than 12 months. We will still consider all manner of different employment situations. Our advice is to get in touch with us and let us have a look at your whole financial profile: we may just be able to help.

With the implementation of The National Consumer Credit Protection Act in 2010, the responsibility is on the the lender to ensure that all applicants can comfortably afford to live and repay the loan. Because of this, all lenders have set living expense guidelines to which we have to adhere. However it is still possible to help people on some Centrelink incomes to get a reasonable loan to help with purchasing a car or motorbike. Talk to us about your circumstances and we will tell you very quickly if we can help. We are not a pay day lender and cannot assist with unsecured loans or short term loans for people receiving only Centrelink income.

Yes, we are happy to assist with the purchase of private sale vehicles including motorbikes and boats. Cars must have a Road Worthy Certificate and can and will be registered. There is a lot less protection and a lot more paperwork than if you were buying a car from a Licensed Motor Dealer, but we are here to help with that. We can complete the private sale vendor documentation and also complete the Encumbrance and Write-Off checks for you to make sure you are getting what you have paid for.

There are two main types of Bankruptcy. The first type is a Debt Agreement or Part 9 Bankruptcy. As long as you are physically discharged, or have paid at least 50% of the agreement and the agreement holder consents we will look at the positives of your situation rather than completely exclude you for the negatives. The second type, Part 10 or Full Bankruptcy requires you to be completely discharged to apply for a loan. Once discharged we are happy to consider your loan on its merits and try and assist for a reasonable lend. It helps to show since the bankruptcy you have been able to control your financial situation without any trouble, and we could only help with getting you a secured car loan. Talk to us now and see how we can help.

We currently only lend to residents of Queensland, however if you are not physically near one of our offices or it is inconvenient to get to one during office hours we are still happy to assist with the use of email to complete documents, but you will need to have access to a JP to finalise the contracts.

Yes – and we encourage this to ensure that you can shop with confidence. All we need is an idea of what you want to buy and the approximate price range. Either contact us or complete an application form online.

We often help people who have had some trouble in their past. We will always try and find the positives of what your financial situation is now, not dwell on the past. If you have had issues such as Defaults, Judgments or Bankruptcy on your credit file, we will as you questions about how and why these occurred to get a better understanding of the background behind them, not just decline because they are there. However, when defaults are still present on your credit file the finance is deemed to be of higher risk, and the interest rates are often higher than ‘Prime’ lending options. Contact us to see what we can offer.

No, as part of the NCCP Act guidelines, prior to making a decision on the application we are required to ensure you are able to comfortably afford both the loan repayments, any other loans you have and your living expenses. It can be as simple as providing your last payslip with your Year To Date earnings displayed on it, and you can fax, email or post these to us. If you don’t get a payslip we can often use your last 3 months bank statements or a recent lodged tax return and notice of assessment from the ATO instead. We will require this documentation prior to assessing the application for you. If you have any situation out of the norm, just call or chat to us now and we will see what we can do.

To be able to assess your application we need proof of all income and 3 months bank statements. You can drop in to our office with these or email, fax or post them. To make it a bit easier we have an online statement portal on our website (see Statements in the Menu) that you can log into with your internet banking details and it sends us your last 3 months bank statements. If you have a MyGov login it can also send us your latest Centrelink statement.

In line with the National Consumer Credit Protection Act introduced in 2010 we are required to prove that you can afford comfortably the loan we would provide you, and that giving you a loan won’t place you in a position of hardship. Your last 3 months bank statements is a requirement we have so we can see a snapshot of your current financial situation, and better understand your incoming and outgoing costs to make an informed decision on your loan application.

We are loan providers or ‘Lenders’. We assess your current financial and make an informed decision about lending you money for cars, trucks, vans, boats, business equipment, machinery, tractors, trailers, mowers, caravans, boats, jetski’s, motorcycles, ATV’s, business furniture, fittings and equipment, medical costs, cosmetic surgery, debt consolidations and more! We are not a pay day or short term lender that assists with small loans over a few weeks or months to cover day to day bills.

For most applications, it only takes a few hours after we have all the supporting documents we need (payslips and 3 months bank statements as a minimum), but in some instances with complex or difficult applications it can take up to a few days. Rest assured we will keep in contact with you through the whole process so you know where we are up to. Once approved and documents are signed, the person or dealership you are making the purchase from will be paid immediately.

According to research conducted in 2014, of the 1.4 million were cars sold by ‘private sale’ in Australia. 5 % (that’s 70 000 cars!!) of those car buyers were misled or deceived about some aspect of the car. Predominantly this is by people selling cars that are still encumbered to a loan that has not been paid in full. Put simply, the seller could sell the car, put the money in his pocket and keep paying the loan off on the car. Whilst illegal, if the seller keeps paying the payments it would never effect you unless you then tried to sell the car, but if he doesn’t, the car you have paid for in full could be repossessed.

The PPSR Register is a database with information about every car in Australia. By doing a quick PPSR check prior to making a purchase of a private sale car, you can find out information such as : 
• the basic vehicle information (Make, Model, Colour etc)
• if there is any money owing on the car still
• if the vehicle has been recorded as stolen
• if the vehicle has been recorded as a write-off

With the recent hail storms around Queensland there are quite a lot of ‘repairable write-offs’ being sold as well, which may have only had some cosmetic damage that has no been fixed but it is forever marked on the PPSR register as a write-off and it seriously diminishes the saleability and value of the car.

There is no need to complete a PPSR check on a vehicle being purchased from a Licensed Motor Dealer as they have to provide you with a clear search as part of their sale conditions.

ASTUTE will automatically do a PPSR check for you before you purchase a private sale car, so you can buy with confidence and make sure you are getting what you pay for. It’s all a part of the service!

It is an unfortunate trend growing in the lending community that they do not provide you with a reason why you were declined for a loan rather just saying ‘you didn’t meet our lending guidelines’. We hate that too. If we can’t help you now we will clearly explain why, and also give you some clear and concise steps to take so we can help you in the future.