As a self-employed applicant, you do not always meet with approval in credit matters at the car bank or the house bank. However, a car loan for the self-employed does not have to become an insurmountable task, if you consider a few points and are aware of the different options for vehicle financing. You can buy the car through a private or commercial financing, use an installment loan without earmarking or alternatively think about leasing.
Above all the free financial market offers favorable conditions and variety with the autocredit. If you are self-employed, it often looks difficult with the protection of the vehicle financing. But there are solutions, for example, you can deposit the purchased vehicle as collateral and offer the lender the entry in the vehicle registration certificate. In these articles we would like to show you how to get private or commercial financing and get the car loan as a self-employed person without too high interest rates.
Private or commercial vehicle financing?
Tip
Depending on whether the car is to be used for private or business purposes, private or commercial financing is an option for the car purchase.
Before you explicitly choose a credit offer, you should consider whether you prefer financing through your trade or privately. If the car is used mostly for business, commercial financing may be the best solution. Especially when building up a fleet of vehicles, it can be advisable to think about commercial financing and exclude a private car loan. In this case, you are not liable with your private assets, but bear the responsibility in the car loan for self-employed within the framework of the company. If commercial financing for a car or the entire fleet is on the agenda, you should not rely primarily on the car dealer.
In many cases, if you are self-employed and want to finance commercially, you will get more favorable conditions on the free financial market than through the car bank. In commercial and personal vehicle financing, the 3-way car loan has proven itself and has distinguished itself as one of the most affordable financing options available.
You make a down payment, repay the loan installments during the term and pay a final installment at the end of the term. This practice is similar to leasing. Is offered by the car bank. To find the best solution for you, you should compare several options when applying for a car loan for self-employed persons and not be led directly by the first offer of financing.
This is important
For private car financing, the 3-way car loan has established itself. In addition to the normal monthly loan installments in the specified term, there are two additional payments in this case. At the beginning of the loan a down payment. A final installment at the end. Auto banks offer this type of financing, which is similar to leasing.
Self-employed – Why the car bank can refuse the vehicle financing
Only a few years ago, the occupational title of self-employed was a general exclusion criterion for a majority of banks. This circumstance did not necessarily result from creditworthiness, but was related to the higher bureaucratic burden. A car loan for the self-employed is not generally excluded today. Nevertheless, a credit request can lead to the car bank refusing the vehicle financing, pointing out that you bring too high a risk due to your self-employed activity.
Attention!
Self-employed persons lack the credit security of a fixed, regular income, which results in a higher risk of default for the banks. Therefore, it is not so easy for the self-employed to get a loan from the band.
In this case, you should use the free financial market and find out about the conditions of car financing and alternative credit options. If it comes to a rejection by the car bank, a reorientation from the private to the commercial request can also be helpful. If you are self-employed or freelance, you do not primarily have sufficient private collateral for the car loan. The situation is different if the security is provided directly by the company and you agree to a security deposit in the form of the financed vehicles when taking out a car loan for self-employed persons.
The commercial car loan – advantages for self-employed persons and freelancers
Commercial financing offers particularly attractive opportunities if you want to apply for a car loan for the self-employed. The fact is that the interest rates are much lower than a classic car loan for private application. However, you must bear in mind that financing as a business customer is linked to certain conditions. This way, you have no way of financing a private vehicle commercially and meeting the lender's conditions.
Tip
If the car is used primarily for business purposes, commercial financing is a good option. With a justification of what the car is needed for, the car can be financed commercially and you benefit from more favorable interest rates than with private financing and tax advantages.
To obtain the auto loan through your business, you should provide the lender with a plausible explanation of the need and demonstrate the need for a car. If, for example, you are self-employed in trade, in the construction industry or in a travel business, the commercial car loan proves to be a real insider tip with savings potential. You achieve a further saving through commercial car financing, as the interest is tax-deductible. If, on the other hand, you finance the car loan for self-employed persons privately, a tax credit of the interest is not given.
Documents for commercial financing
As with the classic car loan, you must also submit various documents for commercial vehicle financing. First and foremost, your credit rating is an indicator that determines whether you will be approved or not. With commercial car loans, your personal creditworthiness plays a subordinate role. The liquidity of the company comes to the fore. In combination with the explanation of why you need a vehicle for your business, submit the business management statements and the tax assessments of the last two to three years. The amount of documentation required depends on the financing costs and can be more relaxed if you are applying for a car loan for a cheaper, used vehicle. Ask for the required documents before applying, so that you can submit all the documents for the car loan for self-employed completely.
The assessment of creditworthiness for self-employment – pay attention to specifics!
Attention!
You are self-employed, which results in a higher risk rating than with a permanent employee. Even if you have high sales, the auto bank and other lenders rate your risk higher. Therefore, it is particularly important to present a plausible repayment plan and calculate the term, as well as the installments for the vehicle financing with a certain margin.
Your chances of obtaining a car loan for the self-employed increase if you can demonstrate good commercial liquidity and an optimal private credit rating. Since interest rates on a car loan for the self-employed are usually higher than on financing for permanent employees, you should think about a commercial car loan and compare different options. Even as a tradesman, if you are self-employed or freelance alone, you can increase your credit rating by taking some measures and thus ensure a more favorable interest rate.
Increase of chances for the car loan through co-applicants
This is important
A second applicant has a positive effect on the conditions for the car loan. The co-applicant can be another entrepreneur, but also a person from your private environment. If you are married, you could include your spouse in the financing.
This orientation is especially worthwhile if the second applicant is not self-employed, but employed in a permanent position. Further, you have the possibility to secure the car loan through private possessions.
Whether you want this blending of private and commercial depends on the particular situation and your trade. If you are self-employed or self-employed and working for yourself alone, you generally gain an advantage from private coverage when taking out a car loan for self-employed people. Even if you opt for commercial financing, the collateral can be provided through your private property, for example, through a savings contract or tangible assets.
When getting an auto loan, make a condition inquiry instead of a credit inquiry
As with all loans, you should keep in mind that too many loan requests will have a negative impact on your creditworthiness. But without comparisons you basically pay too high interest rates. If you are interested in a car loan for the self-employed, take advantage of the possibility of condition requests. In this way you receive concrete offers, without a credit inquiry with insight for third parties in the Schufa is stored. To compare in detail, at least three offers from different lenders are necessary.
You can obtain the condition request from the car bank and contrast it, for example, with a car loan for which you request the conditions through an independent financial service provider. In the comparison, you can find out which lender will finance you at a favorable interest rate and with the desired flexibility. It is also advisable to compare offers for the private car loan for the self-employed and commercial financing. In order to obtain the best offer, pay the greatest attention to comparing and obtaining offers of terms and conditions and evaluating them.
Loan request vs. Condition request:
The unrestricted installment loan as an alternative
In addition to classic vehicle financing, you can also finance a car or several vehicles for company use via non-purpose installment loans. If you have only been self-employed for a short time, the request for a car loan for the self-employed may be rejected. You cannot provide sufficient documents for repayment security because you do not have two to three years of business financial statements. However, by earmarking the loan, the car becomes collateral for the bank and increases the chance of getting a loan.
An installment loan is more straightforward, but should still be the exception when buying a car for your business. If you finance with a classic installment loan with or without earmarking, repayment options such as balloon financing with a final installment or 3-way financing for the car are excluded. The normal installment loan is not the only alternative, should the bank reject your car loan for the self-employed.
Self-employed: Include leasing as an option in the comparison
Tip
Ask yourself whether you really want to own the car, or whether it is primarily a matter of being mobile in business. Because in addition to a car loan for the self-employed, you can opt for a lease. While a loan is more difficult to obtain if you are self-employed, a decision on a leasing application is made more quickly and with less bureaucracy.
You should therefore not generally exclude this option, but put the costs in the comparison with a car loan for self-employed persons. With leasing, you enjoy a clear advantage over buying if you want to replace the vehicle with a new model after a pre-determined period of time. While you have to sell the car financed with a car loan, you can return a leased car at the end of the leasing period. Even as a self-employed person and freelancer, you can finance and lease favorably.