Car hunt with confidence

Fees that may apply

Other fees and charges may be payable.

You will need to make an initial application to get ‘conditional approval’. Then, once you’ve found a car, you’ll need to supply vehicle documentation in order to get ‘final approval’ – and the money.

Head to our car loan calculator for an estimate of loan costs and repayments.

Initial application for conditional approval

Make sure you meet our eligibility basics.

• Be aged 18 years or over
• Have a regular, verifiable Australian taxable income
• Hold a current Australian driver’s licence or learner’s permit
• Be a citizen or permanent resident of Australia, or hold an an acceptable visa (PDF 489KB)
  

If you have any questions about whether your visa is an acceptable migrant visa that qualifies you to apply for a personal loan with us, please call our Personal Lending Centre on 1300 720 697 discuss.

Make sure the car you’re buying is eligible

As the car you’re buying will be used as security, it needs to fulfil the criteria below:

• Either new or if used, cannot be older than 7 years at time of application
• Have been made locally or imported by the manufacturer
• Never have been written off (even if it was repaired)
• Have a paid, fully comprehensive insurance policy with Westpac noted as the financier
• Be for personal use (Want a car for business use? Check our business vehicle finance)
• If you're applying for a car loan with a preferential rate for electric or hybrid cars, the car must also be on our list of eligible vehicles.​

If the car you want doesn’t fit these criteria, you might consider our Unsecured Personal Loan, which doesn’t require your car as security.

The ‘Finalising your application’ tab immediately following outlines the vehicle documentation you’ll need to supply in order to prove eligibility, once you’ve found the right car.

Have your current finances in order

• You are regularly meeting your repayment obligations for your mortgage, other loan or credit card accounts.
• You have considered whether you need to close any credit accounts you may no longer use – e.g. store cards.

Check your credit report

As part of reviewing your application we look at the information on your credit report, which is produced by an independent credit bureau. This report shows a snapshot of your liabilities, available credit, and your repayment behaviour for these accounts. To learn more about credit reporting in Australia visit www.westpac.com.au/ccr. It’s a good idea to view your own credit report and check your details are correct before starting your application. You can do this for free by visiting the credit bureau website directly, or via CreditSmart.org.au. We work with three bureaus: Equifax, illion and Experian, so you might like to check the report produced by each of them.

Get your documents and information ready

This list relates to applying for conditional approval – the first stage of getting a Westpac Car Loan.
 

If you’re already a Westpac customer, you’ll need to:

• Apply as an Existing Customer in the application form and log in to your account
• Once logged in, double-check that your personal details (name, address etc) are up-to-date. If not, log in to online banking to update them and allow 24 hours for the records to update before you apply.

Whether or not you’re already with Westpac, before starting your application, make sure you have everything in the list below:

• Proof of identity including at least two of the following:
  • Australian driver licence
  • Medicare card
  • Passport
  • Australian birth certificate
  • NSW photo card.

• Current employer’s name, address and phone number
• Your income information from the last 3 months, such as payslips, bank statements and rental income (you won’t need this if your pay already goes into a Westpac bank account)
• Recent tax information if you're self-employed
• Asset, savings and investment details
• All existing liabilities that are in your name (e.g. personal loans, other credit or store cards, ‘interest-free’ instalment purchases, home loan)
• All your regular monthly expenses (including school fees, insurance, utilities etc.)
• If you’re a tax resident of another country, you’ll need your foreign tax identification number.

Choose an appropriate borrowing amount

There are two key factors to consider here: How much the car will cost and how much you can afford to repay.

• Costs include the vehicle’s purchase cost, plus any on-road costs such as registration and transfer fees, stamp duty and insurance, or incidentals such as roadside assistance. This loan lets you borrow additional funds above the car's value to cover these additional costs - as long as the total amount doesn't exceed your approved loan amount and meets eligibility criteria criteria.
• Our car loan calculator can give you an estimate of loan costs and repayments – to help you determine how much you should borrow.

Don’t make multiple applications

Every time you apply for any form of credit, your credit history is checked by the credit provider. This is listed as an enquiry on your report. Multiple applications can be seen as a ‘red flag’ and reduce your chances of approval.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a deposit for a Car Loan?

No – when you buy a car with a Westpac Car Loan, you offer the car you’re purchasing as security on the loan. This serves as collateral for the loan.

What do you mean by ‘security’?

A Westpac Car Loan requires you to use the car you’re buying as security. That is, ‘security’ for Westpac as the lender, and means you give us permission to reclaim and sell the car to pay any outstanding loan balances if you aren’t able to meet your repayments.

What if I have trouble repaying the loan?

Based on the financial details you provide, we’ll assess whether you can afford to repay the amount you request, before approving your application.

But we understand things can change – if something happens and you’re concerned you might not be able to make those repayments, please let us know. Call us on 1800 067 497 and we’ll work with you to find a solution. You can also apply for Westpac Financial Hardship assistance online.

If you are unable to make your repayments and fall into arrears, and you haven’t applied for financial hardship assistance, you can voluntarily offer the car to us to sell as a way of paying any outstanding balances. Alternatively, we may appoint a third party to reclaim and sell your car. This could incur third party fees that you will be liable for in addition to any fees and charges we may apply.

What happens after I apply?

When you apply online, you’ll get a response within 60 seconds. We may need to contact you to verify information in your application, before confirming conditional approval on the loan.

You then have 30 days to find your car. Once you've found it, you’ll need to send us the correct documents (outlined in the section below). We’ll then email you a link to the contract.

You can accept the contract online or head into a branch with proof of full comprehensive car insurance to sign the contract in person.

Once the contract’s accepted, we'll transfer the funds electronically to the accounts you’ve specified to pay the dealer or seller of your new car.

What other documentation will I need to provide to get final approval?

1. You’ll need to provide us with evidence that you’ve bought the car.
 

If you’re buying from a dealer this would be a dealer’s invoice or contract of sale, which must state:

• Dealership’s ABN and name
• Dealers licence number
• Your name and address as per your loan application
• Year, make, model, body, badge, transmission type, engine size and series of the vehicle to be purchased
  VIN/chassis number
• Build or Production date (Month/Year)
• Engine number
• Registration plate number and expiry date (if purchasing a Used vehicle/ Demo model/Auction).

Note: hand-written dealer invoices are acceptable provided no amendments are made.

If you’re buying from a private seller, you’ll need to provide Official Registration Certificate (or Recent Renewal Notice for WA), also known as ‘rego papers’, which must state:

• Current expiry date
• Seller’s name
• Vehicle details, year, make and model
• VIN/chassis number
• Engine number
• Registration plate number.

Note: we can’t accept a ‘registration transfer form’ as a proof of sale.

If you’re refinancing an existing loan, simply provide the car’s registration papers with your name on them.

2.  You’ll also need to provide proof you’ve taken out a comprehensive insurance policy on the car. The policy must be in the name of the of the loan applicant (or the nominated driver if they’re not the applicant) and needs to list Westpac as the financier.

What insurance do I need to provide and why?

Before you can use the loan funds to pay the seller, you’ll need to show us you’ve taken out a fully comprehensive insurance policy on the car you’re buying.

You need insurance that covers the full value of the car. If you have a major accident, this insurance helps us reclaim some of the loan value, and also lessens the risk of you being left with a car loan and no car to secure it with.

There’s no obligation to choose Westpac Car Insurance – you can use any insurer.