Car finance works the same way whether you're buying for personal use or for your business: a lender pays for the vehicle, you own it from settlement, and you repay the lender in fixed instalments over an agreed term. What differs is the structure behind the scenes. Financing a car under an ABN for business use is usually done through a chattel mortgage — the same structure used for trucks and equipment — and if the business is GST-registered there's a GST credit to factor into the real cost. Financing a car for personal, domestic or household use is a consumer car loan, which sits under different consumer-credit rules and disclosure requirements.
Either way, repayments are usually weekly, fortnightly or monthly, and a balloon (residual) payment at the end of the term is optional — it lowers the regular repayment in exchange for a lump sum due at the end, and suits anyone planning to trade in or refinance before the term is up. New and used cars are both financeable, and so are private-sale purchases.
If you're financing a car under an ABN and your business is GST-registered, the GST credit on a work vehicle is capped by the ATO's car limit for depreciation purposes — even if the car costs more than that limit, the GST credit and depreciation claim are calculated against the capped amount, not the full purchase price. None of this applies if you're buying a car for personal use — there's no GST credit or business depreciation to claim on a straightforward consumer purchase. Confirm your specific position with your accountant before relying on any figure.
Both. The repayment maths is the same either way — what differs is the finance structure and paperwork behind it. If you're financing a car under an ABN for business use, it's usually a chattel mortgage with a possible GST credit; if you're buying a car for personal, domestic or household use, it's a consumer car loan with its own disclosure rules. Tell your broker which applies so we can set you up with the right product.
If your business is GST-registered and the car is used for business purposes, you can generally claim a GST credit on the purchase — though the ATO caps the GST credit at the car limit for higher-value vehicles, regardless of the car's actual price. Confirm the applicable limit and your entitlement with your accountant. This doesn't apply to a personal car purchase.
It depends on the lender — but we have lenders on our panel who don't require a deposit at all.
A balloon (residual) lowers your regular repayment by leaving a lump sum owing at the end of the term, which can suit anyone planning to trade in or refinance before the term ends. It's more commonly used on business car finance than on a straightforward personal car loan, but either can include one — the calculator above lets you compare the trade-off directly.
Yes — new and used cars are both financeable through our panel; the finance structure and calculator maths are the same either way.
No dealer requirement at all — a dealer sale, private sale, buying from a friend or relative, even a Facebook Marketplace listing, are all fine. Private sales just involve a couple of extra verification steps that we handle for you before settlement.