Switch & Save to refinance your car loan

Currently you can switch a hire purchase (HP) or personal contract purchase (PCP) agreement with Zable. The benefits for you could include getting cheaper monthly payments on your loan; getting a cheaper total cost of the loan by paying less interest over time or refinancing a big balloon payment into smaller more manageable monthly payments.

You can get between £1,000 and £50,000 for terms between 12 and 60 months.

Getting a quote will not impact your credit score as it only involves a soft credit search. If you are happy with the offer and choose to take out a loan, this will require a hard credit search which will most likely impact your score in the short term.

You can still switch, but your situation will change the terms you’re offered. You can check eligibility without impacting your credit score and although that doesn’t guarantee loan acceptance, it lets you make a more informed decision.

Getting a quote won’t affect your score, because it only involves a soft search to show you what you could save. If you decide to go ahead, a hard search will happen to finalise the loan, which could cause a small, temporary dip, just like any other new credit agreement. You can help improve your score by making repayments on time, provided nothing else changes with your credit situation.

A settlement quote (sometimes called a settlement figure) is the amount you’d need to pay to clear your existing car finance in full. It comes from your current lender, and it can differ slightly from your remaining balance once any interest adjustments are taken into account. You have the right to ask your lender for one, and it’s usually valid for a set number of days. When you switch to Zable, your settlement quote will be used to pay off your old agreement.

There’s no legal limit on how many times you can refinance your car. You can switch whenever it makes financial sense, as long as you still have finance left to pay off and you’re eligible. What matters more than the number of times is whether each switch actually saves you money. Since taking out a new loan involves a hard credit search, it’s worth checking the savings stack up each time rather than switching for the sake of it. Getting a quote is free and won’t affect your score, so you can see the numbers before you decide.

No, this will happen as part of the loan application process.

Neither is automatically better, it depends on your situation. With a personal car loan you borrow the money, buy the car outright and own it from day one, so you’re free to sell it whenever you like. With car finance like HP or PCP, the agreement is secured against the car and you don’t own it outright until you’ve made all the payments, though it can be easier to get approved as the loan is secured against the car.

What matters most is the interest rate and the total cost. If you’re already on a finance deal that feels expensive, you don’t have to stay on it, you can switch to a better one.