Car credit
Car credit in a nutshell
Car credit is an allocated credit: the funds are legally tied to the purchase of a specific vehicle, identified by a purchase order or a transfer certificate. This mechanism, provided for by the French Code de la consommation, creates real protection: if the sale falls through, the credit agreement is cancelled automatically, and vice versa.
That is the essential difference with the personal loan, which pays you a sum you can use freely. Allocated car credit is often priced slightly better, because the vehicle gives the lender something to rely on, but it obliges you to produce proof of purchase and to go through an identified seller.
Our car financing is assessed from €5,000, at a fixed annual rate of 3.90%. Every application involves a full creditworthiness assessment, including the compulsory consultation of the FICP and FCC registers held by the Banque de France.
- Allocated credit: the credit is cancelled automatically if the sale fails
- Proof required: purchase order, invoice or transfer certificate
- Usual terms from 12 to 84 months depending on the amount and the age of the vehicle
- Statutory 14-day withdrawal period (Art. L.312-19 of the French Code de la consommation)
Key features
Allocation of the funds
The funds are most often paid directly to the seller, whether a professional or a private individual, on presentation of the purchase order. You never handle the money, which secures the transaction on both sides.
Personal deposit
No deposit is legally required. In practice, a deposit of 10 to 20 % of the price markedly improves acceptance of the application and reduces the total cost of the credit.
New or used
New vehicles open up the longest terms. For a used car, lenders look at age and mileage; a vehicle more than seven years old is generally financed over a shorter term. See also our page on the new car loan.
Rate and insurance
The annual rate is fixed: 3.90% for the whole term of the contract, subject to assessment and acceptance. Payment protection insurance remains optional; its cost must appear in the APR if you take it out.
How it works
Cost your budget
Add up the price of the vehicle, the registration document, insurance and foreseeable servicing, then test the corresponding monthly instalment in our credit calculator.
Obtain the purchase order
The seller gives you a purchase order or a transfer certificate stating the price, the model and the registration or serial number. That is the document which makes allocated credit possible.
Submit your application
You complete the online form and attach your proof of income. We finance some applications directly and submit the others to several lending institutions to compare APRs.
Signature, withdrawal, delivery
After signature, the 14-day period runs before the funds are paid to the seller. Plan ahead: warn the dealer that delivery will take place after that period.
What we bring to a car application
- A comparison between allocated credit and personal loan, costed on your own case
- A check that the dealer’s financing really is the cheapest
- A calculation of the total cost and not just the teaser rate on display in the showroom
- A frank opinion if the instalment unbalances your budget, with the option of a debt consolidation if your current instalments are too heavy
Frequently asked questions
Allocated credit offers better protection: if the car is not delivered, the credit falls away. The personal loan is more flexible, particularly for a purchase between private individuals or if you want to include repair work. We compare the two before deciding.
Yes. The signed transfer certificate serves as proof of purchase. Some institutions nonetheless prefer a personal loan in this case: it avoids the constraints of paying a private seller directly.
Yes, with a standard car credit you own it from the moment of purchase and the registration document is in your name. That is what distinguishes credit from the French leasing formulas LOA and LLD, under which you are merely renting the vehicle.
Yes, at any time. No indemnity is due where early repayment amounts to less than €10,000 over a rolling twelve-month period. Above that, French law caps the indemnity at 1 % of the capital repaid, or 0.5 % if less than a year remains to run.
With an allocated credit, the credit agreement is terminated automatically and you have nothing to repay of the funds not released. That is the main protection of this formula, and a good reason to prefer it with a seller you do not know well.
Allow a few days for processing, then the 14 days of withdrawal that cannot be compressed. If your need is very urgent, look rather at our express loan, whose processing chain is shortened — but the withdrawal period itself is never shortened.
Your vehicle is waiting for you?
Have your financing assessed before signing at the dealership: the comparison is free and commits you to nothing.
Credit is a commitment and must be repaid. Check that you can afford the repayments before you commit.
