The Best Job Titles For Car Finance

You may have seen a similar piece we wrote on how your job title affects your car insurance. This guide takes a slightly different approach, and looks at the question:

Does job title affect your car finance application?

It doesn’t matter what stage of the finance process you’re at:

• Simply having a browse.
• Currently comparing different finance offers.
• Previously rejected and want to improve your chances of being accepted.

This blog is suited to all customers, and tackles the important question: can your job title affect your car finance application?

👉 Role of employment in finance checks
👉 The best jobs for car finance
👉 Jobs that hurt your chances of car finance
👉 Other ways you can improve your finance chances

Role Of Employment In Finance Checks

When it comes to running a finance check, your actual job title won’t have much impact. What will have an impact, though, is the information that comes with the job. This includes things like:

• How stable your income is. The same income coming in every month is seen as a positive by lenders.
• If you are self-employed, you can still access car finance, but it depends on the lender in question.
• Your time spent in the job. Are you someone who changes jobs often? If so, this can make you seem risky to a finance company.
• Industry risk. If you are in an industry with high turnover, your chances of making monthly repayments could be affected at any moment. This again is a massive risk to lenders.

This begs the question: Does your job title affect your car finance chances?

The short answer is yes, but not in the way you think. Lenders use automated decision-making systems that look at all parts of your job, not just the title. Although a title can help, this isn’t the main factor in deciding whether to accept a customer for finance.

The Best Jobs For Car Finance

Although job title isn't everything, there are some titles that can increase your chances of acceptance. These roles tend to be steady in income, fairly well paid and secure. Let's take a look at some of the best jobs to get approved for car finance:

• Government-funded jobs. Roles like nurses and civil servants are seen as reliable and unlikely to change suddenly, and with that monthly payments are likely to be made.
• Accountant. Another role that has minimal turnovers, accountants are financially savvy, and are seen as highly like to make repayments.
• IT. A profession constantly in demand, IT workers have plenty of opportunities to choose from.
• Teachers. On long-term employment contracts, these are seen as some of the most likely to meet repayments on time.

Jobs That Hurt Your Chances of Car Finance

In saying that, there are some jobs that definitely hurt your chances of car finance.

• Delivery driver: This industry has a high turnover rate, meaning that your income could disappear at any point. If you are a delivery driver, but your car isn’t going to be used for commercial purposes, Marsh Finance will consider you where others won’t.
• Freelancer: In this job, you have no set income, and some months can be better than others. For a car finance company, this uncertainty is a risk. If you are a Freelancer, some finance companies, like Marsh Finance, will accept up-to-date tax returns to show consistent earnings.
• Actor/model: Again these roles are unpredictable and the money that comes with it is constantly in question.
• Zero-hour worker: No guarantee of income, which has already been mentioned as a massive risk to lenders.
• Tax driver: Many car finance lenders avoid those looking to use the car for commercial purposes. Another factor in this is the higher accident/collision rate with taxis, which is something car finance lenders want to avoid.
• Student or unemployed. No proof of fixed income is a put-off for car finance companies.

For those jobs where income isn’t the same every month, your chances of car finance aren’t over. Open banking is a great way to check your affordability in a more practical way. This is great for judging how you manage money, as well as any funds coming in that go towards a finance payment.

Ultimately, your job impacts your likelihood of getting finance and the APR you could receive. As you can expect, more stable jobs are seen as more attractive to car finance lenders, but this doesn’t mean your chances are completely over if you work in an unattractive role👇.

Other Ways You Can Improve Your Finance Chances

Believe it or not, your job only makes up a part of a car finance application, and there are plenty of other ways to boost your chances of being accepted.

• Build a stronger credit score: We’ve covered this in a separate blog, but to summarise, keep on top of payments, reduce spending on unnecessary items, and sign up for a credit card that you can afford.
• Consider adding a guarantor to your finance agreement.
• Look for a cheaper car: Going for something cheaper can increase your chances of making repayments, whilst reducing the risk for the lender.
• Make a large deposit: A large deposit is a great way of showing your ability to afford payments and is a signal of your commitment to the finance contract. It’s important to note, though, that you should only ever make a deposit that you can afford.

Conclusion

Whilst your job does affect your car finance chances, it is only a small piece of the puzzle. There are plenty of other factors, but your job does have some impact. Aside from your job role, some of the best ways to improve your chances of car finance include improving your credit score and choosing the right lender for your needs.

We understand that every customer is different. That’s why we’re committed to supporting potential customers however we can. If you’ve previously been rejected for finance and are unsure where to turn, we can help.

Check your eligibility for car finance with no mark on your credit file, helping you get a sense of what’s possible without hurting your credit score for the future.