Learn About Vehicle Finance in South Africa
Plain guides to vehicle finance, refinancing, balloon payments, credit and debt review in South Africa. Read them before you sign.
Understand your deal before you sign it
Start with the question you have right now. Each guide stands on its own.
How to Refinance Your Car in South Africa
Who can refinance (from 24 months into your deal), when it pays, what it costs and the documents you need.
Read the guide
Balloon Payments Explained for South African Vehicle Finance
On R315,000 over 72 months, a 30% balloon saves R910 a month but costs R28,986 more in total. What that means for you.
Read the guide
What Credit Score Do I Need for Car Finance?
There is no single cut-off. What the banks really weigh, why judgments matter most and how to improve your chances.
Read the guide
Can I Get Car Finance While Under Debt Review?
What the National Credit Act allows, how a clearance certificate ends debt review, and applying once you are cleared.
Read the guide
Car Finance for Self-Employed People in South Africa
What the banks look at, the documents you need, sole trader or company, and tips that make your income easy to read.
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Toyota Hilux Finance in South Africa: What It Costs a Month
Instalment examples at three prices, what a balloon does, and business or personal use for a double cab.
Read the guide
Frequently Asked Questions About Vehicle Finance
Requirements, how Carfin looks at your credit, documents, fees and refinancing, answered plainly.
Read the guideEducation Is Protection
For most South Africans, a car is one of the biggest financial commitments they make, often second only to a home. Yet many people sign a finance agreement without fully understanding the interest rate, the balloon payment, or what happens if they miss an instalment.
These guides exist to close that gap. They are here to equip you, not to sell you something. An informed applicant makes better decisions, gets better deals, and is less likely to face a repossession conversation three years later.
From reading to real numbers
Once you know how the pieces fit, test them against your own situation.
Run your own numbers
Change the deposit, term, balloon and interest rate, and see what each one does to your instalment.
Ready to buy a car?
New or used, from a dealer: one application goes to the top South African banks at the same time.
Already paying off a car?
If rates have dropped or your credit has improved since you signed, refinancing may lower your instalment.
Buying from a private seller?
Carfin checks the paperwork, settles any finance still on the car and pays the seller.
Need a bakkie for work?
Companies, sole traders and the self-employed can finance a bakkie or a fleet on provable income.
Worried about your credit?
Carfin looks at your whole credit profile and needs R10,000 take-home a month. Read who Carfin can and cannot help.
Find out where you stand
A soft credit check shows whether Carfin can take your application to the banks, with no effect on your credit score.
Start with a 2-minute pre-qualificationSoft check, no effect on your credit scoreNCR Approved Finance Broker NCRCP2341