The freedom afforded by personal mobility can be one of the most liberating things for a person previously dependent on friends, family and public transport to get around. The question today is, what is the minimum income required to finance a vehicle?
For those of us new to the working world or still earning our way up the salary ladder, the temptation to have our hard-earned rands go towards a vehicle of our very own can be alluring. The question is, how much money do you need to earn on a monthly basis in order to qualify for a vehicle hire purchase loan agreement? We consulted three large finance houses, namely MFC, a division of Nedbank, Wesbank and Standard Bank who all have different amounts, but all are reasonably low, so let’s have a look.
MFC
When looking at the requirements for a finance agreement between a buyer and MFC, it is rather simple, the applicant must be 18 years or older, must be a permanently employed salaried worker earning a minimum of R6 500 per month, have a valid driving licence, be a South African citizen or permanent resident and have a good credit record.
Wesbank
For those with a lower income, Wesbank offers what is called graduate finance, where a person needs to be between 18 and 31 years of agree, have a degree of higher diploma attained within 3 years of the finance application, earn at least R7 500 per month and have proof of employment and qualify through Wesbank’s affordability agreement.
Standard Bank
Standard Bank appears to offer the lowest income amount of the three finance houses we chose to use for this piece, with a minimum monthly income requirement of R5 000. The bank offers payment periods that range between 12 and 84 months, with a minimum loan amount of R20 000, which is all subject to an affordability and full credit assessment.
Important considerations
While the above-mentioned finance houses have relatively low income requirements in order to provide finance for a specific vehicle, there are several key considerations to make before taking the plunge. Generally speaking, a bank suggests that no more than 25-30% of your annual income go towards a vehicle, as other expenses associated with the vehicle must be factored in such as insurance, servicing and of course fuel costs, which are exorbitant in the current economic climate.
Let’s say, you earn R6 000 per month, which leaves R72 000 as your annual salary and a maximum of R21 600 per year to spend on your vehicle. This means a total of R1 800 per month can be spent on your personal mobility needs, including the servicing, fueling and insurance, not leaving much for the monthly instalments on what needs to be a reliable vehicle. We are not saying that this is impossible, but simply that the variables must be taken into consideration.
Keyword: What is the minimum income for car finance?