Irish Car Loan Calculator

Personal Contract Purchase is a hire purchase variant built around the car’s depreciation. You pay a deposit (commonly 10–30%), monthly repayments over typically 36 months, then choose: hand the car back (subject to kilometre limits and condition), pay the Guaranteed Minimum Future Value (GMFV) to own it, or trade in. Per the CCPC, PCPs are more complex than other car finance and the full terms matter — the finance company owns the car until the final payment.

Hire Purchase finances the full price of the car. You pay a deposit and fixed monthly repayments, commonly over up to 60 months, and own the car after the final payment. Monthly repayments are higher than PCP because nothing is deferred to a final payment, but there are no kilometre limits, and the Consumer Credit Act 1995 protections (the half rule and one-third rule) apply.

A personal loan from a bank, credit union, or online lender is used to buy the car outright, so you own it from day one and there is no hire agreement. There are no kilometre limits and no final payment — but the half rule does not apply, since it only covers hire agreements. Published 2026 personal car-loan APRs run from about 6.5% to 7.1%, with some lenders publishing lower rates for electric cars.

The Guaranteed Minimum Future Value is the large optional payment due at the end of a PCP — the finance company’s estimate of the car’s minimum value at that point, set partly by the agreed kilometre limit. It is only payable if you choose to keep the car. Because part of the car’s value is deferred to the GMFV, PCP monthly repayments are lower than HP — but interest is charged on the deferred amount throughout, so the total cost of credit is higher if you buy the car.

Irish PCP agreements set an annual kilometre limit. If the car is handed back at the end having exceeded the agreed total, an excess kilometre charge applies at the pence-per-kilometre rate stated in the agreement. The charge does not apply if the GMFV is paid to keep the car. The agreed limit also affects the GMFV itself — a higher limit generally means a lower GMFV.

Published lender rates (not official averages): bank Hire Purchase from about 5.85% APR for battery EVs and 6.3% for other cars; bank and online personal car loans about 6.5–7.1% APR; and an ILCU survey average of 8.6% APR across credit unions in the Republic (ILCU is an industry body; this is not an official source). Manufacturer finance arms offer promotional PCP and HP rates on selected new models. The rate offered to an individual depends on their credit profile and the lender.

The total cost of credit is the difference between everything repaid and the amount borrowed. On a reducing-balance agreement it equals the sum of the monthly repayments (plus any GMFV on a PCP) minus the amount of credit. For example, EUR 31,500 of credit at 6.9% APR over 60 months as HP gives a monthly repayment of about EUR 622 and a total cost of credit of about EUR 5,835. The total amount payable is the cash price plus the cost of credit.

PCP defers a large part of the car’s value to the GMFV, so the monthly repayments finance a smaller amount. But interest is charged on the full outstanding balance — including the deferred GMFV — throughout the agreement. On a EUR 35,000 car with a EUR 3,500 deposit at 6.9% over 36 months, PCP with a EUR 14,000 GMFV is about EUR 620/month versus HP at about EUR 971/month, yet PCP’s total cost of credit (~EUR 4,822) is higher than HP’s (~EUR 3,463) if the car is kept.

Indirectly. The ECB deposit facility rate (2.50%, effective 16 September 2026) influences euro-area funding costs, so Irish lending rates tend to move with it over time. However, car finance is priced on the lender’s costs and the applicant’s credit risk, and most Irish HP and PCP agreements are fixed-rate, so existing agreements are unaffected by ECB changes once signed.

Three supports apply to qualifying new battery-electric cars: the SEAI grant of up to EUR 3,500 (list price EUR 14,000–60,000, cap dropping to EUR 50,000 from 31 July 2026), VRT relief of up to EUR 5,000 (OMSP up to EUR 50,000, in place to end-2026), and the announced ICE2EV scrappage payment of EUR 5,000 from July 2026 for scrapping a 2013-or-older petrol or diesel car. BEV motor tax is EUR 120 per year. Per SEAI.

The half rule, part of the Consumer Credit Act 1995, gives the right to end a PCP or HP agreement at any time, limiting liability to half the total PCP or HP price (a figure that must be stated in the agreement). If more than half has been paid with no missed repayments, the car can be returned owing nothing further — though necessary repair costs apply, and no refund is due. If less than half has been paid, only the difference up to the halfway figure is owed. The rule can be used while in arrears, but the arrears remain owing.

On PCP and HP the finance company owns the car until the final payment and can repossess if the agreement’s terms are broken, such as missed repayments. Per the CCPC: if less than one-third of the price has been paid, repossession does not require legal action; if more than one-third has been paid, a court order is required. A car cannot be repossessed from a driveway regardless of the amount paid. After repossession the car is generally sold against the debt, and any shortfall remains owing.

The first step is the lender’s own complaints process. If the outcome is unsatisfactory, the complaint can be referred to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO), which handles disputes with regulated financial providers free of charge. For difficulties with repayments, MABS (the Money Advice and Budgeting Service) provides free, independent support. The CCPC publishes guidance on both routes.

Yes — dealers arranging HP or PCP act as credit intermediaries and must be authorised. The Central Bank of Ireland maintains a public register of authorised lenders and credit intermediaries, which can be checked before signing. Per the CCPC, the agreement itself is with the finance company, not the dealer.

A longer term lowers the monthly repayment but increases the total cost of credit, because interest is charged on the outstanding balance for longer. On EUR 31,500 of HP credit at 6.9% APR, the cost of credit is about EUR 3,463 over 36 months versus about EUR 5,835 over 60 months. The trade-off between monthly affordability and total cost is shown by the calculator’s term slider.

Yes. On a regulated agreement you can settle early by requesting a settlement figure from the lender, and the Consumer Credit Act provides for a rebate of some future interest charges. The exact rebate and any fees depend on the agreement. Some lenders also allow extra repayments on variable-rate loans without penalty — the agreement’s terms set this out.

Per the CCPC, the APR and the total amount repayable — both of which must be stated in every agreement — are the figures that allow a like-for-like comparison. The monthly repayment alone can hide a longer term or a large GMFV. Comparing a dealer’s PCP or HP offer against a bank or credit union loan on the same car shows the full difference in cost and ownership. The calculator’s Compare tab puts two offers side by side on this basis.

If the car’s market value at the end exceeds the GMFV, the difference is equity that can be used as a deposit on the next agreement when trading in — one reason PCP is structured around cycles of renewal. If the value is below the GMFV, the guarantee means the car can simply be handed back (subject to kilometre limits and condition) with nothing further to pay. Equity is not guaranteed and depends on the used-car market at the time.