The 6.00% club - 16 lenders are now offering car loans rates under 6.00%

Upon looking into the Mozo database, it appears that a few lenders are trying to direct our attention to the financial blindspot that is car loans.

Our data shows that there are now 16 lenders offering car loans under the 6.00% mark, which means Aussies shopping for a new set of wheels can cash in on some great deals.

Member-owned institution Queenslanders Credit Union recently slashed a massive 50 basis points off its Car Loan special, which now sits at a neat 5.99% (6.51% comparison rate*, for a $30,000 loan over 5 years).

Unity Bank also followed, dropping its Car Loan rate from 7.99% to 5.99% (comparison rate 6.63%* p.a. based on a $30,000 loan over 5 years).

RELATED: ANZ to scrap car loans and consumer finance loans in April

To put things into perspective, say a borrower took out a $30,000 loan at the original 7.99% interest rate, they’d pay $6,489 in interest, the new rate on the same terms would incur $4,791 in interest - a saving of $1,698.

“We’ve seen very little movement in general purpose personal loan interest rates over the last month, so lenders may be turning to car loans to grow their personal finance books,” said Mozo Product Data Manager, Peter Marshall.

But on the other hand, big bank ANZ have kept to their word and have removed car finance products from the product range.

In March, the bank announced that it would be suspending its car financing products while it reviews whether the products were worth the “less than 1% of revenue” it receives.

The banks “inability to keep up with increased technology costs” was also a factor in the product suspension.

RELATED: Harmoney show borrowers some love with launch of new car loan deal

“We need to assess if it is better for our customers, shareholders and employees if we focus our investment on areas of our business that are core to what we do,” ANZ Retail Distribution Managing Director, Catriona Noble explained.

“Providing asset finance solutions for commercial customers remains a core business for ANZ.”

So if you’ve been dreaming of a new car and think a car loan may be your answer, here are some of the things you should be looking for once you start your search.

What to look for in a car loan

• Interest rate - Of course, this is possibly one of the most important parts of any loan! So be sure to take the time to shop around on interest rates, while keeping your credit score in mind. Depending on the lender, you may be able to snag a lower rate for having a good score.

• Fees - You’re after a new set a wheels, not a bunch of unnecessary fees. Luckily, there are plenty of fee-free loans available.

• The features - Having a few handy features attached to your loan, like free extra repayments could not only help you pay off your loan faster, but also save on interest.

• Unsecured or secured - While secured loans generally have lower rates, it does mean that you will have to use an asset as security, like your new car. If you don’t want to do this, you might want to consider unsecured car loan instead.

Want to compare more options? Then head over to our car loans comparison tool to compare some of the latest car loan deals.

^{*The Comparison Rate combines the lender's interest rate, fees and charges into a single rate to show the true cost of a personal loan. The comparison rates displayed are for the amounts and terms quoted, based on monthly principal and interest repayments, on a secured basis for secured loans and an unsecured basis for unsecured loans, and apply only to these examples.}