OFW's guide to getting a car loan in the Philippines

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are considered modern day heroes as they spend days, weeks, months, or years apart from their families just so they can financially support them. But because most of them are breadwinners, not all OFWs can purchase a brand new or second hand car in full even with their relatively huge salaries.

Fortunately, OFWs are entitled to avail a car loan even if they’re miles away from their motherland. How do you do it? Well, here’s an OFWs guide on how to get a car loan in the Philippines.

Make sure you have a trusted/related Filipino co-maker

Having a related Filipino co-maker is a must for OFWs planning to get a car loan. While it is a requirement, it also allows for a better chance of your loan approval, and possibly adds as a factor on how much you can borrow from the bank.

But what is a co-maker?

According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), a co-maker is a person who promises by written contract to pay another person’s loan in the event he/she fails to do so. In addition, a co-maker is also used when the borrower doesn’t meet the credit criteria such as age or if his/her income is insufficient for the loan.

Ideally, a co-maker should be your spouse, family member, or someone who is financially capable and willing to pay your debt in case you can’t.

How to know if you’re eligible for a car loan?

Any Filipino citizen, including OFWs, aged 21 but not more than 65 years old with a minimum average monthly income of P30,000 to P40,000 is eligible for a car loan. In addition, some banks require that the borrower must be employed for at least two years on a regular status.

Complete the requirements for OFWs

Here’s the list of requirements that OFWs need to apply for a car loan:

• Duly accomplished application form
• Valid government-issued I.D. with signature and photo such as Driver’s License, Passport, etc. of borrower and co-maker (if available)
• Latest proof of billing
• Three months-worth of payslips/remittance
• Latest employment contract authenticated by the Philippine Consulate
• Latest crew contract (for those working as a Seafarer/Seaman)

To help increase your chances of approval, OFWs can also present the documents of certain physical assets such as real estate or owned vehicles as proof of capacity to pay.

Shopping for that brand new car wherever you are

Believe it or not, you can shop for a brand new car in the Philippines even if you’re miles away from homeland. All you have to do is simply browse through the AutoDeal Car Guide or check out our promo section and click on Get Quote.

Alternatively, AutoDeal, together with Ford, offers special promos for OFWs called the Ford OFW Assist program. It allows you to apply for a car loan via EastWest Bank even if you’re abroad. You can even let your family drop by the nearest dealership for them to see the vehicle in the metal and/or drive it home.

Paying your car loan from miles away

While online banking would be the most obvious way to go, borrowers can pay their loan using a more traditional approach such as issuing Post Dated Checks (PDCs) or through remittance to the co-maker. Although the latter would be a little bit more risky than the former since you can’t oversee the payment yourself.