Turners Finance vs a bank car loan

Our page on bank vs finance company car loans covers the general split between those two types of lender. This page deals with something narrower. Turners is a car seller that arranges finance, not a bank and not obviously a single lender, so the question is what changes when the loan is introduced rather than made directly.

Car Finance Guide is a guide, not a lender or a broker. We have no view on who will lend to you. What follows comes from Turners’ finance pages and ASB’s car loan page, read on 10 November 2026, and ASB stands in here for banks in general only as one example.

Why this pairing is lopsided

A bank lends its own money and decides for itself. Turners, by its own description, organises finance through a range of lenders. Its pages do not say which ones, and they say the lender’s credit, suitability and affordability criteria apply.

That has three consequences you can test:

• the rate, fees and terms you are offered belong to whichever lender Turners places you with
• the fees Turners shows are partly Turners’ own and partly the lender’s
• a comparison with a bank is really a comparison between the bank and an unnamed lender plus a go-between

Fee layers, one by one

Turners’ calculator estimate lists these items:

• a $153 application fee
• a $275 dealer introduction fee
• $4 a month for account maintenance
• $16.34 in direct costs
• $495 on-road costs where they apply, and unlisted buyer fees on auction purchases

The page says rates and fees may vary between lenders and that the figures are an estimate, not an offer. The calculator uses a fixed 10.95% a year, which is also an estimate.

ASB’s page, used as the bank example, says it has no loan processing fee and shows a single fixed rate of 13.90% a year, with loans from $2,000 over 6 months to 7 years. It also says you can pay off early with no penalty. Those are one bank’s published terms, on a page that says rates and fees may change.

Do not read those two sets of numbers as a contest. A lower rate with an introduction fee and a monthly charge can land above or below a higher rate with no fees. The total is what counts.

Where each channel is stronger on information

Turners states several things clearly: you can apply online, by phone on 0800 887 637 or at a branch, an online application usually takes about a day, and a branch application takes about 10 to 15 minutes. It also offers payment waiver and payment protection insurance, covering events such as illness or redundancy, which you should price separately.

What the Turners pages did not state is just as useful to know. We found nothing on early repayment, whether the loan is secured on the car, or a complaints process.

The ASB page is clear on early repayment and on fees, but its eligibility text appears in two versions, one with an income threshold and one without, so confirm the criteria with the bank.

Timing and the car yard

One real difference is when you learn what you can borrow. Turners’ finance page invites you to apply online and be pre-approved before you pick, and its FAQ says an online application usually takes about 24 hours while a branch visit takes 10 to 15 minutes. ASB’s page says approved customers get a response straight away and that it aims to pay out the same day you sign the documents.

Both describe a usual process, not a promise about your application. What matters is what you do with that information. If you know your rate and limit before you start looking, you can negotiate on the car’s price as a cash buyer would. If the finance only gets worked out at the desk after you have chosen the car, the choice of lender is easier to leave to whoever is in front of you.

Deposit is the other practical point. Turners says the deposit it needs can vary with your circumstances and should be discussed with a business manager. ASB’s page does not describe a deposit, since it lends as a personal loan. If you plan a trade-in, ask each channel how it is treated, because the answer changes the amount borrowed and so the fees and interest.

Questions that only apply to an introduced loan

If you take finance through a car seller, ask:

1. Which lender will hold my loan?
2. How much of the fee list is paid to the seller, and is any of it added to the loan?
3. Is the rate I am shown the lender’s rate, or does it include a margin?
4. Can I take a different lender’s offer to the same car?
5. What happens to the finance if the sale falls through?

These questions are not an accusation. Introduced finance is common and legal. They simply surface costs that a direct loan does not have.

What stays the same under NZ law

Whoever you borrow from is a lender under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act, and the same duties apply at the bank and at the finance company behind an introduction:

• check that the loan suits your needs and you can repay it
• give you written disclosure of the rate, fees and payments before you are bound
• belong to an approved dispute resolution scheme
• let you repay early, with any fee being reasonable

The one practical wrinkle is that with an introduced loan you want the name of the actual lender on your disclosure statement, because that is the party you complain to and the one to look up on the Financial Service Providers Register.

Worked example: two invented offers

These are made-up numbers, not quotes from Turners or any bank. You want $12,000 over four years.

• Direct offer: 12% a year and no fees. The repayment is about $316 a month, and you repay about $15,168 in all.
• Introduced offer: 10% a year, a $153 application fee and a $275 introduction fee, plus $4 a month. The repayment is about $304 plus the $4, and you repay about $15,229 in all.

The introduced offer has the lower monthly repayment by about $12 and the lower rate. The direct offer is about $61 cheaper overall. Which one suits you depends on whether the monthly figure or the total matters more, and on what each contract says about early repayment.

Ways to compare fairly

1. Ask for both offers in writing, with the same amount and term.
2. List the rate, each fee and the total repayable side by side.
3. Treat any insurance as a separate decision.
4. Ask the seller to name the lender, and the bank to confirm its criteria.
5. Take a third offer if you can. A broker may be one route. See car finance broker.

Doing it in order

1. Work out a monthly figure you could carry, with some room.
2. Get a bank offer or pre-approval before you walk into a yard, so you have something to hold up against the seller’s.
3. Ask the seller for finance on the same amount and term.
4. Compare the totals, and the exit terms.
5. Read the disclosure statement before you sign. The /check form passes your details to a broker partner, who compares lenders for you and calls you back.

Checklist

• Two written offers on the same amount and term.
• The name of the actual lender on each.
• Every fee, including any paid to the seller.
• The total repayable.
• Early repayment terms.
• Insurance priced on its own line.

Red flags

• Finance presented as part of the car price with no breakdown.
• A lender you cannot name before you sign.
• Insurance added without a separate price.
• Being told you will definitely be lent to.
• Pressure to decide before comparing.

If repayments become difficult, speak to the lender early and call MoneyTalks free on 0800 345 123. See also bank loan vs dealer finance.

Sources

• Turners: finance
• Turners: finance FAQs
• ASB: car loan
• Consumer Protection: what lenders must do
• Financial Service Providers Register
• Financial Markets Authority: changes to credit laws, July 2026